Historical and regulatory development of housing cooperatives in Uruguay
Abstract
In Uruguay, a pioneering figure in the international promotion of housing cooperativism, the planning of the housing sector has always been integrated into a broader economic and social framework. Initially guided by Law 13728 on Housing and later by the current Law 18407 on Cooperatives, along with Decree 183/2018, which elaborates on it, a vital connection has been established between architecture, planning, sociology, economics, and law. This interdisciplinary approach aims to coordinate a nationwide policy for the physical development of population centres in harmony with the entire territory, all through comprehensive Economic and Social Development plans. These public policies, in collaboration with the collective will of the people, aim to influence the urban fabric, services, and essential infrastructures. Housing cooperatives, particularly those that retain ownership of housing complexes through mutual aid or prior savings, play a crucial role in addressing inequalities, combating poverty and exclusion, and promoting a more democratic, just, and supportive society. This article traces the historical and regulatory evolution of this sector, beginning with the thoughts and works of Juan Pablo Terra, and examining the background of housing cooperatives under Law 13728. It then moves to the present context, shaped by Law 18407 on Cooperatives and Decree 183/2018. Ultimately, this historical study highlights how Uruguayan cooperativism continues to be an international model for ensuring access to decent housing from a social perspective.
Received: 15 February 2025
Accepted: 28 February 2025
Downloads
References
AA.VV. 2008. Una historia con quince mil protagonistas. Las cooperativas de vivienda por ayuda mutua uruguayas, NAHOUM, B.(coord.), 2.ª edición (1.ª edición, 1999), Montevideo-Sevilla.
ARISTONDO, L. 2003. «Cooperativismo, autoayuda y autogestión: Una alternativa uruguaya para la vivienda de interés social», Scripta Nova, Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, vol. VII, número 146, Barcelona.
ARISTONDO, L. 2005. «La legislación de la vivienda popular en el Uruguay del siglo XX», Scripta Nova, Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, vol. IX, núm. 194, Barcelona.
BUDUSSIAN, P. & GONZÁLEZ, M. 2015. Cooperativas de vivienda de ahorro mutuo. Aproximación a las lógicas de integración y gestión para su inserción urbana — Estudio de casos (tesina), Universidad de la República.
CABRERA, M. 2018. «Cooperativas de vivienda: experiencia en Uruguay», Revista Vasca de Economía Social, núm. 15, Bilbao, págs. 259-271.
CAZERES, J.L. 2008. «La base jurídica», Una historia con quince mil protagonistas. Las cooperativas de vivienda por ayuda mutua uruguayas, NAHOUM, B.(coord.), 2.ª edición (1.ª edición, 1999), Montevideo-Sevilla, págs. 34-45.
CENTRO COOPERATIVISTA URUGUAYO. 2016. Dinámica Cooperativa, n.º 126 (monográfico dedicado al cooperativismo de vivienda de vivienda), Montevideo.
Confederación Uruguaya de Entidades Cooperativas http://www.cudecoop.coop.
Federación de Cooperativas de Viviendas https://fecovi.coop.
Federación Uruguaya de Cooperativas de Vivienda por Ayuda Mutua https://www.fucvam.org.uy.
GONZÁLEZ, G. 2013. Una historia de FUCVAM, Montevideo.
GONZÁLEZ, G. 2016. «Un ejemplo de cooperación Sur-Sur. A trece años de la expansión del ‘Modelo FUCVAM’ en Centroamérica», Vivienda Popular, n.º 28 (Cooperativismo de vivienda: de un medio siglo al siguiente), Montevideo, págs. 40-47.
GUERRA, P. & REYES LAVEGA, S. 2020. «Ley de Economía Social y Solidaria en Uruguay: texto y contexto», CIRIEC-España, Revista Jurídica de Economía Social y Cooperativa, núm. 37, págs. 53-80.
HARVEY, D. 2012. Ciudades rebeldes. Del derecho de la ciudad a la revolución urbana, Madrid.
HENRIQUE, F. 2017. Cooperativismo de moradia em montevidéu e autogestáo habitacional no Rio de Janeiro. As bases sociais, políticas e económicas da produçao social do hábitat na América Latina (tesis doctoral), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
INSTITUTO HUMANISTA CRISTIANO JUAN PABLO TERRA. 2018. Vivienda, Familia, Comunidad, Territorio. JUAN PABLO TERRA, Montevideo.
Instituto Nacional del Cooperativismo https://www.inacoop.org.uy/.
MARTÍ, J.P. 2023. «Una propuesta de caracterización del cooperativismo uruguayo», Deusto Estudios Cooperativos, n.º 21 (El desarrollo del cooperativismo uruguayo), Bilbao, págs. 17-43.
MERINO, S. 2024. Cooperativa de vivienda. De la experiencia internacional a la realidad en España y su particular concreción en la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco (tesis doctoral), Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.
MORENO, A. 2018. Cooperativismo de vivienda. En la construcción de ciudad, Montevideo.
NAHOUM, B. 2008. «De la autoconstrucción individual a las cooperativas pioneras», Una historia con quince mil protagonistas. Las cooperativas de vivienda por ayuda mutua uruguayas, NAHOUM, B.(coord.), 2.ª edición (1.ª edición, 1999), Montevideo-Sevilla, págs. 23-34.
OSTRUM, E. 1990. Goberning the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge.
REYES, S. 2023. «La legislación cooperativa en Uruguay», Deusto Estudios Cooperativos, n.º 21 (El desarrollo del cooperativismo uruguayo), Bilbao, págs. 45-82.
SOLANAS, M. 2016. Las cooperativas de vivienda uruguayas como sistema de producción social del hábitat y autogestión de barrios. Del sueño de la casa apropiada a la utopía de la ciudad apropiable, (tesis doctoral), Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla.
TORRETI, M. ET AL. 2014. Incidencia del Cooperativismo en la economía nacional. Elaboración de informes sobre los tres sectores estratégicos: Informe del sector de cooperativas de vivienda, Montevideo.
Copyright (c) 2025 University of Deusto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The authors, by submitting their manuscripts to the International Association of Cooperative Law Journal, accept the conditions listed below on copyright and undertake to comply with them.
1. Assignment of rights
The Publisher (University of Deusto) retains the copyright for this publication.
The authors, by submitting their manuscripts to the International Association of Cooperative Law Journal (BAIDC), without signing any document of assignment, grant to the Publisher (University of Deusto), royalty-free, the distribution, public communication, and reproduction rights of their work subject of publication in the International Association of Cooperative Law Journal (BAIDC), whichever the media may be, now known or developed in the future, for educational and scholarly purposes including the permission to include it in the databases where this Journal is indexed.
2. Authorship
The authors must be the sole creators of the work or legally acting on behalf of and with the full agreement of all the co-authors.
The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the manuscript, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and have agreed to its submission for publication in the Journal.
In order to avoid the risk of ghostwriting or fictive/purloined authorship it is advisable that before the document is submitted all authors agree upon their contributions and upon the order in which they will appear on the list of co-authors.
Authors warrant that no permissions or licences of any kind have been granted or will be granted that might infringe the rights granted to the Publisher (University of Deusto).
The authors assume the responsibility for obtaining all the necessary licences for the reproduction in their manuscripts of any text, material or illustration coming from another author, institution or publication.
3. Copyright and Code of conduct
Authors warrant that their work is original; has not been previously copyrighted or published in any form; is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; its submission and publication do not violate the Ethical Guidelines of the BAIDC and any codes (of conduct), laws or any rights of any third party.
4. Dissemination under Open Access regime
Upon its publication, the content of any Issue of International Association of Cooperative Law Journal (BAIDC), can be accessed, read, downloaded, copied, and distributed freely for non-commercial purposes, without prior permission from the Publisher or the author; provided the original work is properly cited and any changes to the original are clearly indicated.
5. Reuse of the article by the authors
Authors retain the right to present, display, distribute, develop, and republish their work, as long as they clearly indicate in the first footnote that the work was published in International Association of Cooperative Law Journal (BAIDC), for the first time, indicating the Issue number, year, pages, and DOI (if applicable).
Legal notice
Any use of the content of the paper against the rules set above in any medium or format, now known or developed in the future, requires prior written permission of the copyright holder.
The liabilities that may arise from complaints for publishing plagiarised articles are the sole responsibility of the authors.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
1.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
