jdhoch
26th June 2012, 05:13
Hato Arriba, like many of the agrarian caserios in this part of Venezuela, is an example of the kind of 21st century socialism that the government of Hugo Chavez has been promoting since 2005.
With one major dirt road that traverses its modest geography, Hato Arriba is home to no less than ten community councils grassroots organizations of popular democracy created by the Chavez administration to facilitate greater access to political power for the countrys population.
Since about seven years ago, one of the advances that weve seen from the revolutionary process is the decentralization of power through the formation of community councils. Were seeing a break with the model where the [urban centers] control development. There is a new kind of horizontalism where every space has its own importance, particularities and necessities,
In the case of Hato Arriba, the Commune in Construction is attempting to join together with six other nearby settlements in order to amplify residents voice, satisfy local needs, and achieve greater autonomy from the bureaucratic structures that can obstruct progressive change at the regional level.
This, according to Bastia, is the final objective of the communes foster local, democratic self-governance that empowers communities and lessens the role of the state over time.
MORE
http://www.systemiccapital.com/building-the-socialist-commune-in-rural-venezuela/