Acceso usuarios
Hagen Henrÿ
Bajo la actual ley de competencia, las cooperativas, cuya naturaleza limita sus posibilidades de financiamiento, operan democráticamente y el capital no es su principal factor de producción ni los retornos financieros sobre su inversión su principal objetivo, tienen una desventaja competitiva frente a las entidades de capital. Apelando al principio de trato igualitario, los legisladores armonizan los marcos legales cooperativos nacionales para equiparar las cooperativas con las entidades de capital, en su estructura financiera y operacional, pero este alineamiento es necesario solo hasta cierto punto, pues se corre el riesgo de perder sus características distintivas.
Hay que evitar que el modelo de entidades de capital sea el criterio para todo tipo de empresa, para ello: a) debe recuperarse y preservarse, donde sea necesario, el carácter distintivo de la cooperativa a la par que se fortalece la competitividad de la misma, y b) debe protegerse la diversidad cultural, incluso en el campo del derecho. No es necesario homogeneizar el derecho cooperativo, y menos, alinearlo con el derecho de las entidades de capital.
Hay que desarrollar leyes cooperativas específicas que reflejen su medio cultural pero sin salirse del marco de los valores y principios cooperativos, que aunque no son reglas legales, sí son principios que guían a los legisladores.
Under the present law of competition, as cooperatives by nature have limited possibilities of obtaining external funding, operate democratically, do not have capital as their main factor of production nor financial returns on their investments as their main objective, they are at a competitive disadvantage compared to capital-based organizations. Appealing to the principle of equal treatment, legislators are harmonizing national legal frameworks for cooperatives to put them on the same footing as capital-based companies as regards their financial and operational structure. However, this alignment is only necessary up to a point, as there is a danger that they may lose their distinctive characteristics.
The capitalist company model should not be allowed to become the criterion for every kind of company, consequently: a) the cooperative’s distinctive character should be recovered and preserved wherever necessary, while strengthening its competitiveness; b) cultural diversity should be protected, even in the field of the law. Cooperative society law does not need to be homogenized, still less to be aligned with capital-based company law.
Specific laws for cooperatives should be drawn up, reflecting their cultural background but remaining within the framework of the cooperative values and principles. Although these are not legal rules, they are guiding principles for legislators.
