Deusto Estudios Cooperativos

Remote meetings of the governing bodies of cooperatives in Argentina

2025-10-30T19:58:45+01:00

The entry into force of the Civil and Commercial Code in 2015 paved the way for private legal entities to hold meetings of their governing bodies by electronic and telematic means. The absence of this issue in Law 20,337 on Cooperatives did not prevent the national cooperative enforcement authority from issuing a series of resolutions since 2019 authorizing and regulating remote meetings of cooperative governing bodies. This process was strongly driven by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, given the need to ensure the continuity of the institutional functioning of entities. These measures have made it possible to overcome the difficulties posed at the socio-health level and have remained in force once the pandemic has been overcome. The article analyses the legal and regulatory framework for remote meetings of the governing bodies of cooperatives in Argentina, considering the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Code, the Cooperatives Act and the resolutions of the INAES, as well as the doctrine and guidance documents of the same enforcement authority. It considers the situation of the different types of governing bodies, particularly about the assembly, addressing issues related to its convening and holding, as well as key aspects for democratic functioning, such as ensuring the voting system process.

Received: 18 May 2025
Accepted: 9 September 2025

The online holding of meetings of cooperative governing bodies under Portuguese law

2025-10-30T19:58:44+01:00

The digitalization of the functioning of cooperative bodies may contribute to strengthening their democratic character and achieving more efficient management, provided that equitable access, the legal validity of electronically executed acts, and the protection of the fundamental rights of members —particularly their privacy— are ensured. Although the Portuguese Cooperative Code does not contain specific provisions regarding the telematic operation of social bodies, it allows for the supplementary application of the corporate regime established in the Commercial Companies Code for joint-stock companies, insofar as cooperative principles are not disregarded. This framework enables cooperatives to convene and hold virtual meetings, as well as to use electronic means for participation and the exercise of voting rights, provided that guarantees of authenticity, security, intelligibility, and fairness are observed. Furthermore, cooperatives are responsible for promoting the digital inclusion of all members, with the possibility of allocating cooperative education and training funds for this purpose.

Received: 4 June 2025
Accepted: 29 August 2025

The integration of remote workers into the governing bodies of cooperatives in Brazil

2025-10-30T19:58:42+01:00

Remote interaction, especially given the connectivity through digital technologies that structure informationalism as a new form of capitalist development, has become an unavoidable social reality. Consequently, cooperation has also been affected by the possibility of remote interactions, most evidently during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new reality has impacted cooperatives’ general assemblies and meetings, requiring regulatory changes that consider a digital and remote logic. It is in this context that this descriptive article, based on bibliographic and documentary references, seeks to present how Brazil developed its legal texts to allow the remote holding of general assemblies and meetings of its governing bodies. To this end, the article contextualizes democratic participation up to the COVID-19 pandemic and then presents the legal and regulatory changes that enabled remote democratic participation, even after the end of the health emergency. Finally, the article reflects on the positive aspects of these changes, considering the current challenges related to the lack of reflection on the virtuality of social actions, one of the causes of low member participation in general assemblies of Brazilian cooperatives.

Received: 7 July 2025
Accepted: 25 September 2025

Technological changes in the governing bodies of cooperative enterprises in Mexico

2025-10-30T19:58:41+01:00

Cooperatives in Mexico and worldwide are of great importance for their social, economic, cultural and humanistic development. However, they currently face a number of challenges in a globalised world, one of which is digitalisation, which is one of the main areas of transformation that will define their future, making the adoption of new technologies, digital platforms, etc. increasingly urgent. On the other hand, as the General Assembly is the highest authority in cooperative enterprises, digitisation is also of great importance, even though it faces major challenges such as lack of internet access, resistance to change and lack of training for staff and members in the use of digital tools.

Received: 30 May 2025
Accepted: 29 July 2025

Critical study on the regulation of remote meetings of the governing bodies of cooperatives in Peru

2025-10-30T19:58:40+01:00

This critical study analyses the regulatory and practical evolution of remote meetings in Peruvian cooperatives. It starts from a context characterized by legal loopholes in the General Law on Cooperatives (1981) and the absence of regulations establishing clear rules on remote meetings, sessions and voting. In this scenario, the statutes of each cooperative took on a supplementary role, generating disparate responses between those that allowed the use of electronic means and those that remained in traditional formats. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted temporary regulatory changes through Laws 31029 and 31194, which enabled virtual meetings, facilitating the adaptation of cooperatives through digital platforms, albeit with technological and training limitations. Subsequently, Law 32221 (2024) introduced a structural change by expressly recognizing face-to-face, remote and blended meetings as valid modalities for all cooperative governing bodies, thus consolidating a modern and flexible framework. The analysis shows significant progress in savings and credit cooperatives (COOPAC), which made better use of digital media, while agricultural cooperatives face greater obstacles due to the technological, economic and cultural divide in rural areas. It concludes that regulatory modernization is a significant step forward, although challenges remain in relation to digital training, internet access and the inclusion of all members.

Received: 4 July 2025
Accepted: 24 September 2025

Reality and legal perspectives of the organic dynamics through electronic-telematic means in Cuban cooperatives. The case of the province of Pinar del Río

2025-10-30T19:58:46+01:00

The rigorous adoption of electronic and telematic means for the functioning of corporate bodies has become an unavoidable strategic imperative for modern cooperatives. In Cuba, this imperative is mediated by the unique characteristics of its general context and that of its cooperative sector in particular. Based on these premises, this paper analyzes the realities and prospects of the organizational dynamics of cooperatives in Cuba using electronic and telematic means, taking as a reference the current regulatory framework and the experiences developed in the province of Pinar del Río.

Received: 7 July 2025
Accepted: 22 September 2025