February 7, 2007
'Community Councils are the seed of the new society underway'

(Ven-Global News -Ministry of Communication and Information) - "The Venezuelan Minister of Participation and Social Development is a 28-year-old former congressman. He is well-experienced regarding community organization. He's also been a militant in the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV, Spanish acronym). His name is David Velásquez.

Minister Velásquez talks to us about the strategic guidelines in order to move towards the strengthening of Community Power and the development of a policy of social protection, which has to be also followed by other institutions of the Socialist State that we are building.

What does the Ministry you are currently heading have in order to fight poverty and exclusion?

'Today, we have Mission Negra Hipólita, an effort that has been made for a year. The idea is to widen the response capacity; that's the reason why the bus we used to see in the Capital District's streets is now in Vargas state. Likewise, we are seeking that response capability in the rehabilitation areas, and the scholarship programs for children and adolescents. We want this program to be part of a social protection policy articulated with other bodies of the State since all the institutions sharing this function must move towards the same direction. Thus, we can fight against bureaucracy and inefficiency.

In this sense, we seek to create a Bolivarian, integrated system of social protection allowing us to give a response to those people living in the streets and in extreme poverty. Let's recall that President Chávez proposed to turn our country into a territory free of poverty by the year 2011. In order to achieve this, we need a high level articulation and integration.'

Regarding community Councils, are they going to work jointly with mayor's and governor's offices?

'We are proposing that there should be a mechanism of interdependence between the duties of the Constituent Power and the Existing Power. They must not give rise to conflicts or competition. In the times of the representative democracy, there were not ways of transferring functions, activities and resources to the organized communities. The idea is for the Community Councils to be an advanced body of community organization or participatory, leading democracy.

How many Community Councils have been created so far? What are you going to do in order to strengthen them?

'So far, we have 18,000 Community Councils. We have valued them as something positive and we believed that we must accurately identify the current moment in order to move forward, transfer new resources and strengthen the Community Power. We must take measures in the field of training, follow-up, evaluation and control in order to assume new challenges, starting with this ministry in order to create mechanisms of internal participation. We have to be a revolutionary example in the construction of the new institutions facing socialism. In this sense, the Community Councils are a seed of the new society underway. It is about creating new ways of power in the communities.

Likewise, a diagnosis is underway in order to identify the real situation of the 18,000 Community Councils. We have found states where there are more organizations of this kind than in other states; for instance, there are 300,000 Community Councils in Caracas , while Sucre state has 15,000. This diagnosis is carried out by this ministry, together with the institutions comprising the Presidential Commissions for Community and Popular Power.'

Will the Law of Community Councils be reformed?

'Yes. The president has mentioned some guidelines regarding the content of the reform to the Law of Community Councils. The communities have confirmed this; that is to say, this Law was created as the product of popular opinion regarding the reforms to the Law of Local Councils. Actually, there was not a project of the Law of Community Councils; it was created within the framework of debates, public advice, and street parliamentarism. These discussion provided elements regarding how to grow and deepen a permanent mechanism in the Assembly (Special Commission) that usually presented reports on how the Community Councils are created and how they are working.

The reform to the Law is aimed at strengthening the abilities and attributions of Community Power. Our Constitution states that the Constituent Power lies in the people. Popular Power has concrete expressions within the framework of the Constitution; the mechanisms of participation have transversal elements in the Constitution. That's the reason why the Enabling Law must include the Law of Community Councils and a set of laws to strengthen the mechanisms of participatory and leading democracy.'

So, will your office deepen Mission Negra Hipólita and strengthen Community Councils?

'Yes. Community Power is the fifth motor; that's one of the ministry's main guidelines. Now then, regarding social protection (Mission Negra Hipólita) we want to develop a policy of social, integrated, coherent, and articulated protection involving all the bodies accredited to this ministry. That's how we'll overcome the mechanisms we were used to have.

Mission Negra Hipólita is going to be part of this new Bolivarian system of social protection. This social program must rely on responsible people in this field; that's the reason why we'll set progressive goals, thus reaching the entire country'."