The C Assembly...A Wonderful Thing Maduro did

Quote:What is your experience regarding the election of the Constituent Assembly?
As I said, the day of the Constituent Assembly elections was a big day in El Valle. I spent some time at the nearest polling site, which had a long line extending down several blocks. The mood was highly festive. From there, my friend and I took a bus to the main ‘contingency site’ that had been set up in a large stadium nearby.
For those confused by the recent headlines on Venezuela, this is a point worth explaining. The so-called ‘peaceful’ ‘pro-democracy’ demonstrators of the opposition had made threats against those who planned to participate in the Constituent Assembly elections, leaving many people fearful to vote in their own communities, particularly those with a strong opposition presence. This fear was not unfounded, as these demonstrators have been known to resort to violence, going so far as burning people alive on a number of occasions, several of which have been recorded on film. So for people unable to vote in their own communities for fear for their safety, an alternative voting site was set up. This site had long lines pouring into it when we arrived, with people from all over the greater capital area. A number of other sites that we passed along our bus ride – at least three – also had long lines outside of them, late into the day.

Quote:Can you describe the debates and/or discussions on economic or political issues in the area you were/are staying?
A big topic of debate, especially in the face of the constituyente, is how to keep the revolution as fresh as possible, particularly nearly two decades into the process. Of particular interest is the balance between the unharnessed power of the people, or constituent power, and the more established power of the government, or constituted power. Earlier on in the Bolivarian Revolution the boundaries between the two were so blurred that at times they were nearly indistinguishable. While there is still much blurring into the present, some of these boundaries have become more distinct. So there are discussions and debate on how to keep leadership as fresh and as directly connected to and accountable to the grassroots as possible. There is also discussion and debate on how to deepen the processes of ‘protagonistic participatory democracy’ that have been a driving force of the Bolivarian Revolution. In Chavez’s final speech, what he emphasized most was the importance of continuing to construct the comunas, which are citizen-led social structures intended to transfer power from the state directly to the people. Indeed there has been a great push for construction of comunas, but there is also concern that this has taken somewhat of a back seat in terms of government priorities in the face of current challenges, with the government putting more emphasis on CLAPs than on comunas, for instance. Many see the constituyente as a major opening for the further advancement of popular power in Venezuela, but stress that the process must be squarely in the hands of the people – the grassroots base of the revolution – and not in what some call the Chavista establishment.
What’s the general mood of the people, if you could perceive it, in the area you were living?
The first word that comes to mind is a mood of determination. Despite threats coming directly from the White House that the US would take ‘strong action and swift economic actions’ against Venezuela if the Constituent Assembly elections move forward, people in El Valle and elsewhere turned out in record numbers. Today, with such bullying growing ever more aggressive, communities and movements continue to assert their right to direct democratic participation in their political system, as they work, by sector and by region, to revise their constitution. What impresses me most is the balance of pragmatism and revolutionary vision I’m witnessing, as people make concrete proposals and take concrete actions to address the many pressing challenges at present at the same time that they work to further deepen and radicalize the Bolivarian Revolution.
Thank you for sharing your experience and helping us perceive reality prevailing in Venezuela.