gabriel's blog

A week and a half has now passed since my visit to Fundo Comun and things have moved frustratingly slowly. To revoke the mandates of all those currently holding elected positions in the council and start again cleanly we need to call a Citizen's Assembly, yet for this assembly to be legally binding more than 20% of the population over 15 to attend.

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Criticisms are frequently made that, but for Hugo Chávez, the Bolivarian project lacks leaders. Yesterday the President himself explained that part of the need for the proposed amendment, which would remove term limits for elected officials, is that he is essential to the unity of the revolution. Without him he suggested that there would be a fragmentation within the revolutionary party, the PSUV, indicating a clear lack of alternative leadership.

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Creation? No, Re-activation

My neck aches as I stand, stooped under the sagging roof of the packed bus to Fundo Comun, the local branch of the Local Presidential Commission for Popular Power. It is two days after the head of our building, J, told us of the old Community Council in La Independencia and we need to find out what currently exists in the community to discover what work remains to be done. It is three o'clock, Tuesday.

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He is weary, but excitement kindles in his eyes as he starts to recount his last struggle to create a Community Council.

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