Venezuelan Communal Councils

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In April 2006 the Government of Venezuela passed The Law of Communal Councils (consejos comunales) which empowers local citizens to form neighbourhood-based elected councils that initiate and oversee local policies and projects towards community development. Many Communal Councils became colectivos after they were armed by the Venezuelan government. [1]

Government of Venezuela

Venezuela is a federal presidential republic. The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly.

Colectivo (Venezuela) community organization in Venezuela, sometimes armed, that supports the Government of Venezuela and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela with their Bolivarian Revolution.

Colectivos are irregular, leftist Venezuelan community organizations that support Nicolás Maduro, the Bolivarian government, the Great Patriotic Pole (GPP) political alliance and the party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Colectivo has become an umbrella term for armed paramilitary groups that operate in poverty-stricken areas and attack individuals, engaging in "extortion, kidnapping, drug trafficking and murder". They are associated with extrajudicial killings and terrorizing those who disagree with them.

Contents

Over 19,500 [2] councils were registered throughout the country and billions of dollars have been distributed to support their efforts by the Bolivarian government.

Structure

Communal councils are a group of elected persons from a self-defined residential neighbourhood of about 150 to 400 families in urban areas, or closer to 20 families in rural areas, and potentially 10 in indigenous communities. [3] The principal decision making body of a communal council is the citizens' assembly. The formal functioning committee is composed of the following five units: [3]

All council persons are people within the community elected by the citizens' assembly for a period of 2 years. No person can occupy positions in more than one unit at time.

Unit of social oversight

The Unit of Social Oversight is a group of five community members elected by the Citizens' Assembly. They are an independent group who monitor and report on the application of council resources and activities towards the community development plan. They are also known as the Anti-corruption Unit. [4]

Community Coordination Collective

The Community Coordination Collective (composed of one elected spokesperson from the Executive Body, Financial Management Unit & Anti-Corruption Unit respectively) is charged with galvanizing community organization, informing and training community members, and coordinating with the local militia reserves.[ citation needed ]

Present situation

Eight months after the law was passed, over 16,000 councils had already formed throughout the country. [5] 12,000 of them had received funding for community projects – $1 billion total, out of a national budget of $53 billion. [6] The councils had established nearly 300 communal banks, which have received $70 million for micro-loans. [7]

As of March 2007 19,500 councils were registered. [8] The law of Communal Councils was last reaffirmed and updated in November 2009. [9]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Venezuela: A Mafia State?. Medellin, Colombia: InSight Crime. 2018. pp. 3–84.
  2. ↑ Últimas Noticias (5 March 2007)"Minpades registra 19 mil 500 consejos comunales".
  3. 1 2 "The Special Law on Communal Councils". Global Exchange . 29 November 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Organo de Contraloria Social" [Body for Social Comptrollership] (in Spanish). Community Council "La Horqueta" San Fernando de Apure, Venezuela. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Wynter, Coral & Jim McIlroy (2006) “Marta Harnecker: Venezuela's experiment in popular power,” Green Left Weekly, issue #693, 6 December 2006.
  6. ↑ El Universal (2006) “Fides entregó más de un billón para consejos comunales,” El Universal, 6 December 2006. Fox, Michael (2006) “Venezuela’s Secret Grassroots Democracy,” Venezuelanalysis.com, 28 November.
  7. ↑ Ultimas Noticias (2006) “Bancos comunales satisfacen necesidades de crédito,” Ultimas Noticias, November 11.
  8. ↑ Últimas Noticias 5 March 2007 >
  9. ↑ Venezuelanalysis.com (25 November 2009) "Venezuela’s Reformed Communal Council Law Aims at Increasing Participation" Suggett, James
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