Venezuela's Bolivarian Circles: National Coordinator Speaks in Philadelphia

<a href=www.phillyimc.org>Read more By John S. James

"Bolivarian circles" -- Venezuela's community groups of about 10 people each -- have grown from zero to over 200,000 groups in the last two years. The national coordinator of these circles explained the movement on March 19, 2003, in Philadelphia.

"Bolivarian circles" are grassroots groups of about 10 people each, focused mainly on local practical needs and with funding from the government. First proposed in 2001, these circles grew so rapidly that there were 2,000 in Venezuela by mid December of that year. By the time the U.S.-supported failed coup occurred almost a year ago there were 75,000 Bolivarian circles; now there are 220,000. The national coordinator of Venezuela's Bolivarian Circles, Rodrigo Cháves, spoke on March 19 at Robin's Bookstore in Philadelphia.

Cháves explained that the main goal of the government, under President Hugo Chávez, is to end the poverty of 80% of the population in the resource-rich country, the world's fourth largest exporter of oil. For example, 90 people a day die of heart disease, 80% of them with no treatment. And indigenous communities have particularly severe problems, with some having a 90% tuberculosis rate and producing no food; the people would die if the state did not give them food.

The circles are only one of various antipoverty initiatives; for example, a microfinance system makes loans directly to women and indigenous people without using intermediaries. There are many other projects to develop agriculture, fishing, construction, and other industries. Chavez said that traditionally, 80% of oil revenues had gone to the public and 20% to the expenses of the oil company. But by 2000, with corporate privatization and outsourcing, 80% of the revenue went to expenses and only 20% to the public. Education, also, is particularly important, especially since most people in the country never had a chance for leadership or meaningful participation in the society, a condition that must change if poverty is to be successfully addressed. Much of the leadership in these movements has been from women.

Rodrigo Cháves admitted that the government had made mistakes while inventing new ways to construct participatory democracy -- a task made difficult by lack of examples in other countries. He suggested that the Bolivarian circles may have grown too rapidly (from zero to over 200,000 in less than two years), and that the emphasis now should be on quality.

The talk was organized on three days' notice, and sponsored by Global Women's Strike and Robin's Bookstore.

Analysis

Venezuela is bitterly divided between the poor majority, mostly people of color, and a mostly white, corporate elite that fears loss of its privileges. Both sides have done very well in mobilizing mass support and getting people out to their demonstrations. Bolivarian circles are seen as part of a permanent mobilization to defend the democratic revolution under President Chávez. But they are not a political party, and focus mainly on practical issues like improving schools, infrastructure, or access to healthcare.

These circles are important because they bring people together for ongoing work on projects they themselves have chosen, with the help of government financial and other support. People get to know each other and learn how to work together, building widespread popular solidarity.

Could Venezuela's Bolivarian circles be a model for grassroots organizing in the United States? Not in the same way, because they depend on government funding that will not be available here. In this country the government overwhelmingly supports big business (and now, selected religions), not popular mass organizing. The U.S. has many nonprofits, but funding realities, excessive paperwork, legal restrictions, limited missions, and entrenched bureaucracies damage their effectiveness. It has a handful of affinity groups, but little organized effort to develop affinity groups as a general social movement, able to help in everyday practical problems (like getting people jobs and healthcare) as well as in demonstrations and civil disobedience.

We can learn from the Bolivarian circle movement that behind the noisy facade of events, the real fight is for widespread public engagement within everyday life. Organizations, movements, and communities become real through ongoing cooperative work on important, self-chosen projects for individual and public good. The key issue is how to build widespread human cooperation without starting with a lot of money.

For More Information

Here are two mainstream U.S. newspaper reports with details of what the movement is, and a more recent overview of Venezuela on Znet:

• The Washington Post, "Venezuela's 'Bolivarian Circles' Get a Direct Line to President," December 4, 2001 www.rose-hulman.edu

• The Christian Science Monitor, "Venezuelans Square Off Over 'Circles'," May 13, 2002 www.csmonitor.com

• Znet Venezuela Watch, "Chavez is On the Offensive: He Does Not Intend to Share the Fate of Salvador Allende or Michael Manley," February 2003 www.zmag.org

For much more information check search engines (such as www.google.com -- we found different viewpoints through that site). Be aware that most media in Venezuela, or coming from that country, is owned and controlled by a corporate elite furiously opposed to the Chavez government, and to the Bolivarian circles.