Reconciling the State and Diffused Autonomy? Political Brokers in Venezuelan Poder popular
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4759901 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Stefano Boni (0009-0009-7035-4932, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 170-189 |
| Publication date | 2020-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Latin American Perspectives (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0094582x20924366 |
| OpenAlex | W3034451518 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
The most widespread implementation of the autonomous sovereignty of the popular sectors in the socialist policies of Chávez's Venezuela, known as poder popular (popular power), is the consejo comunal (communal council), a neighborhood assembly that has received sizable state funding to implement self-managed projects ranging from house renovation to local public works and from social events to small-scale productive activities. Examination of the establishment and operation of these councils in Cumaná (Estado Sucre)-their successes and failures, popular involvement and personal corruption-reveals the ambiguous role within them of political brokers employed by local administrations and heading the party's smallest organizational units and shows how incorporation of forms of direct democracy into larger institutions (the government and the party) hinders the exercise of autonomy. La implementación más extensa de la soberanía autónoma de los sectores populares en las políticas socialistas de la Venezuela de Chávez, mejor conocida como poder popular, yace en el consejo comunal, un tipo de asamblea vecinal que ha recibido considerables fondos estatales para implementar proyectos autogestionados: desde la renovación de casas hasta obras públicas locales, desde eventos sociales hasta actividades productivas a pequeña escala. Un análisis en torno al establecimiento y funcionamiento de estos consejos en Cumaná, Estado Sucre (sus éxitos y fracasos, participación popular y problemas de corrupción personal) revela el ambiguo rol que dentro de ellos jugaban los agentes políticos empleados por las administraciones locales para encabezar las unidades organizativas más pequeñas del partido. También muestra cómo la incorporación de formas de democracia directa a instituciones más grandes (el gobierno y el partido) obstaculizan el ejercicio de la autonomía
Art · Autonomy · Democracy · Humanities · Political science · Politics · Sovereignty · State (computer science) · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Latin American socio-political dynamics · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |