Inspired

by the ideas of 18th century Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar,

Venezuela's Bolivarian revolution, led by President Hugo Chavez, has been

shaking up Latin America and the world over the past decade in its struggle for

independence from United States imperialism and for an alternative to rapacious

neo-liberal capitalism.

In 2005,

Chavez declared the aim of the revolution was to build socialism of the 21st

century. This new kind of socialism, he said, would be a "humane socialism''

and emphasise democratic participation.

Direct

democracy and popular participation has certainly flourished in Venezuela, expressed

in a range of organising forms including urban land committees, health

committees, grassroots assemblies, workers' councils and communal councils.

However, many of these developing bodies remain localised or disconnected from

each other, and often come into conflict with the traditional structures of the

capitalist state.

A new but

developing initiative that aims to connect and extend popular participation in

the struggle towards a new political and economic system is the formation of "socialist

communes." Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network member Kiraz Janicke, who is

currently living in Venezuela, spoke to Daniel Sanchez, a leader of the Rebirth

of the South Commune in the city of Valencia, about how the development of "people's

power'' is transforming Venezuela.

Daniel

Sanchez and Yoly Fernandez will be addressing public forums around Australia in

their "People's power speaking tour" during August and September. See the

accompanying advertisement for details.

The idea of the commune

The

formation of the communes in Venezuela comes from a proposal by President

Chavez, Sanchez explained. "We know that the idea of the commune is not new;

communes have existed in the past and exist in various countries today," he

added, pointing to examples such as the Paris Commune in 1871 and forms of

organising by indigenous communities in Latin America.

"But in

Venezuela, we are not copying other models. Our model is constructed by

ourselves, by the people themselves, by the grassroots organisations

themselves, in the specific geographic territories where the commune experience

is being developed."

The

emphasis on experimentation is a key feature of the Bolivarian revolution,

perhaps best encapsulated in an often quoted phrase by Bolivar's teacher Simon

Rodriguez: "We invent, or we err." Sanchez explained that there is no blueprint

for building the communes: "Up until now we have been experimenting."

"We are

part of a national network of communes that we have been developing over the

past two years in collaboration with the Ministry of Participation and Social

Development. Now, a new Ministry of Communes has been created and together with

both ministries we are developing a network of 17 communes nationally."

Commenting

on the relationship between the communes and the traditional state structures,

Sanchez said, "There is a direct relationship with the national executive, but

we are working at the grassroots level to make sure that this relationship is

not one of imposition and control, and that there is a harmonious relationship

of working together."

A key

aspect of this relationship between the popular and communal organisations and

the government, he said, is to facilitate the search for solutions to community

issues, such as housing, transport, crime, poverty and other social problems.

Communes

in urban zones present different challenges to those being built in the

countryside, Sanchez explained. "Most of the experiences [of communes] are in

the countryside. I work in an urban zone, in Valencia, Carabobo [state], one of

the most important cities in the country, and in one of the poorest parishes in

the country, Miguel Pena parish."

One of the

most important challenges in the debate about how to build the communes "is to

make sure the people are incorporated - the popular organisations, the cultural

organisations, and the revolutionary organisations and parties," he said.

There is no

exact number of communal councils or organisations that form a commune. Rather,

Sanchez said, an ongoing discussion is needed about the "best mechanisms to

integrate all the different organisations in the same geographical area, and

the best structure for the people to govern themselves in a commune. The

structure of the communes is fundamentally a socio-political question, which,

of course, has to do with empowering the social bases."

Another

important aspect of the communes, Sanchez said, is "to achieve the equitable

distribution of resources. As President Chavez explained, the ownership of the

means of production has to be in the hands of the commune."

"We want

to show the world what this socialism we are talking about really is," Sanchez

declared. "We are putting it into practice, designing our own forms of communal

government, advancing in our own project so that everyone can participate in

transforming the current reality."

But in

addition to transforming people's material reality, Sanchez argued, it is also

necessary to transform human consciousness in order to achieve socialism.

"We don't

want to transform Venezuela just on a material level; we don't believe the

communes should simply be directed at resolving the material problems of the

communities, such as housing, schools, transport, work, etc. All this is very

important, but what is also important is the transformation of the human being,

the development of human potential."

Therefore,

"the type of structures we create logically have to correspond to the type of

socialism we want to build; that is, a humanistic socialism. We are building

structures based on a social sensibility, a human sensibility, that promotes

solidarity and participation."

Sanchez

believes that "the biggest challenge we face in building a new society has to

do with the construction of the new human being. We need to leave behind

individualism, egoism and consumerism - all the ‘isms' of capitalism."

When asked

what Venezuela and the Bolivarian revolution represents for the world today,

Sanchez replied with one word, "Hope."

"Hope that

a better world is possible," he added.

This

article is from the Australian-Venezuela Solidarity Network broadsheet,

published as a supplement in Green Left Weekly 808. Daniel Sanchez and Yoly

Fernandez will be addressing public forums around Australia in their "People's

power speaking tour'' during August and September. Visit the AVSN site for

details.