Here, one can find basic information about the terms and concepts that are most widely utilized in the field of popular cooperativism.

Audit Committee:
This is the body responsible for the supervision of the cooperative’s management, with the power to call general meetings whenever it finds something that needs to be brought to the attention of the cooperative members. It is the audit committee that monitors the finances and administration of the cooperative, approves the annual rendering of accounts, and ensures compliance with the decisions of the ordinary and extraordinary general meetings, as well as guiding the supervisory board and/or executive board regarding the correct procedures to be followed. The audit committee is comprised of cooperative members, elected at a general meeting. Its members cannot be directly related to any member of the cooperative’s management. The number of committee members and their term in office are both defined in the cooperative’s by-laws. It is advisable that the mandate should coincide with that of the executive board members and that the election of the members of both should occur simultaneously.

By-Laws Extraordinária:
These represent one of the basic legal instruments for setting up a cooperative, and comprise the set of regulations governing the cooperative’s administrative structure and operations, as well as defining the rights and duties of the members. The cooperative’s by-laws are determined by the whole body of its members, and must be prepared before the company can be set up, as they form an integral part of that process. Grounded in the wishes and culture of the group, the by-laws must specify the objectives of the cooperative, the rules governing the choice of its management, their term in office, the functions of the various administrative bodies, the punishment for deviant behavior, and the methods for judging cases, and any other guidelines necessary to the effective functioning of the enterprise.

Cooperatives:
These are economic enterprises formed by the voluntary association of individuals, with a view to providing mutual support in their activities. These organizations are democratically controlled and run by their members, who assume, on an equal basis, the risks and benefits arising from the undertaking. Cooperatives are both associations of individuals and economic entities, whose purpose is the satisfaction of the needs of their members and the promotion of citizenship.

Cooperativism:
This is an ideology created by workers and intellectuals in Europe, in the mid-19th century, within the context of the struggle against exploitation by the capitalist system that was being implemented at the time. More than a system of production or organization of labor, its originators saw it as a new model for society, in which equality among humans, freedom and self-government would form the basic elements. Through democratic and participative economic organizations (cooperatives), they sought to build a different economic process, based on labor and the equitable distribution of surpluses. Beyond the economic aspects, the cooperativist culture is characterized by social-mindedness, mutual assistance and the search for autonomy in the promotion of development.

Ethics Committee:
An important instrument of democratic management, the ethics committee, together with the audit committee, enables the cooperative members to constantly monitor the administration of the cooperative. The role of the ethics committee is to resolve issues of behavior and conflicts involving the management or individual members, as they arise, thereby ensuring the smooth running of the cooperative’s activities. The committee is made up of cooperative members, elected at a general meeting, and the number of full and substitute members and their term in office is defined in the cooperative’s by-laws. The committee may be summoned by the executive board or by cooperative members whenever there is a case to be examined. Its principal function is to judge cases related to the ethical and disciplinary behavior of the members. The objective is to guide the executive board when addressing situations where the cooperative’s by-laws or internal regulations have not been respected by members, and to recommend suitable punishment. To this end, it is essential that the ethics committee be included in the by-laws of the cooperative, since it is not an obligatory body, under the present legislation.

Extraordinary General Meeting:
An extraordinary general meeting may be held whenever this is deemed necessary and is an important administrative instrument, enabling matters of urgency to be handled with due alacrity. Topics that merit special attention, such as alterations to the by-laws; a change of cooperative purpose; mergers, takeovers or the breaking up of the cooperative; the voluntary dissolution of the cooperative and appointment of the liquidators; and the liquidators’ accounts are all the exclusive preserve of the EGM. However, the EGM may deliberate any topic, of interest to the cooperative, as long as it is mentioned in the notice calling the members to attend.

General Meeting:
This represents the pinnacle of the cooperative hierarchy, responsible for the enterprise’s decision making. Decisions taken at a general meeting must be obeyed by all cooperative members, even those who were not present and/or disagree with them, since the collective interest must always prevail. A general meeting may be called by the chairman of the cooperative, by any of the administrative bodies named in the by-laws of the cooperative, by the audit committee, or, following an unheeded call, by 1/5 of the cooperative’s members (article 38, paragraph 2 of Law no 5,764/71). A general meeting must be called at least 10 days before the set date, by means of notices posted in suitable locations at the premises most commonly frequented by the members, publication in a daily newspaper and through circulars sent to each of the members (article 38, paragraph 1 of Law no 5,764/71). For a quorum to be formed, at the first summons, a minimum of 2/3 of the members must be present; at the second summons, 50% of the members plus one; and at the third and final summons, no fewer than 10 members (article 40, clauses I, II and III of Law no 5,764/71). The second and third summonses will only occur if these are provided for in the by-laws of the cooperative and specified in the notice calling the general meeting, allowing an interval of not less than one hour between each summons. A general meeting may be ordinary or extraordinary.

Individual Quota:
This is the part that each cooperative member contributes to the injection of capital for the cooperative, and represents their financial shareholding in the enterprise. When a member is unable to contribute prior to the setting up of the cooperative, the resources may be paid in through monthly contributions, starting from receipt of the first remuneration from the undertaking.

Internal Regulations:
These are complementary to the by-laws and represent one of the instruments governing the management of the cooperative. The internal regulations must specify, in detail, the cooperative’s activities and its various bodies, as well as the norms that regulate them. They should be prepared in a manner similar to that of the by-laws.

Ordinary General Meeting:
An ordinary general meeting is held, obligatorily, at least once a year, within three months of the end of the previous fiscal year. It is here that deliberations take place regarding topics such as: the approval of the accounts presented by the administrative bodies; the allocation of financial surpluses or the apportioning of losses; the election and investiture of the members of the boards and audit committee, at the end of the previous term in office; the determining of the fees paid to members of the boards and audit committee, should they receive such remuneration; and other matters of interest to the cooperative. The location, time and date, as well as the subjects to be discussed at the OGM must be widely publicized among the cooperative members, using the same methods as for announcing a general meeting.

Popular Cooperativism:
A labor movement formed by individuals from economically excluded sectors, the unemployed and those working in the unofficial or ‘informal’ economy. With the common objective of social mobility and change, these individuals see association in cooperatives as an opportunity to organize themselves, to gain access to work and to attain the basic rights of citizenship. Popular cooperativism is characterized by the principle of cooperation, the practice of self-government and the forming of alliances against social exclusion. More than a subsistence model of economic organization, this is a movement struggling to change reality and build a model of development that addresses the structural causes of poverty.

Self-Government:
The basic principle of cooperativism, the concept of self-government means control of the cooperative by its members. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the decisions, directing, management and assets of a cooperative are the responsibility of those members, as well as on the essentially democratic and participative nature of the cooperativist administration, in which all the members should be involved, electing their representatives to the administrative, supervisory and ethical bodies and participating in the decision making through general meetings. This is a management model that is capable of involving all the workers in the enterprise’s decision making process, stimulating the daily practice of citizenship, seen as well considered political actions seeking to benefit the individual and the collective interest.

Technological Incubators of Popular Cooperatives (ITCPs):
These are institutions dedicated to providing support to groups of workers during the process of setting up a popular cooperative, helping in matters such as access to the market, the preparation of projects, defining the product and process, the training and supervising of cooperative members, administration, planning, accounting, and other areas that are important to the consolidation of the enterprise. Their working methodology is based on cooperativist counseling and education.