Financing Venezuela’s Communal Councils

[The survival of the community councils depends on their ability to implement meaningful development projects and thereby inspire participation. The embedding of funding in law independent of hydrocarbons revenues is therefore made especially important given declining oil money, which make further ad hoc transfers less likely and shrink existing council income.]

Financing Venezuela’s Communal Councils

December 29th 2008, by George Gabriel

Peering through the metal gate she asks me again, "Why do you want a Community Council? What is the reason?" The simplest response, that we want to improve our community has twice already failed to convince. The truth is I never expected to be really questioned as to "why", and though reasons race through my head, each appears less likely than the last to persuade such a staunch supporter of the Venezuelan opposition.

The truth is that alongside the thousands of councils[1] there already exist all sorts of neighbourhood organisations that do function; ours has arranged security, maintenance, and some infrastructure improvements like a back up water supply.

I tell her that with a Community Council we would receive government money with which we could undertake major projects without having to self-fund - my apartment paid the equivalent of one month's wages as our contribution to the water storage facility. This is an appeal to the lowest common denominator and it works. She wants a council for the exact same reason and will now help us construct one. She is an important member of the community and can help us hugely, but if this is such a success why do I feel uncomfortable?

David Velásquez, Minister of Popular Power for Participation and Social Development, declared in 2007, "We have the enormous responsibility of going beyond those who want to convert the Community Councils into instances for receiving and administering resources, or instances that fail to realize that they (the councils) are a new form of state, of government, a new form of society in construction."[2] In a country where corruption and incompetence are serious problems, participation is seen as a potential antidote, sidelining and replacing ineffective, inefficient, or corrupt parts of the state. With the financial crisis only temporarily contained by Venezuela's foreign reserves, the prospect of reduced government revenues makes these concerns urgent. Yet if the logic is clear, how do I know this argument will fail to convince?

(click here to view entire article)