Venezuelan Youth Build New Ministry through Popular Power
Caracas, September 12th 2011 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – Last Saturday, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez praised the government’s Youth Minister for instigating a democratic and inclusive consultation process, aimed at constructing the country’s newly created Youth Ministry from the bottom-up.
Since being named as minister of the Youth Ministry in June this year, journalist Mari Pili Hernández has organised nation-wide “youth meetings” in order to receive proposals and ideas from Venezuela’s younger generations, who can submit their projects directly.
Entitled “Building the Youthful Motherland”, Hernández stated that the aim of the project was to determine the “reality” of Venezuela’s youth and to construct a “true, participative and protagonistic” ministry. The ideas and projects suggested at the meetings will influence the structure of the recently established ministry and will also be directly incorporated into the ministry’s programme.
“The current plan is really good, the Venezuelan youth have all of my support, these proposals come from popular power, we have to govern by obeying the people, more actions than words,” said Chávez during a telephone call to one of the youth meetings held in Zulia.
During the telephone call, the Venezuelan president also exhorted Venezuela’s youth to mobilise as a political force in order to create a “new” Venezuela and to consolidate the revolutionary project. Chavez told the youth it was necessary to reach out to others of their generation who might be “indifferent” to the political processes currently taking place in Venezuela.
“We have to go for those who don’t understand us very well, with arguments to convince them that the revolution is the way,” continued the president.
Hernández confirmed that teams of delegates from the ministry had now visited 16 states within Venezuela and had received thousands of suggestions from the country’s youth. Over 18,000 proposals were received nationally and more than 1,500 youths participated in the meeting held in the state of Carabobo, confirmed the minister.
“This method is amazing, people can talk and express themselves, we are complete and humanist Venezuelans. We have to go in search of those youths who are resisting participation; we have advanced and started the path of the revolution” said one of the participants in Zulia.
Projects relating to security, culture, recreation, the foundation of socio-productive youth cooperatives and young people who are in “vulnerable” situations – such as drug users – have been the most common at the youth meetings, where participants are organised into work groups in order to discuss and create projects. In Carabobo participants also made proposals which had not yet been considered, including the regulation of the internet and a project to deal with the problem of domestic violence.
“This ministry is being born from below, from the visions that young people have and without bureaucracy,” said Governor Rafael Isea of the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela).
The consultative sessions are due to conclude on September 25th when they will be presented to the public and to Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Youth of United Socialist Party of Venezuela Celebrate 3rd Anniversary
The Youth movement within the PSUV party (JPSUV) also celebrated their 3rd anniversary this Monday, marking the occasion with a rally outside the Miraflores Palace, in support of the revolution and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
Founded in 2008 by over a thousand young activists, the JPSUV currently has around 1.5 million members and plays an important role within Venezuela’s universities. The movement is organised nationally into 14 different “work commissions” including; ideological formation, foreign relations and communication.
Héctor Rodríguez, National Coordinator of the JPSUV stated that the fundamental aim of the organisation was to “dismantle the bourgeois state, in order to construct one which accompanies the people in their struggles, their organisation and the administration of their resources”.
“The party helps us to win elections, but revolutions aren’t just made by winning elections, but rather by accompanying the people in their struggles, and that is what we are called on to do,” added Rodríguez.
Addressing the PSUV youth on their anniversary, president Hugo Chavez told them that they played an essential role in advancing the Bolivarian Revolution.
“You were born during the explosion of the Revolution. We are barely starting along this path. You have your whole lives ahead of you to keep building the youthful motherland…and that has a political and ideological content, which is the Bolivarian socialist project,” stated the president.
As well as the rally outside Miraflores, the JPSUV has organized a series of week-long events, including ideological debates and sporting, cultural and musical events.