Connie Eldridge

1
Communal Councils within Venezuela

• Connie Eldridge
• Donnie Welch
• Jack Grossman
• Andrew Macias

2
History of Communal Councils

• 1980s, Venezuela began a process to decentralize
  some governmental powers
• Mayoral elections and the handing over new
  responsibilities to local governments.
• Chávez was elected president in 1998, and he
  continued to decentralize governmental power, he
  changed the emphasis of the process.
• He called for transferring power not to local
  government, but directly to popular movements.
• Bolivarian Circles were formed
• Were officially autonomous, but were closely
  linked the government which they were supportive
  of.
• At Chávezs behest, the Bolivarian Circles were
  mostly succeeded by Electoral Battle Units
  (UBEs), which mobilized the pro-Chávez vote for
  elections.

3
History of Communal Councils

• Article 182 of the Constitution established the
  Law of Local Public Planification Councils
  (CLPPs)
• Required that the 335 municipalities implement
  them by the 12th of October, 2002. Gave citizens,
  politicians, and bureaucrats the ability to
  collaborate at the city level to address local
  problems.
• Councils were composed of a mayor, governor,
  members of the city council, as well as
  representatives of neighborhood organizations and
  general citizens
• 2005 most of the Local Public Planning Councils
  had become stifled by bureaucracy and dominated
  by politicians

4
History of Communal Councils

• In April 2006, the Venezuelan government passed
  the Law on Communal Councils
• The Communal Councils Law called for the councils
  to decide their own geographic limits, but also
  follow a detailed set of guidelines.
• The law aimed to expand participation in the
  democratic process by the masses

5
Structure Of Communal Councils

• Group of elected people from a self-defined
  residential neighborhood of about 150-400
  families in urban areas, or 20 families in rural
  areas, and potentially 10 in indigenous
  communities
• Principal decision making body is the citizens
  assembly

6
Structure Continued

• Formal functioning is composed of following 5
  units
• Executive Body
• Financial Management
• Unit of Social Oversight (Anti-corruption)
• Community Coordination Collective
• All council members are elected by the citizens
  assembly for a period of 2 years.

7
Citizens Assembly

• All members within the defined community above
  the age of 15 can participate in citizens
  assemblies
• Power to elect and revoke community spokespeople
  to the communal council
• Assembly elections are done directly and in
  secret
• Other decisions are done by majority of raised
  hands
• Meetings are 2-6 hour public events often held
  outdoors in the streets
• Attendance from the community varies from 50-150
  citizens
• Frequency of assemblies also vary from weekly to
  once a month

8
Executive Body

• Consists of
• One elected spokesperson from each work committee
  or community organization
• One elected spokesperson from each of any defined
  micro-neighborhoods
• One elected spokesperson from any formed
  commissions
• (no formal hierarchy exists among spokespeople)
• Examples of work committees and community
  organizations within a communal council include
  (but are not limited to)
• Land committees Health committees Cultural
  groups Sports clubs Water boards Energy
  boards Transportation organizations
  Environmental groups

9
Financial Management Unit

• Group of 5 community members elected by the
  Citizens Assembly
• Group is responsible for administrating financial
  and non-financial resource generated, allocated,
  or awarded to the council.
• Promote the creation of cooperatives for local
  development projects, and drive efforts towards
  the participatory budget and prioritizing of
  community necessities
• They support local economies, micro-financing,
  provide social assistance resources and present
  accounts when requested

10
Unit of Social Oversight

• Group of 5 community members elected by the
  Citizens Assembly
• Independent group who monitor and report on the
  application of council resources and activities
  towards the community development plan
• Also known as the Anti-corruption Unit

11
Community Coordination Collective

• Made up of the community organization
• Informs and trains community members
• Coordinates with the local community-based
  militias, or army reserves.

12
Funding Communal Councils

• Individual Councils apply separately for funds
• The request is first sent to the local
  municipality for review
• As of 2007 there were 19,500 councils registered
• It is then sent to the Presidential Commission of
  Popular Power, which will give projects the
  go-ahead as long as they are legally valid
• The money is then delivered by the
• Gabinetes Moviles considered by Chavez to be the
  most influential piece of the Bolivarian
  Revolution as they sustain the modernization of
  the councils dedicated to the sustainable
  development of the nation.
• This Commission is lead by a number of
  governmental ministers hand picked by Chavez

13
Funding Communal Councils

• Funding for councils can come from national,
  state, or city governments
• Funding also comes from councils own fundraising
  or from donations
• The funds are managed by an elected Financial
  Management Unit
• Financial Management Unit
• Group of five community leaders elected by the
  Citizens Assembly
• Citizens Assembly monitor and report on the
  application of council resources
• Responsible for financial and non-financial
  resources allocated
• They support local economies
• Unit of Social Oversight group of five community
  members elected by Citizens Assembly
• An independent group who report on the
  application of council resources geared toward a
  community development plan
• Originally councils could apply for up to 14,000
  in funding per project
• The funding limit has now increased to 28,000
  for second-time applicants
• Nearly 300 communal banks have been established,
  which have received 70 million in loans (as of
  2007)

14
Comparisons to Other Examples of Community
Governance

• Most similar to a tribal or community meeting
  within small rural communities
• Exclusive to tiny communities though
• Communal councils are apparent throughout a
  larger spectrum
• Has similar attributes of town meeting
• Discussion and voting on important topics within
  the community
• Communal councils meet more regularly than the
  town meeting model
• Communal council is an overall blend of many
  different ideologies revolving around political
  input

15
Present situation regarding Communal Councils

• Eight months after the law pass, approximately 16
  thousand councils formed within the country
• 12 thousand of the groups received funding
  projects
• By March 2007, there was an estimated 19,500
  councils registered.
• As of April 2007 a majority of the groups are in
  the process of establishing a legitimate group by
  registering their official documents, electing
  spokespersons, and formalizing their structure
  according to the new law

16
Future of the Communal Councils

• Critics believe that the councils will be used
  as a means of Chavezs political control
• Depends on Chavezs hold on them
• Opposition groups to Chavez attempting to use
  them for their own advantage
• Opposition won a third of vote and are becoming
  interested in communal councils
• Thoughts also persist that the councils will
  establish their own political identity
• Demands for more say within funding rules and
  powers
• The council may reinvent the participatory
  government style that Chavez attempted to use for
  his advancement

http//venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2257 http//l
inks.org.au/node/231
17
Questions for Consideration

• What do you think the future holds for communal
  councils?
• Do you think that communal councils are just an
  extension of Chavezs power or that they actually
  play a dominant role within the government?