History of Cooperativism

In this section you will find a summary with some of the most relevant milestones of the cooperative movement in Catalonia.

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Full timeline

1842

In Catalonia, proto-cooperative experiences begin, such as the Companyia Fabril de Teixidors a Mà of Barcelona, a factory with 200 workers driven by the weavers’ society.

1864

Constitution of the first workers’ cooperative, L’Obrera Mataronina.

1865

Foundation of L’Econòmica de Palafrugell and La Companyia de Canet de Mar, the first existing Catalan consumer cooperatives, which adopted the Rochdale model.

Year 1926. The cooperative Econòmica de Palafrugell (Econòmica Palafrugellenca) is, together with La Companyia de Canet de Mar, the first Catalan consumer cooperative (1865) that adopted the Rochdale model. Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC).

1887

Approval of the Associations Law, which provided an initial legal framework – although general – for the legal recognition of cooperatives.

1888

The Agricultural Society of Valls is born as a resistance society of modest peasants against landowners. It would become the first legalized agricultural cooperative.

Agricultural Society and Credit Section of Valls. Founded in 1888.

1895

Creation of the International Cooperative Alliance, which adopted the Rochdale principles, adding mutual aid and self-help.

1898

The first assembly of Catalan cooperatives is held at La Bienhechora in Badalona, with thirty-seven delegates, where a regional committee is appointed. This Assembly led to the creation, in 1899, of the Regional Chamber of Catalan-Balearic Cooperatives, an economic body for the articulation of the cooperative movement, and the celebration of the First Cooperative Congress.

Headquarters of La Bienhechora at the end of the 19th century, in an image published in the weekly El Badalonés. La Bienhechora was founded in 1874, and in 1899 hosted the first assembly of Catalan cooperatives. Weekly “El Badalonés”, (1894-1899).

1902

The first cooperative school is founded, La Regeneradora de Llagostera.

1911

Legislation on cheap housing is enacted, promoting the construction of about 700 cooperative homes and 2,552 public ones.

1920

Constitution of the new Federation of Cooperatives of Catalonia, replacing the old Chamber created in 1899.

1939

Abolition of cooperative legislation and confiscation of cooperative assets.

1980

With the restoration of democracy, the different representative organizations of cooperativism and the cooperatives progressively resume their activity.

1983

The Law of Cooperatives of Catalonia is approved, the first in Spain, which remained in force until 2002.
Constitutional Assembly of the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia. Year 1983.

1990

Approval of the Law on the Fiscal Regime of Cooperatives, Law 20/1990, of December 19, recognizing certain tax benefits for cooperatives given their special associative characteristics and social function.

2001

Publication of the White Paper on the Social Economy of Catalonia.

2017

The Parliament of Catalonia unanimously approves Law 7/2017, of June 2, on the regime of credit sections of cooperatives, which notably includes the creation of the Cooperative Fund to support credit sections.

2022

From 2016 to 2022, 46% more cooperatives were created in Catalonia than in the previous seven years. This increase raised the total number of Catalan cooperatives to 4,566. Thus, Catalonia leads the ranking of cooperativism in Spain, in terms of number of initiatives, accounting for 19% of the national total.

2024

We celebrate 125 years of the organized cooperative movement with the campaign “People. Planet. Purpose” represented in 4 murals by Reskate Estudios located in Valls, Maldà, Palafrugell and Mataró. Also, a congress at the Barcelona Conference Center gathers over 1,000 people to commemorate that, within the framework of the 1899 cooperative congress, the first cross-sectoral and national representative entity was created. In October, a musical concert gathers more than 10,000 people in Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona.

Mural “People, planet, purpose” by Reskate Studio in the year of the commemoration of 125 years of organized cooperativism in Catalonia. Dani Pujalte / Quepo. Mataró. Year 2024.