July 1st is the International Day of Cooperatives.

Why is the cooperative movement so important to our society? When did workers realize that, through unity, they would gain the strength to compete in the market—whether as individual workers or as family farms?

The movement was the response of a group of workers — most of them weavers — to the increase in unemployment and low wages paid by European companies, after the start of the Industrial Revolution.

It all began in 1844, in the town of Rochdale, near Manchester, in England.

Unable to buy the basics to survive in the region's grocery stores, a group of 28 workers (27 men and one woman) came together to set up their own warehouse.

The proposal was simple, but ingenious: to buy food in large quantity, to secure better prices. Everything purchased would be divided equally among the group.

Then, “Sociedade dos Probos de Rochdale” — the first modern cooperative, which opened its doors guided by moral values ​​and principles considered, to this day, the foundation of cooperativism. Among them are honesty, solidarity, equity, and transparency.

The idea of ​​the 28 pioneers flourished. Four years after its inception, the cooperative already had 140 members. Twelve years later, in 1856, it reached 3,450 members, with share capital that had jumped from £28 to £152,000.

In Brazil, a culture of cooperation has been evident since the era of Portuguese colonization, fostered by civil servants, military personnel, professionals, manual workers, and European immigrants. Officially, the movement began in 1889 in Minas Gerais with the founding of the *Cooperativa Econômica dos Funcionários Públicos de Ouro Preto* (Economic Cooperative of Civil Servants of Ouro Preto), which focused on the consumption of agricultural products. Following this, other cooperatives emerged in Minas Gerais as well as in the states of Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul.

From 1906 onwards, agricultural cooperatives emerged, created by rural producers and immigrants, especially of German and Italian origin. These “Brazilians at heart” brought from their countries of origin their cultural background, associative work and experience of community family activities, which motivated them to organize themselves into cooperatives.

Although there was a movement to spread the cooperative model, few people were informed about the subject. There was a lack of everything—from suitable materials to a representative body that could unite and defend all the cooperatives.

On December 2, 1969, cooperativism gained its own representative entity. On that day, the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) and in the following year, the entity was registered with a notary.

Two years later, Law 5.764/71 regulated the creation of cooperatives by establishing their own legal framework, highlighting the representative role of the OCB (Brazilian Cooperative Organization), but still including some points that partially restricted the autonomy of members. This limitation was overcome by the 1988 Constitution, which prohibited state interference in associations, effectively initiating the... self-management in the cooperative movement.

The Brazilian cooperative movement entered the 21st century with a significant challenge: to be recognized by society for its integrity, competitiveness, and ability to bring joy to people.

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Congratulations to all the cooperatives.