The Quiet Revolution: Venezuelans experiment with participatory democracy

[marmar]

from In These Times:




August 6, 2010

The Quiet Revolution
Venezuelans experiment with participatory democracy.

By Andrew Kennis


Selling goods to passersby on the street, Jenny Caraballo describes her local communal council. “Some of our members are homemakers who want their community to be pretty,” Caraballo says while trying to make eye contact with potential clients in 23 de Enero, a barrio popular that is one of many rough areas in Caracas, Venezuela.

The balmy weather southwest of Caracas, in the state of Táchira, does not stop Pedro Hernandez, 77, from playing chess with his retired friends in San Crist—bal’s city square. “Before, the government didn’t help the people,” he says. “Now they give us benefits. “Now there is culture, dance and programs free to the public and organized by our communal council.” Hernandez does his part by organizing chess tournaments.

And in the picturesque mountain town of Merida, Alidio Sosa says: “The councils are a symbol of how the old parties are dead and won’t ever come back—the parties of the past never concerned themselves with the community.”

Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s megalomaniac president who has spearheaded the country’s Bolivarian revolution and garnered so much attention, is not the only one shaking up the country’s political system. A community-based revolution is underway in Venezuela. Ordinary people all over are changing how their communities are governed.

In the past four years, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have been organizing tens of thousands of consejos comunales (communal councils). Each council is composed of about 150 families in urban areas, while in rural and indigenous areas, each council is composed of 20 and 10 families, respectively. The councils are involved in everything from road building and maintenance to cultural activities and events, housing improvements, and providing basic services like water and electricity—all while struggling for the official government recognition that provides the opportunity to get funding for their community projects. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/6202/the_quiet_revolution

[justinaforjustice]

1. Community Councils Are Great for Our Communities.

I'm an American who has been living in Venezuela for the last three years. I live in an apartment complex where there is a very active community council, of which I am a member. Our council not only addresses community problems, such as replacing rusting water pipes, but organizes sports programs for the kids, hand-craft classes for kids and adults, and arranges for government-sponsored Mercals to open shop in our multi-purpose room where you can buy very, very cheap staple foods, such as milk, rice, beans, sugar, chicken and meat.

Decisions about what projects to undertake are decided upon by majority vote at meetings where everyone gets chance to have their say on pressing issues. When the council has decided on its priorities and chosen projects, the government provides experts to assist in planning and carrying out the projects, while needed funding is also government supplied.

Recently, a group of 6 or 7 neighbors arrived at my door bearing big boxes of light bulbs. The community council had undertaken to replace all the apartment complex's incandescent light bulbs with power-saving fluorescent ones. The replacements were free to anyone who wanted them in return for their old bulbs. The new bulbs save money and electricity.

The community councils foster a really friendly and helpful community spirit, not to mention that they educate the community about benefits to which they are entitled, like social security and free medical and dental programs. Several times a year, public health nurses visit the apartment offering free vaccinations for tetanus and flu shots.

From my observations here, Venezuela is a model for real participatory democracy. It's government really cares about not only the needs of its citizens, but their opinions and ideas. The world needs more of this.

[Judi Lynn]

4. It's so great hearing your comments. We get NOTHING but corporate spun crap,

as you know, I'm sure.

Always so interesting, useful, informative.

The things you've mentioned have never been discussed in our supervised content articles from AP, Reuters, as carried in the corporate sources.

We should have all started expecting this years ago when the big papers simply closed their foreign bureaus, leaving only several working. We never would have guessed what was on the way.

That makes your information even more valuable. Thanks, a lot.

[David__77]

2. It's in large part thanks to the "megalomaniac" that this is happening.

There would be no Bolivarian socialist revolution without Chavez. He is the leader and founder. I know a lot of sensitive liberals have a big problem with leadership, but it's a fact and a necessity.

[yurbud]

3. why does someone have to throw the DC spin into an otherwise good article?