Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a El Maizal Commune, Lara state, shaking hands with children, October 20, 2022. Photo: Presidential Press.
On Thursday, October 20, Venezuela celebrated the 10th anniversary of former President Hugo Chávez’s famous “Strike at the Helm” speech that ended with the chant Comuna o Nada (Commune or Nothing), and which many call his political testament. At this year’s celebration, the current president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced the need to urgently begin the process of implementing Venezuela’s communal democratic model by reviewing and improving the laws of People’s Power.
The president, speaking at the El Maizal Commune in Lara state, said, “I believe that we must undertake a new stage, a process of revision and improvement of all the laws of People’s Power. In order to remake and improve all these laws, it is necessary to simplify the organizational formulas so that the people can build their organizational structures from the bottom up.”
He instructed authorities for a review of the organizational structure of the state in order for the government to use it for the construction of communal power. In reference to the economic recovery of Venezuela, after years of illegal US and European blockade and sanctions, he stated, “We have to reinvent ourselves, revolutionize ourselves, be reborn like the phoenix in the very bowels of the homeland.”
The president stressed that “we are in a position to end a cycle and begin anew after 10 years of expansion, work, resistance, organization, economic war, and attempted invasion, to go to a new stage, a new time of transition toward socialism, heading for 2030 or beyond.”
He entrusted this task to the minister of Communes and vice president of the PSUV, Jorge Arreaza. He also called for a thorough review of the public policies which serve the communes.
Presidente @NicolasMaduro: "La Unión Comunera es la articulación de lo filosófico, de lo teórico real, de lo político, transformador en la acción.
La @UnionComunera es una gran fuerza transformadora"#10AñosDelGolpeDeTimónhttps://t.co/61dnXpyZmE
— MPP para las Comunas y los Movimientos Sociales (@ComunasVE_) October 20, 2022
Maduro said, “We have had hard times, especially in 2015, when the far right won the National Assembly and we faced many hardships. From there, they called for sanctions and invasions and set up a parallel government that is now history.”
The president added that as the approach with which the communes were created is no longer the same, the processes must be updated as well.
“The laws of People’s Power were good and achieved their goals, and now we must learn from the past,” he said. “The value of an organization lies in how it acts. We are heading towards a new era.”
Venezuela Swears in Parliamentary Committee for Development of Communes
President Maduro declared the year 2023 as the year of People’s Power in Venezuela. He continued, “The ‘1×10 Nation’ is thinking about grassroots organizing because we are rebuilding ourselves to enter a new stage with strength. I want 2023 to be the year of communal power in Venezuela.”
Since May 20, 2022, Venezuela has been implementing the 1×10 System of Good Government, which emphasizes direct communication between the people and the government through the Patria web service to discuss to everyday issues such as infrastructure, water, health, public services and utilities, safety, and education.
According to data from the Presidency of the Republic, to date, there are around 49,000 communal councils and more than 3,600 communes nationwide.
Financing for the communes
President Maduro reported on the approval of financial resources to build the educational complex of the El Maizal Commune. This complex will incorporate classrooms as well as spaces for recreation and culture.
He announced the approval of 473 self-management projects by the Federal Council of Government, which are to be carried out by communes and communal councils throughout the country.
The president explained that the total amount allocated to projects of communal power in the country exceeds Bs 46 million (approximately $6 million).
During the event dedicated to the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the “Strike at the Helm” speech given by Commander Chávez, President Maduro proclaimed, “Chávez is here, because here are his dreams, his ideas, his hopes, his smile; the great sun of the homeland is here.”
The El Maizal Commune is an example of the active communal struggle on a national scale. It represents the communal organization at the political and productive level, and the space has kept high the flag of communal power since March 5, 2009 when Commander Hugo Chávez proclaimed this space as part of the communal battlefield. That year, he dedicated the November 29 episode of his emblematic program Aló Presidente to highlight the benefits and progress of productive work from the El Maizal Commune.
(Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/DP/KZ
