The first part of this chapter introduces the concept of the solidary economy, referring to its origins and evolution, and constrasts it with the dominant mode of capitalist production. It discusses the abandonment of self-management by many cooperatives in which the workers that operate them become wage earners.

The second part of the chapter presents in a much more extended fashion the recent rebirth of the solidary economy in Brazil, examining its different modalities. The first is the creation of solidary ventures from capitalist firms that are either in crisis or bankrupt and which are taken over by their own employees with the aid of unions and specialized entities such as the National Association of Workers in Self-Management Firms (Associação Nacional de Trabalhadores em Empresas de Autogestão) and Unisol. The chapter examines the case of Conforja, a large foundry which was taken over by four worker cooperatives. «

The second modality is the creation of different kinds of cooperatives in the agrarian reform settlements established by the MST - Movement of Landless Rural Workers. The chapter examines the difficulties of the cooperatives in three settlements in the state of Paraná since the end of the 1980s.

The third modality is the formation of cooperatives based on the organization of unemployed people and socially excluded workers by Caritas (an entity of the National Council of Bishops of Brazil [Conselho Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil]), by Citizens' Action against Poverty and for Life (Ação da Cidadania Contra a Miséria e pela Vida), and by Technological Incubators of Popular Cooperatives (Incubadoras Tecnológicas de Cooperativas Populares), which is connected to different Brazilian universities.

Finally, the chapter examines the option for the solidary economy by CUT, the largest union federation in the country, which resulted in the establishment of the Agency for Solidary Development (Agência de Desenvolvimento Solidário) and of the CRESOL system, a network of rural credit unions in rapid expansion in the South of Brazil.