Rosangela lives just outside of the city of Merida, and works at the language school I am attending. The following is what I leaned about corruption in Venezuela and and her community council.
Rosangela explained that corruption has allways been a huge problem in the Venezuelan government. She said that people giving jobs to their family members and friends, no matter if there are better qualified applicants, is part of the corruption. The government beaurocracies have allways been full of excess workers. She told me that there were two doormen in the government building where her mom worked, and for a door that was always kept open. This is a problem that Chavez is trying to solve with the community councils, by putting the recources and power into the hands of the community members so they can use the money for what they need. However, it will take time to decrease the amount of corruption in the country. One reason is that the same values of glottony are in many individuals on the local community council level as well.
Rosangela´s community council was given seventeen credits to distribute. The committee who´s job it was to decide who in the community needed the credits most, had one strong and popular man, and about six other people. Ten of the credits went to family members of the influencial man. This she said, is an example of corruption in community councils.
Another example she described, was that one of her cousins recieved an agricultural credit to grow berries. However, she used the credit to buy things for her house instead. Lack of oversight is a problem of the community council activities as well. However, these problems can be worked out. For example, one of her cousins has been upset abou the the unequal distribution of credits and so she is organizing people to solve the problem. The law allows anyone to propose a vote at any community council meeting, and vote out a comittee member. I can imagine social pressures causing hang-ups in rooting out corruption in small communitys. However, at least it is a smaller scale problem, and perhaps faster to solve than voting out a mayor.
Rosangela´s experience was valuable to hear, becasue I had been wondering about these issues while I was in the community council meetings in Montecarmelo, where the committee was in the process of deciding who would recieve how much money. Rosangela was positive about the community councils over all, and said that she thinks that her community will be able to vote out the corrupt committee member.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
June Journaling and Art Descriptions
My time here is coming to a close. I have two more weeks of language study, and then I will be flying home on the 23rd. I have learned and experienced much more than I had originally planned before I got to this country. My original hope was to spend perhaps a week or two with a women’s organization in Los Teques in winter quarter, and then spend spring quarter close to the beach and making art about what I had learned about women organizing in Venezuela. The original women’s organization did not work out because I could not get a hold of them, or the woman who gave me their contact info, but Winter quarter I went on a Global Exchange women’s delegation, and was able to see many organizations and make contact with the Coop of Moncar.
I have had many valuable experiences this quarter, visiting and speaking with people from a variety of places. My focus this quarter was on the work of women in community councils and cooperative businesses. My goals were to meet and learn from women working in their communities, and create a series of art pieces to process and share what I had leaned. This quarter I have visited community councils in the barrios of 23 de Enero. I have interviewed a young woman who has a community radio show that addresses women’s issues and current events. I interviewed a longtime community activist about her experiences working in her community, creating a community school, and about her work in her new community council.
My most valuable experiences this quarter were the week I spent with the CESOCESOLA Cooperative, and the two weeks with the rural salsa and jam Coop of Moncar. I learned about how CESOCESOLA operates and how they foster equality and community. My learning with them involved attending an international conference they hosted, attending their meetings, working in the grocery coop, and visiting many of their facilities and a few of their suppliers.
My time with the women of the Cooperative of Moncar was valuable because I was able to spend all day with the women as they worked, and attend their local community council meetings. This allowed me to understand the roles of women in this community, and the impacts they are making by working in coops and improving their community through organizing in the community councils. I was able to work alongside the women in the coop, and also create art pieces about their work, where they live, and the structure and values that they use in running their business collectively.
Saturday 6/2/06
This morning there are a few large marches and demonstrations planned, for both the opposition and the Chavistas. There will be two opposing demonstrations in two neiboring area, which will be very interesting and possibly could create conflict. The police have been very forceful, so perhapse the two demonstrations will stay separated.
Art Explanations
Cooperativismo Boats 1 and 2
The ideas for these paintings came from learning about cooperativ ism from CESOCESOLA and the Moncar Coop. My intention was to abstractly show movement of a group of bodies, progressing forward in a circle. I chose sail boats as the objects because they are simple, graceful vessels for movement. I chose the color palate based on the colors of the tropical fruit that the women work with, which think are very beautiful and work in a similar palate. I showed the sails as transparent, so that it could be seen that they are all in a circle, moving in an organized pattern, and are interconnected.
I first sketched my idea and painted a wash of water color to plan my painting. The Boat painting I did in acrylic, #1, did not end up as abstract as I had hoped, but I am still satisfied with it because in the process I decided to make the sails appear more transparent, which I had not originally planned on.
The second boat painting is in watercolors, which is a challenging medium for me. However, I wanted to paint this image a second time to see if I could improve it by creating pastel and transparent shapes. I ended up making the colors much darker than I had planned, which was the result of experimenting with a layering technique that made the shapes more interesting. Perhaps if I had started with the layering technique in beginning I could have achieved both the pastel shades and the layers.
Woman in Barrios
My intention for this painting was to show the very steep and crowded poor neighborhoods that make up a huge part of Caracas, and to show that women are at the center of these communities. I learned that women are the heads of the 60% of the households, and that they make up the majority in most community councils. The women in this painting comes from a photo I took of a woman who works in one of the government initiated factories. The government of Venezuela understands that women’s work is key to building a stronger economy, and so they are providing many programs for education and support for forming businesses.
This painting was challenging because I wanted to show the entire body of the woman, but the result was that she was small and therefore hard to paint. I would have been much more satisfied with the painting if the canvas had been three times as big and allowed me to paint the woman in a more stylistic manner, but traveling with canvases limits size.
Spring Quarter Art Descriptions
#1
Woman and Granddaughter in Mission Ribas
This painting comes from a photo I took of a woman who was attending classes in one of the government education missions. She is shown in the classroom, which is a lower school classroom during the week. I learned that the girl sitting with her was her granddaughter, who attends every class with her grandmother, even though the classes are high school level and the girl attends lower school.
I did not stray very far from what the photo provided. I used similar colors, and just tried to add more movement with interesting brush strokes. I felt that the woman's face was the most essential part, so I tried to show the warmth, kindness and openness that I felt when I met this woman, and that could be seen in the photo. The woman in the painting does not look as old as it should, I think it would have been more effective if I could have better represented her age, because it impressed me that she was coming back to study with so much enthusiasm after so much time.
#2
Coop of Moncar Circles
The process of this painting began when I arrived at the Coop of Moncar, a jam and salsa making business in the tiny agricultural town of Montecarmelo. I participated in peeling and cutting fruit with the women of the coop, and at other times I would sketch the women working and the foods they were preparing. The interlocking circles in this painting represent the non hierarchical structure of the cooperative, and how the different people and parts come together harmoniously and create something in the big cooking pot. I attended a conference on cooperatives put on by CESOCESOLA in Barquisimeto the week before visiting Moncar. In the power point presentations they used interlocking circles to show many different aspects of their cooperative structure, from the internal processes of the individual workers, to the various areas of production that cooperate and participate in CESOCESOLA.
#3
Candied peaches
In my first days at Moncar I helped with peeling and cooking little peaches for dulce de durazno, which is a popular creole sweet treat. The background is a view of the edge of the town, right before the road becomes dirt and starts to climb a steep hill. I painted this in watercolor, which worked for the peaches, but I was disappointed with the background.
I have had many valuable experiences this quarter, visiting and speaking with people from a variety of places. My focus this quarter was on the work of women in community councils and cooperative businesses. My goals were to meet and learn from women working in their communities, and create a series of art pieces to process and share what I had leaned. This quarter I have visited community councils in the barrios of 23 de Enero. I have interviewed a young woman who has a community radio show that addresses women’s issues and current events. I interviewed a longtime community activist about her experiences working in her community, creating a community school, and about her work in her new community council.
My most valuable experiences this quarter were the week I spent with the CESOCESOLA Cooperative, and the two weeks with the rural salsa and jam Coop of Moncar. I learned about how CESOCESOLA operates and how they foster equality and community. My learning with them involved attending an international conference they hosted, attending their meetings, working in the grocery coop, and visiting many of their facilities and a few of their suppliers.
My time with the women of the Cooperative of Moncar was valuable because I was able to spend all day with the women as they worked, and attend their local community council meetings. This allowed me to understand the roles of women in this community, and the impacts they are making by working in coops and improving their community through organizing in the community councils. I was able to work alongside the women in the coop, and also create art pieces about their work, where they live, and the structure and values that they use in running their business collectively.
Saturday 6/2/06
This morning there are a few large marches and demonstrations planned, for both the opposition and the Chavistas. There will be two opposing demonstrations in two neiboring area, which will be very interesting and possibly could create conflict. The police have been very forceful, so perhapse the two demonstrations will stay separated.
Art Explanations
Cooperativismo Boats 1 and 2
The ideas for these paintings came from learning about cooperativ ism from CESOCESOLA and the Moncar Coop. My intention was to abstractly show movement of a group of bodies, progressing forward in a circle. I chose sail boats as the objects because they are simple, graceful vessels for movement. I chose the color palate based on the colors of the tropical fruit that the women work with, which think are very beautiful and work in a similar palate. I showed the sails as transparent, so that it could be seen that they are all in a circle, moving in an organized pattern, and are interconnected.
I first sketched my idea and painted a wash of water color to plan my painting. The Boat painting I did in acrylic, #1, did not end up as abstract as I had hoped, but I am still satisfied with it because in the process I decided to make the sails appear more transparent, which I had not originally planned on.
The second boat painting is in watercolors, which is a challenging medium for me. However, I wanted to paint this image a second time to see if I could improve it by creating pastel and transparent shapes. I ended up making the colors much darker than I had planned, which was the result of experimenting with a layering technique that made the shapes more interesting. Perhaps if I had started with the layering technique in beginning I could have achieved both the pastel shades and the layers.
Woman in Barrios
My intention for this painting was to show the very steep and crowded poor neighborhoods that make up a huge part of Caracas, and to show that women are at the center of these communities. I learned that women are the heads of the 60% of the households, and that they make up the majority in most community councils. The women in this painting comes from a photo I took of a woman who works in one of the government initiated factories. The government of Venezuela understands that women’s work is key to building a stronger economy, and so they are providing many programs for education and support for forming businesses.
This painting was challenging because I wanted to show the entire body of the woman, but the result was that she was small and therefore hard to paint. I would have been much more satisfied with the painting if the canvas had been three times as big and allowed me to paint the woman in a more stylistic manner, but traveling with canvases limits size.
Spring Quarter Art Descriptions
#1
Woman and Granddaughter in Mission Ribas
This painting comes from a photo I took of a woman who was attending classes in one of the government education missions. She is shown in the classroom, which is a lower school classroom during the week. I learned that the girl sitting with her was her granddaughter, who attends every class with her grandmother, even though the classes are high school level and the girl attends lower school.
I did not stray very far from what the photo provided. I used similar colors, and just tried to add more movement with interesting brush strokes. I felt that the woman's face was the most essential part, so I tried to show the warmth, kindness and openness that I felt when I met this woman, and that could be seen in the photo. The woman in the painting does not look as old as it should, I think it would have been more effective if I could have better represented her age, because it impressed me that she was coming back to study with so much enthusiasm after so much time.
#2
Coop of Moncar Circles
The process of this painting began when I arrived at the Coop of Moncar, a jam and salsa making business in the tiny agricultural town of Montecarmelo. I participated in peeling and cutting fruit with the women of the coop, and at other times I would sketch the women working and the foods they were preparing. The interlocking circles in this painting represent the non hierarchical structure of the cooperative, and how the different people and parts come together harmoniously and create something in the big cooking pot. I attended a conference on cooperatives put on by CESOCESOLA in Barquisimeto the week before visiting Moncar. In the power point presentations they used interlocking circles to show many different aspects of their cooperative structure, from the internal processes of the individual workers, to the various areas of production that cooperate and participate in CESOCESOLA.
#3
Candied peaches
In my first days at Moncar I helped with peeling and cooking little peaches for dulce de durazno, which is a popular creole sweet treat. The background is a view of the edge of the town, right before the road becomes dirt and starts to climb a steep hill. I painted this in watercolor, which worked for the peaches, but I was disappointed with the background.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Late May Jurnaling
Wed. May 23rd
I spent today, in Los Teques, with Marlo and Juan Pablo, an economics student from the Central University and his friend Wilmer, who works at a library and attends mission Sucre. Juan Pablo is pat of a group that describes itself as leftist opposition. He explained that he is even farther left than communists. There are only about 10 people in his group, 3 of whom are women. They contribute to an alternative independent newspaper. He thinks it is very important that there be a leftist opposition, to push the Chavez government to end capitalism. I had a really hard time understanding him, because he used complicated language, but I had a really good conversation with his mom in their kitchen. She is blind, and spends a lot of time at home, but she is well informed through the radio and other means. We talked about the closing of RSTV this weekend. She was nervous that there might be unrest and problems. We also talked about US politics, women in Venezuelan politics, the position of my family on various subjects such as Venezuela and the Iraq war. I didn’t understand everything she said, but she was patient and repeated things, and made sure that I understood what she was saying.
Sunday May 27th
We have been hearing about the plans to close RSTV, one of the oldest private TV stations on the free public channels, for at least six months now. The station will be cut off the air tonight, and at many people have been marching together in Caracas for the last two weekends. I was just watching today’s march from the third story of a shopping mall in Chacaito. It was a steady flow of people, walking quickly, as Venezuelans do in marches. They appeared to be coming from Altamira, and are marching to Los Mercedes, another wealthy area. As I stood and watched to march, an older woman came to watch beside me. I asked her what she thought. She said it was “solamente disorden” (only disorder).
This closure is all over the news. It has been condemned by the US Congress, and some European Union members. Chavez is holding firm on his decision to close the station, and has said that the resistance and protests against the closure will strengthen the revolutionary process. Chavez vowed to close the station after the attempted coup, because the RSTV played a part in the coup plot and execution. The station helped by spreading anti government propaganda, and showing news broadcastings describing shootings, which had been recorded the day before. The protests that closing RSTV violates rights of freedom of speech will doubtfully win in courts, because Venezuela has laws about what can be shown on public airwaves, similar to the US, which were clearly broken. Additionally, technically it is not a closure, because the RSTV station is not getting shut down, but rather it’s license to broadcast on the free public airwaves is not getting renewed.
Although the station deserves to be taken off the air, I think that the closure is a poor political decision for a few reasons. First, it opens Chavez up to much criticism both internationally and locally. The majority of Venezuelans, although many still support Chavez, do not support the closure. Venezuelan’s watch a lot of TV, and many, many people are very attached to their telenovelas. Additionally, it is only the poor who are going to be deprived of their TV shows, because after today RSTV will become a cable channel.
Monday 28th
RSTV Protests
Last night the pot banging was much bigger and louder. I stood on my balcony and looking up at the apartments around me, seeing silhouettes of people banging pots on their balconies. Then the sound dramatically increased, as a person on the floor above me and to the left, stood on his balcony and hammered a spoon on a pot. I went to bed, and by the time I fell asleep the noise had stopped
This afternoon a large student protest occurred two blocks away from my apartment. As I painted, I could hear screaming and at times a little chanting, and at times rounds of rubber bullets echoing through the streets. Justin was taking pictures, and when he returned he told me that the police were firing rubber bullets, shooting a water cannon, and spraying tear gas in efforts to disperse the protest, which was in a main intersection and trying to march onto the freeway. The mayor of Chacao, showed up with his police, to talk people into going back into the plaza. The protesters were mostly college students, and watching from my balcony I saw a few small groups of students run down the street, away from the protest. One of them slipped and got back up and kept running. Seconds later came a police water cannon truck chasing the students, but not spraying water. Later it began to rain, and now, even though it is dark, I still hear commotion. The pot banging has started again, very lowed. More students are running by, yelling and chanting. The police are chasing them home.
Painting
Today I finished the barrio painting and painted the sailboat painting a third time, hoping that it would look better in watercolor. It didn’t. I made the colors too dark, and didn’t make enough new improvements. I think that perhaps the main problem is the shape of the objects. I still like the idea, but can’t make it look pleasing, the sails are awkward, even though I am trying to make them abstract and transparent.
6/1/07
By Wednesday and Thursday the RSTV protests were getting smaller and calmer. There are some today as well, but I think the energy is slowly leaving. I have been following the international coverage of the protests, and it has been a popular story. The US and conservative members of the European union have condemned the closure, although some European progressives supported it, as well as some South American countries. It is hard to know whether the protests will pick up again this weekend, and what type of consequences they will create.
My time here is coming to a close. I have two more weeks of language study, and then I will be flying home on the 23rd. I have learned and experienced much more than I had originally planned before I got to this country. My original hope was to spend maybe a week or two with a women’s organization in Los Teques in winter quarter, and then spend spring quarter close to the beach, creating art about what I had learned. I am very pleased tht I have gotten more out of this experience than I imagined possible, and have created the art pieces that i had planned on making to process and share what I have learned. The original women’s organization did not work out because I could not get a hold of them, or the woman who gave me their contact info, but Winter quarter I went on a Global Exchange women’s delegation, and was able to see many organizations and make contact with the Coop of Moncar.
I have had many valuable experiences this quarter, visiting and speaking with many hardworking people. This quarter I have visited community councils in the barrios of 23 de Enero. I have interviewed a young woman who has a community radio show that addresses women’s issues and current events. I have Interviewed a longtime community activist about her experiences working in her community, building community assets, and about her work in her new community council.
My most valuable experiences were the week I spent with the CESOCESOLA Cooperative, and the two weeks with the rural salsa and jam Coop of Moncar. To be continued…
I spent today, in Los Teques, with Marlo and Juan Pablo, an economics student from the Central University and his friend Wilmer, who works at a library and attends mission Sucre. Juan Pablo is pat of a group that describes itself as leftist opposition. He explained that he is even farther left than communists. There are only about 10 people in his group, 3 of whom are women. They contribute to an alternative independent newspaper. He thinks it is very important that there be a leftist opposition, to push the Chavez government to end capitalism. I had a really hard time understanding him, because he used complicated language, but I had a really good conversation with his mom in their kitchen. She is blind, and spends a lot of time at home, but she is well informed through the radio and other means. We talked about the closing of RSTV this weekend. She was nervous that there might be unrest and problems. We also talked about US politics, women in Venezuelan politics, the position of my family on various subjects such as Venezuela and the Iraq war. I didn’t understand everything she said, but she was patient and repeated things, and made sure that I understood what she was saying.
Sunday May 27th
We have been hearing about the plans to close RSTV, one of the oldest private TV stations on the free public channels, for at least six months now. The station will be cut off the air tonight, and at many people have been marching together in Caracas for the last two weekends. I was just watching today’s march from the third story of a shopping mall in Chacaito. It was a steady flow of people, walking quickly, as Venezuelans do in marches. They appeared to be coming from Altamira, and are marching to Los Mercedes, another wealthy area. As I stood and watched to march, an older woman came to watch beside me. I asked her what she thought. She said it was “solamente disorden” (only disorder).
This closure is all over the news. It has been condemned by the US Congress, and some European Union members. Chavez is holding firm on his decision to close the station, and has said that the resistance and protests against the closure will strengthen the revolutionary process. Chavez vowed to close the station after the attempted coup, because the RSTV played a part in the coup plot and execution. The station helped by spreading anti government propaganda, and showing news broadcastings describing shootings, which had been recorded the day before. The protests that closing RSTV violates rights of freedom of speech will doubtfully win in courts, because Venezuela has laws about what can be shown on public airwaves, similar to the US, which were clearly broken. Additionally, technically it is not a closure, because the RSTV station is not getting shut down, but rather it’s license to broadcast on the free public airwaves is not getting renewed.
Although the station deserves to be taken off the air, I think that the closure is a poor political decision for a few reasons. First, it opens Chavez up to much criticism both internationally and locally. The majority of Venezuelans, although many still support Chavez, do not support the closure. Venezuelan’s watch a lot of TV, and many, many people are very attached to their telenovelas. Additionally, it is only the poor who are going to be deprived of their TV shows, because after today RSTV will become a cable channel.
Monday 28th
RSTV Protests
Last night the pot banging was much bigger and louder. I stood on my balcony and looking up at the apartments around me, seeing silhouettes of people banging pots on their balconies. Then the sound dramatically increased, as a person on the floor above me and to the left, stood on his balcony and hammered a spoon on a pot. I went to bed, and by the time I fell asleep the noise had stopped
This afternoon a large student protest occurred two blocks away from my apartment. As I painted, I could hear screaming and at times a little chanting, and at times rounds of rubber bullets echoing through the streets. Justin was taking pictures, and when he returned he told me that the police were firing rubber bullets, shooting a water cannon, and spraying tear gas in efforts to disperse the protest, which was in a main intersection and trying to march onto the freeway. The mayor of Chacao, showed up with his police, to talk people into going back into the plaza. The protesters were mostly college students, and watching from my balcony I saw a few small groups of students run down the street, away from the protest. One of them slipped and got back up and kept running. Seconds later came a police water cannon truck chasing the students, but not spraying water. Later it began to rain, and now, even though it is dark, I still hear commotion. The pot banging has started again, very lowed. More students are running by, yelling and chanting. The police are chasing them home.
Painting
Today I finished the barrio painting and painted the sailboat painting a third time, hoping that it would look better in watercolor. It didn’t. I made the colors too dark, and didn’t make enough new improvements. I think that perhaps the main problem is the shape of the objects. I still like the idea, but can’t make it look pleasing, the sails are awkward, even though I am trying to make them abstract and transparent.
6/1/07
By Wednesday and Thursday the RSTV protests were getting smaller and calmer. There are some today as well, but I think the energy is slowly leaving. I have been following the international coverage of the protests, and it has been a popular story. The US and conservative members of the European union have condemned the closure, although some European progressives supported it, as well as some South American countries. It is hard to know whether the protests will pick up again this weekend, and what type of consequences they will create.
My time here is coming to a close. I have two more weeks of language study, and then I will be flying home on the 23rd. I have learned and experienced much more than I had originally planned before I got to this country. My original hope was to spend maybe a week or two with a women’s organization in Los Teques in winter quarter, and then spend spring quarter close to the beach, creating art about what I had learned. I am very pleased tht I have gotten more out of this experience than I imagined possible, and have created the art pieces that i had planned on making to process and share what I have learned. The original women’s organization did not work out because I could not get a hold of them, or the woman who gave me their contact info, but Winter quarter I went on a Global Exchange women’s delegation, and was able to see many organizations and make contact with the Coop of Moncar.
I have had many valuable experiences this quarter, visiting and speaking with many hardworking people. This quarter I have visited community councils in the barrios of 23 de Enero. I have interviewed a young woman who has a community radio show that addresses women’s issues and current events. I have Interviewed a longtime community activist about her experiences working in her community, building community assets, and about her work in her new community council.
My most valuable experiences were the week I spent with the CESOCESOLA Cooperative, and the two weeks with the rural salsa and jam Coop of Moncar. To be continued…
Notes from CESOCESOLA conference
CESOCESOLA Conference Notes
The conference opened with a presentation by a professor from a University in Central Mexico. His talk was titled, How to Change the World Without Taking Power?
I have a packet that covers all of the points in the talk, so I am not going to write it up.
Discussion #1
The state should help independent organizations through laws.
Each group has it’s own way, they need to be able to do what they want.
Main Questions
1.) What can be done to defend ourselves while we are growing our crack in capitalism?
2.) What is our relationship to the market?
Discussion 1
The socialization of the economy is through relationships. Emphasizing solidarity. It’s important to expand, multiply, but not having absolute truths. Through concrete actions we change our attitudes.
Discussion 2
The relation between the market and the coop.
We don’t use the market, we use world integration. We help each other, and they (our suppliers) produce for us for years.
With some producers it’s just sale and purchase.
Producers also go through a process of change sometimes, because our interactions provide educational opportunities.
We don’t let the market impose prices. Some times, when there is a plague and ½ the crop is lost, the feria won’t necessarily raise the price for the customers. We decide as a collective how to manage and leave the price as normal.
There is a planning process, with the producers based on communal needs. We try to maintain and explain to the community this relationship and the price.
The important thing is to work based on the needs that arise.
There will always be a relationship/ need with the market, but it should always have respect. It is always important to try to fill the spaces where we feel that this relationship of respect is lacking.
In the past, people have talked about having a market plan for our coop. Selling and promoting what we have here. That sounds like we are trying to sell an idea as the truth, or as preaching. At this point we can’t do that. We are people that had a project that worked, not owners of a project.
However, it is important to show our experience. But it is important not to sell it.
This experience can not be reproduced. It’s not the structure, it’s about personal change. We organized this way and it worked. We worked to change our internal relationships. For others trying to use this structure, maybe the structure wouldn’t change the other coops internal relations.
What’s important: Analysis and reflection
Let’s say we send someone to talk to capitalist producers and someone gets corrupted by that outside pressure. We would then analyze it as a group, not as “what did the person do wrong” but “what did the Feria do wrong?”. We apply it to all of us, and handle it as a group, because each of us could act in the same way. When we do this, we try to understand the behavior of others (that act differently) and even if we can’t, we at least respect the difference. Even if the person does not share the coop way, we’ll see those people within their analysis learn from them or allow them to learn.
How we can try to overcome the laws of the market:
The coop is allowed to do this because of the volume it buys and sells in three days each week, and it is a service to the community.
There are laws of the market we are trying to overcome, some are:
The relationship to providers who exploit their workers, when the pay for the work is not enough.
Government laws are impeding the development of autonomy, for example, the accounting and auditing laws for coops. And when the government tequires a structure, like a board of directors.
The Zapatistas say “if the law does not serve us, we don’t pay attention to it.
If you are just waiting for economic results, the coop model would not make sense.
Day #2
Not having an objective (for growth and sales), allows for freedom to make mistakes and work through them. However, the funeral coop is now the largest in the state.
Traditional cooperative method has not proven efficient.
Capitalism does not address the problems of the environment, labor etc.
CESOCESOLA is a model that is working. Economics are essential for life, everything surrounds the economy. You can’t buy a better world with state money.
Distribution of wealth/money is an illusion we have to leave behind.
Riches can’t be divided like a cake.
To distribute riches we have to distribute knowledge, relationships, creativity, technology. But these things can’t be distributed through money.
What you share is distributed through work and learning relationships.
Talk by a Chilean professor of solidarity economics
We are living in Latin America, the civilization is in crisis.
Our lifestyle is made up of three pillars-
Cultural- scientific, certain conceptions
Economic
Political- the state
Latin America is in crisis because capitalism is not producing solutions, and richness is becoming more concentrated. More people can’t find work. People outside say it is the governments fault. Science has not offered solutions. All the pillars are falling.
What does crisis look like?
There are 3 dynamics.
The dominant sectors in the 3 pillars defend and close themselves off. They resort to barbaric behavior, people get violent.
Seeds of new civilizations come up. New ideas, concepts. People in the marginalized places come up with the new ideas.
It is difficult because we have to develop, but at the same time defend ourselves.
Delinquency is big, violence is everywhere.
At the same time you have to re integrate into these pillars. It is essential that you over come the treats, and that your economic part is strong.
The way to produce, consume, share, has to be defended.
This is solidarity economics.
Can capitalism be humanized?
It is important to know why developed countries are developed and why we are “underdeveloped”.
The most recent aspect of conquest was funding the US and Europe through our debts.
If the capital wasn’t leaving, we would have enough.
The environmental part-
The Kyoto protocal, the US decided not to participate.
Because making money is most important, with capitalism, there is not enough change about the environment.
The roots of radicalism start with recuperating the capacity to think for ourselves.
Revolution-
Change in power relations, production.
We need a revolution of everyday life to build another society, and world.
The utility principle= I do what I am doing because it brings me pleasure.
Giving without getting is a lie.
The relationship of what people are getting out of things to what they are doing, and what they will stick with.
Solidarity vs. competition.
We can relate either way.
The idea of scarcity is that there has to be a price.
Capitalism would not work in a place of abundance. That’s where ther needs to be property rights on ideas.
300 people in the world have more wealth than ½ the people in the world together.
The law of Coops in Venezuela was created in part by the coop movement.
In 2007, 200,00 coops were legalized.
It is an answer to the need to create jobs.
The conference opened with a presentation by a professor from a University in Central Mexico. His talk was titled, How to Change the World Without Taking Power?
I have a packet that covers all of the points in the talk, so I am not going to write it up.
Discussion #1
The state should help independent organizations through laws.
Each group has it’s own way, they need to be able to do what they want.
Main Questions
1.) What can be done to defend ourselves while we are growing our crack in capitalism?
2.) What is our relationship to the market?
Discussion 1
The socialization of the economy is through relationships. Emphasizing solidarity. It’s important to expand, multiply, but not having absolute truths. Through concrete actions we change our attitudes.
Discussion 2
The relation between the market and the coop.
We don’t use the market, we use world integration. We help each other, and they (our suppliers) produce for us for years.
With some producers it’s just sale and purchase.
Producers also go through a process of change sometimes, because our interactions provide educational opportunities.
We don’t let the market impose prices. Some times, when there is a plague and ½ the crop is lost, the feria won’t necessarily raise the price for the customers. We decide as a collective how to manage and leave the price as normal.
There is a planning process, with the producers based on communal needs. We try to maintain and explain to the community this relationship and the price.
The important thing is to work based on the needs that arise.
There will always be a relationship/ need with the market, but it should always have respect. It is always important to try to fill the spaces where we feel that this relationship of respect is lacking.
In the past, people have talked about having a market plan for our coop. Selling and promoting what we have here. That sounds like we are trying to sell an idea as the truth, or as preaching. At this point we can’t do that. We are people that had a project that worked, not owners of a project.
However, it is important to show our experience. But it is important not to sell it.
This experience can not be reproduced. It’s not the structure, it’s about personal change. We organized this way and it worked. We worked to change our internal relationships. For others trying to use this structure, maybe the structure wouldn’t change the other coops internal relations.
What’s important: Analysis and reflection
Let’s say we send someone to talk to capitalist producers and someone gets corrupted by that outside pressure. We would then analyze it as a group, not as “what did the person do wrong” but “what did the Feria do wrong?”. We apply it to all of us, and handle it as a group, because each of us could act in the same way. When we do this, we try to understand the behavior of others (that act differently) and even if we can’t, we at least respect the difference. Even if the person does not share the coop way, we’ll see those people within their analysis learn from them or allow them to learn.
How we can try to overcome the laws of the market:
The coop is allowed to do this because of the volume it buys and sells in three days each week, and it is a service to the community.
There are laws of the market we are trying to overcome, some are:
The relationship to providers who exploit their workers, when the pay for the work is not enough.
Government laws are impeding the development of autonomy, for example, the accounting and auditing laws for coops. And when the government tequires a structure, like a board of directors.
The Zapatistas say “if the law does not serve us, we don’t pay attention to it.
If you are just waiting for economic results, the coop model would not make sense.
Day #2
Not having an objective (for growth and sales), allows for freedom to make mistakes and work through them. However, the funeral coop is now the largest in the state.
Traditional cooperative method has not proven efficient.
Capitalism does not address the problems of the environment, labor etc.
CESOCESOLA is a model that is working. Economics are essential for life, everything surrounds the economy. You can’t buy a better world with state money.
Distribution of wealth/money is an illusion we have to leave behind.
Riches can’t be divided like a cake.
To distribute riches we have to distribute knowledge, relationships, creativity, technology. But these things can’t be distributed through money.
What you share is distributed through work and learning relationships.
Talk by a Chilean professor of solidarity economics
We are living in Latin America, the civilization is in crisis.
Our lifestyle is made up of three pillars-
Cultural- scientific, certain conceptions
Economic
Political- the state
Latin America is in crisis because capitalism is not producing solutions, and richness is becoming more concentrated. More people can’t find work. People outside say it is the governments fault. Science has not offered solutions. All the pillars are falling.
What does crisis look like?
There are 3 dynamics.
The dominant sectors in the 3 pillars defend and close themselves off. They resort to barbaric behavior, people get violent.
Seeds of new civilizations come up. New ideas, concepts. People in the marginalized places come up with the new ideas.
It is difficult because we have to develop, but at the same time defend ourselves.
Delinquency is big, violence is everywhere.
At the same time you have to re integrate into these pillars. It is essential that you over come the treats, and that your economic part is strong.
The way to produce, consume, share, has to be defended.
This is solidarity economics.
Can capitalism be humanized?
It is important to know why developed countries are developed and why we are “underdeveloped”.
The most recent aspect of conquest was funding the US and Europe through our debts.
If the capital wasn’t leaving, we would have enough.
The environmental part-
The Kyoto protocal, the US decided not to participate.
Because making money is most important, with capitalism, there is not enough change about the environment.
The roots of radicalism start with recuperating the capacity to think for ourselves.
Revolution-
Change in power relations, production.
We need a revolution of everyday life to build another society, and world.
The utility principle= I do what I am doing because it brings me pleasure.
Giving without getting is a lie.
The relationship of what people are getting out of things to what they are doing, and what they will stick with.
Solidarity vs. competition.
We can relate either way.
The idea of scarcity is that there has to be a price.
Capitalism would not work in a place of abundance. That’s where ther needs to be property rights on ideas.
300 people in the world have more wealth than ½ the people in the world together.
The law of Coops in Venezuela was created in part by the coop movement.
In 2007, 200,00 coops were legalized.
It is an answer to the need to create jobs.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
More Spring Journaling
Tuesday, Week 4
This morning I read a few articles about factories in Venezuela that have been shut down by their owners, but have been reclaimed by the workers. Some of these factories still have a conventional management structure but they accept aid from the government. Some partly state owned, moving toward total worker ownership as they earn more. Some have developed cooperative management and are proactively building relationships with the community through giving support, or supply the government subsidized food program, the Mercals. There is a divide in the government and among workers over whether the country should be moving toward more and more state ownership, or in a new direction that includes cooperative management, but worker ownership.
Co-managed and Occupied Factories’ Workers Revolutionary Front (FRETICO) had a march scheduled for this morning, and although it had been moved to a new location, we eventually found it. It was a pretty small group, perhaps twenty or thirty people. We soon leaned that three busloads of workers from Sanetarios de Maracay a factory from Maracay (a city just outside Caracas), had been stopped by police on the way to the demonstration this morning. The police had beat ten people and shot one person. They could not proceed to Caracas.
It is unclear exactly why they were held up, but the guesses are that it has something to do with the governor of the state being conservative.
In addition to speaking to two workers from a valve factory from Los Teques, who are part of FRETICO, we spoke with a few Europeans who were writing a book about this whole process, the successes and difficulties within the different models. We also made a connection with a women who might be able to take us to visit a fabric factory that is being occupied by it’s workers, who were all apparently laid off. This factory is mostly women, so I am really going to try to check this out when I get back.
Arrival at CESOCOESOLA
Daniel and I arrived in Barquisimeto around 3pm. We called the CESOCESOLA office and were soon picked up by three guys who took us around the corner to one of the Ferias. It was a large spacious, with some partial walls for light and ventilation. We were given a complete tour of the different sections of the store, stopping to speak with people who were working. We saw and leaned that the Feria is divided into three sections. One for non perishable foods, that are carefully stacked on simple, big metal shelves and bins. There are two sections for produce, one with lower priced items, some of them less attractive crops that would normally sell for more. The more expensive section has some of the same items as the other, as many people shop in only one section. In both produce sections the food is weighed by weight all together in bags, and everything on one section has the same weight price that is specified for that day, approximately an average of everything being sold. They also told us that they regularly buy as much as they can from farmers who operate as cooperatives and or collectives and who they have established relationships with. About 3.5 to 4 tons of fresh produce go through the big Ferias each week, and we leaned later visited the other large Feria, which was even larger.
The ferias are open from 5:30am on Friday morning until late afternoon, and again on Saturday and Sunday for shorter days. The parking lot of the large Feria that I stayed at would be bustling before dawn, with people waiting outside before the doors opened in the mornings. Inside there would be long lines at the cash registers, which operate with only a calculator and scales, no computer operated electronic cash registers. They like their system, because it requires that there be trust in the cashiers. The cashiers in the non perishable foods section have a list of all of the prices, and they end up memorizing the most common items.
While some family members waited in line, others would wait with bags of already bought food, or buy other items in the independently operated meat and cheese area, natural foods and medicines area, herb stand, pet food area, non food items area, or café. It was a bustling scene, with nice music coming from the stage in the middle.
After being driven to the other Feria, which is in an industrial part of town, we were shown around and then saw where we would be staying, which is a house that they call the “school”, which functions as an office, meeting space, and has a few big rooms full of bunk beds, as well as a kitchen. Soon were loaded into the CESOCESOLA SUV, and were given a tour of the surrounding area, where we could buy food and use the internet (the mall) and were also given a tour of the funeral home. The funeral home is one of the oldest coops associated with CESOCESOLA.
CECOSESOLA is an organization of 39 coops, all operating independently, but organized together for large meetings every few months. They all operate similarly, with collective decision making and rotating committees and job positions, instead of hierarchy and stagnant job placement. All coops involved contribute from each pay check to provide their own health and funeral insurance for themselves and their families. It has a long history of development and struggle. At one point in the early years when they had a bus collective, many of the busses were destroyed by the government. The food Ferias began as trucks that would drive around selling produce in neighborhoods. The health clinics which are part of the TRIUMFO collective, pay their doctors by the hour, and the rest of the staff runs and operated the clinics, rotating to work in their small food feria and bulk appliance and furniture programs. All of the CESOCESOLA coops are contributing to build a hospital, which I visited and the construction is 60% complete.
I asked why they were spending money on their own hospital when the government is providing free health care now. They responded that they began this project before this government began the new health system, and the government system is still young and dysfunctional. They don’t want to have to wait for appointments for government care, and they also have a specific idea of what type of health care they want, which is includes acupuncture and a community environment of their own creation.
The venezuelaanalysis.com article that I read said that there is a variety of political opinion in CESOCESOLA, and that they keep their cards close to their vest. My experience with the people I talked to was that they value their autonomy and are far ahead of the Chavez programs in quality and function of their services and methods. In the conference I attended, I learned that their experience has shown them that real change has to happen within each individual, working with others and working on themselves. There was definite skepticism of whether government can even have much impact on creating significant social and economic change. Nevertheless, CESOCESOLA has helped the current government in constructing the cooperative laws for the country, and they have aided gov. programs that are trying to train people to create cooperatives, however, they clearly state that they are not political, they are working on creating self sufficiency and community.
Other important things I learned about CESOCESOLA in their conference, was that they do not even consider themselves anti capitalism, like the Zapatistas. They discuss Zapatismo in their meetings at times, but the concluding position I heard was that because capitalism works against the people, they don’t need to be against it, it is already against you. They don’t want to waist their energy being against something, they prefer to just create the community and reality they want.
Friday with CESOCESOA
Pasta Co-op
This morning we met up with two Feria guys, a young guy named Juan who lives in central Mexoco and works with the Zapatista Otro Campana, and who was invited to speak at the conference. We met up with another invited speaker, woman from Argentian who has been part of the unemployed factory workers campaign to re take over factories and create jobs for themselves. We all loaded into the SUV and drove to Sanare. Out first stop was the pasta cooperative 8 de Marzo. They are an older coop, with about 20 years experience, named after the date of international women’s day. It was a pretty small factory, with about eight women working, a few kids there helping sift flour, and a man working as well. They have a giant pasta making machine, that they pour the batter into. They worked together cutting the pasta as it came out of the machine and puttig it on drying racks. They make whole wheat pasta and also pastas with blended vegetables in the batter. They sell granola as well, a recipe they got from a conference. They use flakes of corn kernels instead of oats, because it is more economical, it is also less heavy. They sell their products in the Ferias and a few small businesses, but the majority of their products are sold in the city of Maracaibo, where there is more wealth and demand for health food.
Community school
We then walked down the hill a little to the community school, which had been formed and built by the community. It started as a catholic school as part of Fey y Allegria, but now gets government funding. I was impressed by the amount of art and craft projects first grade through 8th, and the quality of the work. We spoke a little with a teachers meeting, they had questions for us about the US, and the director spoke with us at length outside of the meeting. She spoke about the importance of having created their community resources independent from the government and the pride and satisfaction they have in their school because they have formed it to be what they wished for.
Montecarmelo and the Bread Coop
After lunch in Sanare we went to Montecarmelo. The Moncar preserve coop was closed, but we went up the hill to the Organic Farm. There we ate the delicious yogurt they produce, and looked at their worm composting system, herb garden and vegetable fields.
Then we drove down the other side of the steep hill on the dirt road and into another little town where the bread coop is located. The bread coop is also a well established business, named La Campesina. They bake giant batches of long sandwitch bread, both whole wheat and while, as well as a few sweets, that they sell at the Ferias and a few other places. They had a big mixer, a machine for kneeding, and a big old oven.
Saturday
Today we saw the area where the grain is ground into flour to be sold in the ferias as flour and a few different drink products.
We also visited a health clinic, which is part of the TRIUMFO organization. One of the clinic workers spoke to us about her experience, and how the clinic runs. All CESOCESOLA associates get a reduced rate for the already very affordable doctor visits, because they contribute a little percentage of each of their pay checks to health care.
They told us that in the clinics there is no higherarchy, everyone is on equal footing. Nobody serves others as their job, wheh somebody wants coffee they make it for themselves of for everyone.
They meet weekly as a whole office. There is no pre set agenda and no phacilitatores or board of directors. They try to address everyones concerns in the meetings, and they make decisions by consensus through discussion. If someone has a problem with a decision that is favored by the majority, they talk about it and maybe it is a personal problem. If one person has a lot of personal problems with decisions, they usually don’t stick with the coop or they will be let go.
They have a very strong emphasis on the process of working through personal problems. They choose themes to reflect on, and they may spend three weeks reflecting on it. They said that they have a different concept of time, they figure that if they work through the issues thoroughly, then in the future they will have fewer problems and more experience problem solving. They feel that the process will benefit everyone eventually, even if the problem is between two people. The health clinic rotates jobs to a certain degree. The doctors (and I think nurses as well) are paid by the hour, like independent contractors, but the other staff rotate between office positions such as front desk and accounting, as well as their small feria, and the appliance and furniture outlet that they have. They manage themselves in different committee’s like the supplies buying committee, and accounting and budgeting, and the committees meet weekly separate from the whole group.
Afterwards, we visited the construction site of the hospital, which was designed by one of the CESOCESOLA old timer’s sons.
A lot has been accomplished in the 39 years of CESOCESOLA. They have many different coops organized and collaborating with each other. They are independent of the government and their autonomy is important to them. They are an example of a well functioning organization that is providing employment in a radical form that is sustainable and the workers are happy with.
Mercals
As I road along with CESOCSOLA associates touring the different facilities, we past Mercals (gov. subsidized grocery stores) on two different days and the lines were stretched out the door and around the parking lot. I learned that the Mercals don’t always have the most in demand items such as powdered milk and chicken, and that at least in Sanare, each person in line can only have one of those items. However, to a lot of people who are really poor, waiting in line is worth it, because the price is half as much. The family that my friend Marlo is living with goes to the Mercals on Saturdays, and all three or four of the adult women wait in lone for sometimes four hours.
Mantecarmelo and the Coop of Moncar
From the town of Sanare, I took a jeep taxi up into the hills, on dirt and paved roads, to Montecarmelo. Too small to be considered a town, Montecarmelo is made up of a clustering of houses around a church, and lower and high schools. There are three tiny stores called Bodegas, where you can request what you want over the counter. It is a farming area, vegetable fields and animal pastures patch the surrounding hills, and occasionally people ride their horses through town. The street outside the bodegas are spotted with black, because many of the men spit tobacco as they hang out with their friends in front of the bodegas. Within a few days most people know my name, and would call out to me and say hi as I passed by.
At the far side of town, the road winds up a steep grade, to summit the hill and lead past an organic farm, and then down the other side where there is another tiny town, where the coop bakery is located. I liked to walk up the hill for the exercise and the view of the surrounding hills and the town of Sanare down below.
My first impression of the Moncar Coop, on my first day there, was that it is very relaxed and laid back. This changed a little as I saw that they worked very long days, and a six day week at times. When I arrived they were making candied peaches. I sketched them as they filled jars of one batch, and then helped peel the little peaches for the next batch. They sat together in the big kitchen, peeling the peaches with knives and chatting with each other.
On my first evening in Montecarmelo, I met Marlo, and after talking a while with some other people on the street, we went into the community meeting room and did an hour of exercise with the Aarrio Adrentro dance therapy program. There was a Cuban instructor and we jumped around non stop and I had a great time. A different excersise instructor comes to the Moncar ladies twice a week to do dance therapy with them.
These are some of my journal entries:
The Moncar women took Sunday off after many of them had worked a six day week. I am seeing that their days are very similar, but not all of them work the same amount of time, some have other activities. Two are attending mission sucre to get teaching credentials, one already teaches high school classes and is part of the nucleolus of endogenous development committee, two are involved in other coop businesses that are getting started.
When they are at Moncar, the tasks are similar, but with different fruit or vegetables for different recipes. They all work together and the fruit gets cut and prepared in different ways, the jars get boiled, filled, caped and cleaned. They use an incredible amount of sugar with the peaches.
It is fun for me to see the fruit and it’s incredible colors, because to me they are exotic. I want to use the colors of the fruit in my paintings.
Monday May 7th
This morning I arrived at Marlo’s house at six thirty in the morning. Marlo is a girl my age from Seattle who has been living in Montecarmelo for a year and a half. She invited me to come along to the aqueduct construction and soup party up in the mountains.
We loaded food, pot and pans into the jeeps, and then a big group of men, and a few other women, drove up dirt roads through the hills, past beautiful, small farms to the edge of the jungle forest. I learned that a group of about four men have been hauling bags of concrete, sand and gravel along pathto the water spring for about two months now. The materials are paid for by the government because it is a community council project. Everyone in the town has to contribute one days work, or they pay someone for a days work. It is a very important project, because the old auquaduct was only sand bags crating a dam around a pipe that drained a stream. The new construction should provide more water for the town, and hopefully cleaner. The town now gets water for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. When it is very rainy the water is muddy.
I hiked to the spring carrying a sive, the others hiked with heavy bags full of concrete and sand. Today they mixed the concrete, and made the floor of what will be a big tank, about eight to then feet square. As they worked they all sheared a few bottles of rum, and a bag of arepas, sardines and soda. A few of the guys and the women stayed back with the jeeps and cooked two giant pots of soup. I video taped and Marlo took pictures, because one of the older men insisted that every step be documented.
After hanging out up in the jungle for a few hours, Marlo and I went back down to the jeeps and the soup. It began to rain hard, so we ate in the jeeps. One of the women, who is pregnant, had her first contraction, so we got in one of the jeeps and went back to Montecarmelo. However, the road was muddy after the rain, and the truck did not have traction on the old tires, so we got out a few times on the way and walked as the jeep slid around up and down the steep grades. We eventually made it safely back, and Justaidy the pregnant woman made it to the hospital in plenty of time.
This afternoon I attended a meeting of the producers (farmers) in the area. They were telling how many kilos of what crops they would have ready for to sell in the feria this weekend. Two women were writing things down. There were about 18 men and one other women there, sitting in a circle. The woman was just as outspoken as the most outspoken men present.
Tuesday May 8th
Tuesdajys are consejo comunale meetings. They are scheduled to begin at 5pm,
but don’t start on time. They keep going without stopping until almost 9pm at times.
This consejo started in August of 2006.
The auquaduct construction was the first priority project, and the construction began two months ago, in March. Most of the construction work is carrying the supplies to the site.
The consejo is also working on the local housing developments. In the past the new housing programs have been run by the government completely, and the distribution has not been fair. Now the consejo decides who in the community has the most need, and ideally this will be a more fair process.
The Banco Comunado
Is a cooperative within the community council, probably like a committee. It is very new, and its purpose is to distribute loans for specific needs of individuals in the community such as agriculture expenses. The people asked why the committee is taking so long to give out the money, and they explained that they want to be careful it deciding how much to give out, because they don’t want to give more than a person can pay back. Also, because agriculture is inconsistent with earnings, they want to make sure the people will have monthly payments that are manageable.
Today I spoke with Irma, one of the Moncar laidies, about the projects in the consejo comunale and the local cooperatives. She was positive about the consejo process, but doesn’t like to attend all of the meetings herself. She can get filled in on everything from other people afterwards. She told me about the banco comunado, and the amount of money they are giving out, which is one 12 million Bolivar loan and two 20 million bs. Loans. I was not sure if people besides farmers could get the loans, but it sounds like there are places where people can get loans for building additions on their houses, so it is a good possibility.
I asked her about the other coops close by and in the state of Lara. I learned that Lara has the most coops in any one place, and many of them have long histories. The women of Moncar have been involved in helping other women form coops. Gaudy was a teacher/ facilitator in a vuelvan Caras program, and a few others helped out as well. She told me about the other young coop that Cruz is a part of, called Las Cojona, which is a tourism coop that is trying to find a place to run a posada, and they are waiting for funding. America works with a coop that makes natural fruit juice consentrate, called Asembando (I think), they are waiting for funding as well, or possibly she meant that they haven’t started making profits.
Irma explained that when Moncar began, they were organizing themselves, but did not have money and so had to look for it. Now she says there are opportunities for money, so what is happening is people are attracted to the money first, and then they organize. She was critical of this because working as a coop is very hard work and in order for it to last, the people have to put the relationships before the money. For her the process of working together, building and enjoying community, is more important than the money that they earn. Similar to what the CESOCESOLA people said.
My reflection:
It is hard to know what the percentage of the new government trained coops have already failed. I learned from a Professor from a University in France, who is who was in Caracas doing research for a book on coops and co managed factories, that many people are taking the money but not actually operating their businesses as coops. To me, as long as a large percentage of the loans are paid back, (which is the case at least with Ban Mujer), and people are creating businesses that are helping the economy grow, than there is no real problem. I think that there are many, many issues that would make a coop difficult to maintain, especially if the groups are formed from people who don’t know each other very well, and have little experience with group organizing and communication. What is essential I believe, is that people have the opportunity to start businesses, because the ability to work cooperatively is something that will take time.
My artistic processes
I hav myself in a rut, trying to depict objects and people too exactly. With the cirlcle painting of Moncar, I felt like I could not branch out into a more fluid style, because the people and objects were so small. I hope that painting another canvass similar to this one, will allow me to move forward and experiment with style. I am stuck because I have a vague idea of where I want to go with the style and tourniquet, but not enough bravery and attention while I am painting. With this painting I wanted to show cooperative process, and show the area and food that the women use and make.
My next painting, which consists of six sailboats, moving forward together in a circle, is an attempt to incorporate the rich colors of the fruit the Moncar women work with, into a visual concept of cooperative business. My vision for the painting had been much more fluid and with bigger, less blended brush strokes. Right now it could be close to a finishing point, but I really want to be satisfied with it, so I think I will go over it again, but stick with the same colors.
Montecarmelo- Monday may 14th
This morning the Moncar ladies showed up later than usual, after taking a whole two days off for the weekend. Most of them didn’t many of them had other tings to do today as well, so there were only a few women there. They made dulce de leche, which is a popular household creol sweet. It looks like brains in the jar, but it is something to do with butterscotch milk curds.
I went into town to use the phone, internet and buy groceries. The jeep taxis go into Sanare fairly regularly, but you never know how long you will have to wait. After a while in town, I met up with Marlo, who had to buy food as well. It began to rain hard as we headed back to find a taxi up to Montecarmelo. We ran into a few people from Montecarmelo in the same old SUV I came down from the mountains in with the women about to go into labor. They told us they were headed back pretty soon. A little over 3 hours later, after picking somebody up at their parents house, driving up the opposite hill to speak on a community radio show, and then picking up some tools at another house, we finally retuned to Montecarmelo. It was a good time had by all. The they guys who had been working on the auquaduct and cutting weeds along the road, spoke about what they were doing. The two that spoke wanted to assure everyone the listeners that they were not just drinking and using the communities money, they were really working too. One of them were lamenting about the fruit trees had been cut down by high school kids as they were cutting the grass.
Tuesday May 15th.
Consejo Comunale Reunion
Presentation by Mission Campo Adentro- Desarollo Edgogeno By the President of the Necleous of Endogenous Development in Sanare. The Presentation was to show what is possible for Montecarmelo. In the Sanare Nucleous, they are planning on addressing various problems, such as indiscriminate burning for farm land with reforestation and conservation planning as they develop a coffee coop for the community. He spoke about health and education problems, and the plan to gather statistics. The Sanare plan has new housing, environmentally friendly waist systems, planned neighborhoods with sports fields, Mercals, Hospital, bus terminal etc.
After the presentation a letter was read from a teacher who has too many students, with signatures from other teachers. The community sees it as a good problem, because there are a few people in the community about to graduate from the Mission Sucre education program.
They also discussed the community bank loans, which I talked about before.
Later in the week I spoke with Goudy, a leader in the community and in the coop of Moncar, about the Nucleous Desorollo Endogeno of Montecarmelo.
Goudy explained that it is a group made up of representatives from the established organizations in the community called associacion civiles, such as the coops and the producers (farmers) collective. They were not elected. They are working to make plans around new community developments, agricultural development, and tourism. Their plans for tourism are around gastronomy- providing various locally produced foods, a posada with local foods, and walking
This morning I read a few articles about factories in Venezuela that have been shut down by their owners, but have been reclaimed by the workers. Some of these factories still have a conventional management structure but they accept aid from the government. Some partly state owned, moving toward total worker ownership as they earn more. Some have developed cooperative management and are proactively building relationships with the community through giving support, or supply the government subsidized food program, the Mercals. There is a divide in the government and among workers over whether the country should be moving toward more and more state ownership, or in a new direction that includes cooperative management, but worker ownership.
Co-managed and Occupied Factories’ Workers Revolutionary Front (FRETICO) had a march scheduled for this morning, and although it had been moved to a new location, we eventually found it. It was a pretty small group, perhaps twenty or thirty people. We soon leaned that three busloads of workers from Sanetarios de Maracay a factory from Maracay (a city just outside Caracas), had been stopped by police on the way to the demonstration this morning. The police had beat ten people and shot one person. They could not proceed to Caracas.
It is unclear exactly why they were held up, but the guesses are that it has something to do with the governor of the state being conservative.
In addition to speaking to two workers from a valve factory from Los Teques, who are part of FRETICO, we spoke with a few Europeans who were writing a book about this whole process, the successes and difficulties within the different models. We also made a connection with a women who might be able to take us to visit a fabric factory that is being occupied by it’s workers, who were all apparently laid off. This factory is mostly women, so I am really going to try to check this out when I get back.
Arrival at CESOCOESOLA
Daniel and I arrived in Barquisimeto around 3pm. We called the CESOCESOLA office and were soon picked up by three guys who took us around the corner to one of the Ferias. It was a large spacious, with some partial walls for light and ventilation. We were given a complete tour of the different sections of the store, stopping to speak with people who were working. We saw and leaned that the Feria is divided into three sections. One for non perishable foods, that are carefully stacked on simple, big metal shelves and bins. There are two sections for produce, one with lower priced items, some of them less attractive crops that would normally sell for more. The more expensive section has some of the same items as the other, as many people shop in only one section. In both produce sections the food is weighed by weight all together in bags, and everything on one section has the same weight price that is specified for that day, approximately an average of everything being sold. They also told us that they regularly buy as much as they can from farmers who operate as cooperatives and or collectives and who they have established relationships with. About 3.5 to 4 tons of fresh produce go through the big Ferias each week, and we leaned later visited the other large Feria, which was even larger.
The ferias are open from 5:30am on Friday morning until late afternoon, and again on Saturday and Sunday for shorter days. The parking lot of the large Feria that I stayed at would be bustling before dawn, with people waiting outside before the doors opened in the mornings. Inside there would be long lines at the cash registers, which operate with only a calculator and scales, no computer operated electronic cash registers. They like their system, because it requires that there be trust in the cashiers. The cashiers in the non perishable foods section have a list of all of the prices, and they end up memorizing the most common items.
While some family members waited in line, others would wait with bags of already bought food, or buy other items in the independently operated meat and cheese area, natural foods and medicines area, herb stand, pet food area, non food items area, or café. It was a bustling scene, with nice music coming from the stage in the middle.
After being driven to the other Feria, which is in an industrial part of town, we were shown around and then saw where we would be staying, which is a house that they call the “school”, which functions as an office, meeting space, and has a few big rooms full of bunk beds, as well as a kitchen. Soon were loaded into the CESOCESOLA SUV, and were given a tour of the surrounding area, where we could buy food and use the internet (the mall) and were also given a tour of the funeral home. The funeral home is one of the oldest coops associated with CESOCESOLA.
CECOSESOLA is an organization of 39 coops, all operating independently, but organized together for large meetings every few months. They all operate similarly, with collective decision making and rotating committees and job positions, instead of hierarchy and stagnant job placement. All coops involved contribute from each pay check to provide their own health and funeral insurance for themselves and their families. It has a long history of development and struggle. At one point in the early years when they had a bus collective, many of the busses were destroyed by the government. The food Ferias began as trucks that would drive around selling produce in neighborhoods. The health clinics which are part of the TRIUMFO collective, pay their doctors by the hour, and the rest of the staff runs and operated the clinics, rotating to work in their small food feria and bulk appliance and furniture programs. All of the CESOCESOLA coops are contributing to build a hospital, which I visited and the construction is 60% complete.
I asked why they were spending money on their own hospital when the government is providing free health care now. They responded that they began this project before this government began the new health system, and the government system is still young and dysfunctional. They don’t want to have to wait for appointments for government care, and they also have a specific idea of what type of health care they want, which is includes acupuncture and a community environment of their own creation.
The venezuelaanalysis.com article that I read said that there is a variety of political opinion in CESOCESOLA, and that they keep their cards close to their vest. My experience with the people I talked to was that they value their autonomy and are far ahead of the Chavez programs in quality and function of their services and methods. In the conference I attended, I learned that their experience has shown them that real change has to happen within each individual, working with others and working on themselves. There was definite skepticism of whether government can even have much impact on creating significant social and economic change. Nevertheless, CESOCESOLA has helped the current government in constructing the cooperative laws for the country, and they have aided gov. programs that are trying to train people to create cooperatives, however, they clearly state that they are not political, they are working on creating self sufficiency and community.
Other important things I learned about CESOCESOLA in their conference, was that they do not even consider themselves anti capitalism, like the Zapatistas. They discuss Zapatismo in their meetings at times, but the concluding position I heard was that because capitalism works against the people, they don’t need to be against it, it is already against you. They don’t want to waist their energy being against something, they prefer to just create the community and reality they want.
Friday with CESOCESOA
Pasta Co-op
This morning we met up with two Feria guys, a young guy named Juan who lives in central Mexoco and works with the Zapatista Otro Campana, and who was invited to speak at the conference. We met up with another invited speaker, woman from Argentian who has been part of the unemployed factory workers campaign to re take over factories and create jobs for themselves. We all loaded into the SUV and drove to Sanare. Out first stop was the pasta cooperative 8 de Marzo. They are an older coop, with about 20 years experience, named after the date of international women’s day. It was a pretty small factory, with about eight women working, a few kids there helping sift flour, and a man working as well. They have a giant pasta making machine, that they pour the batter into. They worked together cutting the pasta as it came out of the machine and puttig it on drying racks. They make whole wheat pasta and also pastas with blended vegetables in the batter. They sell granola as well, a recipe they got from a conference. They use flakes of corn kernels instead of oats, because it is more economical, it is also less heavy. They sell their products in the Ferias and a few small businesses, but the majority of their products are sold in the city of Maracaibo, where there is more wealth and demand for health food.
Community school
We then walked down the hill a little to the community school, which had been formed and built by the community. It started as a catholic school as part of Fey y Allegria, but now gets government funding. I was impressed by the amount of art and craft projects first grade through 8th, and the quality of the work. We spoke a little with a teachers meeting, they had questions for us about the US, and the director spoke with us at length outside of the meeting. She spoke about the importance of having created their community resources independent from the government and the pride and satisfaction they have in their school because they have formed it to be what they wished for.
Montecarmelo and the Bread Coop
After lunch in Sanare we went to Montecarmelo. The Moncar preserve coop was closed, but we went up the hill to the Organic Farm. There we ate the delicious yogurt they produce, and looked at their worm composting system, herb garden and vegetable fields.
Then we drove down the other side of the steep hill on the dirt road and into another little town where the bread coop is located. The bread coop is also a well established business, named La Campesina. They bake giant batches of long sandwitch bread, both whole wheat and while, as well as a few sweets, that they sell at the Ferias and a few other places. They had a big mixer, a machine for kneeding, and a big old oven.
Saturday
Today we saw the area where the grain is ground into flour to be sold in the ferias as flour and a few different drink products.
We also visited a health clinic, which is part of the TRIUMFO organization. One of the clinic workers spoke to us about her experience, and how the clinic runs. All CESOCESOLA associates get a reduced rate for the already very affordable doctor visits, because they contribute a little percentage of each of their pay checks to health care.
They told us that in the clinics there is no higherarchy, everyone is on equal footing. Nobody serves others as their job, wheh somebody wants coffee they make it for themselves of for everyone.
They meet weekly as a whole office. There is no pre set agenda and no phacilitatores or board of directors. They try to address everyones concerns in the meetings, and they make decisions by consensus through discussion. If someone has a problem with a decision that is favored by the majority, they talk about it and maybe it is a personal problem. If one person has a lot of personal problems with decisions, they usually don’t stick with the coop or they will be let go.
They have a very strong emphasis on the process of working through personal problems. They choose themes to reflect on, and they may spend three weeks reflecting on it. They said that they have a different concept of time, they figure that if they work through the issues thoroughly, then in the future they will have fewer problems and more experience problem solving. They feel that the process will benefit everyone eventually, even if the problem is between two people. The health clinic rotates jobs to a certain degree. The doctors (and I think nurses as well) are paid by the hour, like independent contractors, but the other staff rotate between office positions such as front desk and accounting, as well as their small feria, and the appliance and furniture outlet that they have. They manage themselves in different committee’s like the supplies buying committee, and accounting and budgeting, and the committees meet weekly separate from the whole group.
Afterwards, we visited the construction site of the hospital, which was designed by one of the CESOCESOLA old timer’s sons.
A lot has been accomplished in the 39 years of CESOCESOLA. They have many different coops organized and collaborating with each other. They are independent of the government and their autonomy is important to them. They are an example of a well functioning organization that is providing employment in a radical form that is sustainable and the workers are happy with.
Mercals
As I road along with CESOCSOLA associates touring the different facilities, we past Mercals (gov. subsidized grocery stores) on two different days and the lines were stretched out the door and around the parking lot. I learned that the Mercals don’t always have the most in demand items such as powdered milk and chicken, and that at least in Sanare, each person in line can only have one of those items. However, to a lot of people who are really poor, waiting in line is worth it, because the price is half as much. The family that my friend Marlo is living with goes to the Mercals on Saturdays, and all three or four of the adult women wait in lone for sometimes four hours.
Mantecarmelo and the Coop of Moncar
From the town of Sanare, I took a jeep taxi up into the hills, on dirt and paved roads, to Montecarmelo. Too small to be considered a town, Montecarmelo is made up of a clustering of houses around a church, and lower and high schools. There are three tiny stores called Bodegas, where you can request what you want over the counter. It is a farming area, vegetable fields and animal pastures patch the surrounding hills, and occasionally people ride their horses through town. The street outside the bodegas are spotted with black, because many of the men spit tobacco as they hang out with their friends in front of the bodegas. Within a few days most people know my name, and would call out to me and say hi as I passed by.
At the far side of town, the road winds up a steep grade, to summit the hill and lead past an organic farm, and then down the other side where there is another tiny town, where the coop bakery is located. I liked to walk up the hill for the exercise and the view of the surrounding hills and the town of Sanare down below.
My first impression of the Moncar Coop, on my first day there, was that it is very relaxed and laid back. This changed a little as I saw that they worked very long days, and a six day week at times. When I arrived they were making candied peaches. I sketched them as they filled jars of one batch, and then helped peel the little peaches for the next batch. They sat together in the big kitchen, peeling the peaches with knives and chatting with each other.
On my first evening in Montecarmelo, I met Marlo, and after talking a while with some other people on the street, we went into the community meeting room and did an hour of exercise with the Aarrio Adrentro dance therapy program. There was a Cuban instructor and we jumped around non stop and I had a great time. A different excersise instructor comes to the Moncar ladies twice a week to do dance therapy with them.
These are some of my journal entries:
The Moncar women took Sunday off after many of them had worked a six day week. I am seeing that their days are very similar, but not all of them work the same amount of time, some have other activities. Two are attending mission sucre to get teaching credentials, one already teaches high school classes and is part of the nucleolus of endogenous development committee, two are involved in other coop businesses that are getting started.
When they are at Moncar, the tasks are similar, but with different fruit or vegetables for different recipes. They all work together and the fruit gets cut and prepared in different ways, the jars get boiled, filled, caped and cleaned. They use an incredible amount of sugar with the peaches.
It is fun for me to see the fruit and it’s incredible colors, because to me they are exotic. I want to use the colors of the fruit in my paintings.
Monday May 7th
This morning I arrived at Marlo’s house at six thirty in the morning. Marlo is a girl my age from Seattle who has been living in Montecarmelo for a year and a half. She invited me to come along to the aqueduct construction and soup party up in the mountains.
We loaded food, pot and pans into the jeeps, and then a big group of men, and a few other women, drove up dirt roads through the hills, past beautiful, small farms to the edge of the jungle forest. I learned that a group of about four men have been hauling bags of concrete, sand and gravel along pathto the water spring for about two months now. The materials are paid for by the government because it is a community council project. Everyone in the town has to contribute one days work, or they pay someone for a days work. It is a very important project, because the old auquaduct was only sand bags crating a dam around a pipe that drained a stream. The new construction should provide more water for the town, and hopefully cleaner. The town now gets water for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. When it is very rainy the water is muddy.
I hiked to the spring carrying a sive, the others hiked with heavy bags full of concrete and sand. Today they mixed the concrete, and made the floor of what will be a big tank, about eight to then feet square. As they worked they all sheared a few bottles of rum, and a bag of arepas, sardines and soda. A few of the guys and the women stayed back with the jeeps and cooked two giant pots of soup. I video taped and Marlo took pictures, because one of the older men insisted that every step be documented.
After hanging out up in the jungle for a few hours, Marlo and I went back down to the jeeps and the soup. It began to rain hard, so we ate in the jeeps. One of the women, who is pregnant, had her first contraction, so we got in one of the jeeps and went back to Montecarmelo. However, the road was muddy after the rain, and the truck did not have traction on the old tires, so we got out a few times on the way and walked as the jeep slid around up and down the steep grades. We eventually made it safely back, and Justaidy the pregnant woman made it to the hospital in plenty of time.
This afternoon I attended a meeting of the producers (farmers) in the area. They were telling how many kilos of what crops they would have ready for to sell in the feria this weekend. Two women were writing things down. There were about 18 men and one other women there, sitting in a circle. The woman was just as outspoken as the most outspoken men present.
Tuesday May 8th
Tuesdajys are consejo comunale meetings. They are scheduled to begin at 5pm,
but don’t start on time. They keep going without stopping until almost 9pm at times.
This consejo started in August of 2006.
The auquaduct construction was the first priority project, and the construction began two months ago, in March. Most of the construction work is carrying the supplies to the site.
The consejo is also working on the local housing developments. In the past the new housing programs have been run by the government completely, and the distribution has not been fair. Now the consejo decides who in the community has the most need, and ideally this will be a more fair process.
The Banco Comunado
Is a cooperative within the community council, probably like a committee. It is very new, and its purpose is to distribute loans for specific needs of individuals in the community such as agriculture expenses. The people asked why the committee is taking so long to give out the money, and they explained that they want to be careful it deciding how much to give out, because they don’t want to give more than a person can pay back. Also, because agriculture is inconsistent with earnings, they want to make sure the people will have monthly payments that are manageable.
Today I spoke with Irma, one of the Moncar laidies, about the projects in the consejo comunale and the local cooperatives. She was positive about the consejo process, but doesn’t like to attend all of the meetings herself. She can get filled in on everything from other people afterwards. She told me about the banco comunado, and the amount of money they are giving out, which is one 12 million Bolivar loan and two 20 million bs. Loans. I was not sure if people besides farmers could get the loans, but it sounds like there are places where people can get loans for building additions on their houses, so it is a good possibility.
I asked her about the other coops close by and in the state of Lara. I learned that Lara has the most coops in any one place, and many of them have long histories. The women of Moncar have been involved in helping other women form coops. Gaudy was a teacher/ facilitator in a vuelvan Caras program, and a few others helped out as well. She told me about the other young coop that Cruz is a part of, called Las Cojona, which is a tourism coop that is trying to find a place to run a posada, and they are waiting for funding. America works with a coop that makes natural fruit juice consentrate, called Asembando (I think), they are waiting for funding as well, or possibly she meant that they haven’t started making profits.
Irma explained that when Moncar began, they were organizing themselves, but did not have money and so had to look for it. Now she says there are opportunities for money, so what is happening is people are attracted to the money first, and then they organize. She was critical of this because working as a coop is very hard work and in order for it to last, the people have to put the relationships before the money. For her the process of working together, building and enjoying community, is more important than the money that they earn. Similar to what the CESOCESOLA people said.
My reflection:
It is hard to know what the percentage of the new government trained coops have already failed. I learned from a Professor from a University in France, who is who was in Caracas doing research for a book on coops and co managed factories, that many people are taking the money but not actually operating their businesses as coops. To me, as long as a large percentage of the loans are paid back, (which is the case at least with Ban Mujer), and people are creating businesses that are helping the economy grow, than there is no real problem. I think that there are many, many issues that would make a coop difficult to maintain, especially if the groups are formed from people who don’t know each other very well, and have little experience with group organizing and communication. What is essential I believe, is that people have the opportunity to start businesses, because the ability to work cooperatively is something that will take time.
My artistic processes
I hav myself in a rut, trying to depict objects and people too exactly. With the cirlcle painting of Moncar, I felt like I could not branch out into a more fluid style, because the people and objects were so small. I hope that painting another canvass similar to this one, will allow me to move forward and experiment with style. I am stuck because I have a vague idea of where I want to go with the style and tourniquet, but not enough bravery and attention while I am painting. With this painting I wanted to show cooperative process, and show the area and food that the women use and make.
My next painting, which consists of six sailboats, moving forward together in a circle, is an attempt to incorporate the rich colors of the fruit the Moncar women work with, into a visual concept of cooperative business. My vision for the painting had been much more fluid and with bigger, less blended brush strokes. Right now it could be close to a finishing point, but I really want to be satisfied with it, so I think I will go over it again, but stick with the same colors.
Montecarmelo- Monday may 14th
This morning the Moncar ladies showed up later than usual, after taking a whole two days off for the weekend. Most of them didn’t many of them had other tings to do today as well, so there were only a few women there. They made dulce de leche, which is a popular household creol sweet. It looks like brains in the jar, but it is something to do with butterscotch milk curds.
I went into town to use the phone, internet and buy groceries. The jeep taxis go into Sanare fairly regularly, but you never know how long you will have to wait. After a while in town, I met up with Marlo, who had to buy food as well. It began to rain hard as we headed back to find a taxi up to Montecarmelo. We ran into a few people from Montecarmelo in the same old SUV I came down from the mountains in with the women about to go into labor. They told us they were headed back pretty soon. A little over 3 hours later, after picking somebody up at their parents house, driving up the opposite hill to speak on a community radio show, and then picking up some tools at another house, we finally retuned to Montecarmelo. It was a good time had by all. The they guys who had been working on the auquaduct and cutting weeds along the road, spoke about what they were doing. The two that spoke wanted to assure everyone the listeners that they were not just drinking and using the communities money, they were really working too. One of them were lamenting about the fruit trees had been cut down by high school kids as they were cutting the grass.
Tuesday May 15th.
Consejo Comunale Reunion
Presentation by Mission Campo Adentro- Desarollo Edgogeno By the President of the Necleous of Endogenous Development in Sanare. The Presentation was to show what is possible for Montecarmelo. In the Sanare Nucleous, they are planning on addressing various problems, such as indiscriminate burning for farm land with reforestation and conservation planning as they develop a coffee coop for the community. He spoke about health and education problems, and the plan to gather statistics. The Sanare plan has new housing, environmentally friendly waist systems, planned neighborhoods with sports fields, Mercals, Hospital, bus terminal etc.
After the presentation a letter was read from a teacher who has too many students, with signatures from other teachers. The community sees it as a good problem, because there are a few people in the community about to graduate from the Mission Sucre education program.
They also discussed the community bank loans, which I talked about before.
Later in the week I spoke with Goudy, a leader in the community and in the coop of Moncar, about the Nucleous Desorollo Endogeno of Montecarmelo.
Goudy explained that it is a group made up of representatives from the established organizations in the community called associacion civiles, such as the coops and the producers (farmers) collective. They were not elected. They are working to make plans around new community developments, agricultural development, and tourism. Their plans for tourism are around gastronomy- providing various locally produced foods, a posada with local foods, and walking
Monday, April 23, 2007
Friday Coup commemoration
Last Friday, April 13, the government invited everyone to gather in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, to commemorate the five year anniversary of the coup. Justin took this photo of my cousin Colin, my friend from Evergreen, Daniel, and I after we had been befriended by a few Chavista lawyers who dressed us up to look like the thousands of other people there.
Art in Caracas
Caracas has many nice museums, all with no entry fee. I have explored the art museums a few times, my favorite is the museum of modern art. It is a pretty big space, and the building is formed sort of like a maze. At the bottom of the maze they have a large collection of Picasso sketches, and a pretty wide collection other big international artists, like Henry Moor. They have a big video art area, with four screens always playing, and a computer lab where you can watch more. I am attracted to video art because it can capture the modern senses more effectively than still images and show progression of a theme. However, I have only seen about two different pieces that I liked. One was in San Francisco, and the other was here in Caracas. The One in Caracas was interesting because it showed the photos of barrios filling up a hillside. It is hard to show a concept of change in still life, so the use of photo and video made sense.
I have been struggling to show what I have been learning in paintings. Everything here is in process. It is experimental and in transition, so I need to find a way to express that. So far I have finished a painting of a woman in a education mission, and I am working on a painting that shows a working woman in the center of a barrio. The message I am trying to show is that this is her situation, and she is the center of this community.
I have been struggling to show what I have been learning in paintings. Everything here is in process. It is experimental and in transition, so I need to find a way to express that. So far I have finished a painting of a woman in a education mission, and I am working on a painting that shows a working woman in the center of a barrio. The message I am trying to show is that this is her situation, and she is the center of this community.
Meeting again with Yanahir from Cariqual radio
Thursday evening I met with Yanahir Reyes who has a radio program at the Radio Periola station in Caricua. I invited Daniel and Megan to come along. We met up at 6pm at the metro station, and while we were waiting for Megan, Yanahir told us about the Internationa Woman’s conference that had taken place in Caracas last week. Only select groups could attend, so Yanahir was not able to go. I would have wanted to go as well, I had read about it in the news last month. Yanahir was commented how crazy it was that they were not trying harder to break down class boundaries in the women’s movement by inviting volunteer community groups from poor areas to attend. She did go and interview that attendees, with her tape recorder while the attendees were on break. Most of the Women she spoke with were from Latin American countries, but she did talk to a Canadian, and we helped her translate the response while we were participating in her radio show later that evening.
While we were waiting in the metro, she also talked about a small conference that had been put on by a North Amercan women who focuses on midwifery and humane birthing. The workshop/ conference was free and in Spanish. Yanahir wanted to attend a workshop that is happening in Costa Rica about similar themes, but it is way too expensive.
She spoke to us about the terrible practices and norms around birthing in Venezuela, especially poor areas with high birth rates. She explained how sexuality and safe sex are not talked about normally, even though the media and other parts of the culture are very sexualized. She explained that machismo plays a really big part in the high amount of pregnancies, because the guys refuse to use protection. She said that women are often afraid of getting hit by their partners so they don’t insist on it. Also, she said that low self esteem and self worth are huge problems that contribute to this.
She told us about women who try to abort their babies through terrible and dangerous means, because abortion is illegal and only available to the rich who can afford it. She explained a few really gruesome practices for self abortion that she had seen on a video.
Yanahir also spoke about the problems with the birthing process. Women in labor are not accompanied by anyone, they are alone with the doctors and nurses. Cesarean sections are very common, not because it is necessary, but because it is better for the doctors. Cesareans are also more expensive, so it is worse for the poor women.
*I should look into if the Barrio Adentro programs are helping with births.
Before the interview started, as we were walking around, Yanahir talked about how she is buying an apartment with her mother. Her mother recently divorced her father, because he is physically abusive, he is a fighter for socialism, but he is machista. Yanahir said that the new laws about violence against women have made it easyer for women to get divorced.
The actual interview is on tape, and I have yet to write is down, but I will include it in this section when I have it done.
Some of the topics she spoke about were;
The history of the radio station Radio Perola,
Low self esteem contributing to the problems of girls and women and how the goal of her radio program is to focus on women and raise the esteem of women.
Her program is aimed at working women, women in the home, pregnant women and many other topics as well.
Socialism here is based on the work of women, the barrio adentro doctors, the majority of the consejo comunale participants, are women.
Violence against women is a big issue, included, plastic surgery is another very popular form of violence.
While we were waiting in the metro, she also talked about a small conference that had been put on by a North Amercan women who focuses on midwifery and humane birthing. The workshop/ conference was free and in Spanish. Yanahir wanted to attend a workshop that is happening in Costa Rica about similar themes, but it is way too expensive.
She spoke to us about the terrible practices and norms around birthing in Venezuela, especially poor areas with high birth rates. She explained how sexuality and safe sex are not talked about normally, even though the media and other parts of the culture are very sexualized. She explained that machismo plays a really big part in the high amount of pregnancies, because the guys refuse to use protection. She said that women are often afraid of getting hit by their partners so they don’t insist on it. Also, she said that low self esteem and self worth are huge problems that contribute to this.
She told us about women who try to abort their babies through terrible and dangerous means, because abortion is illegal and only available to the rich who can afford it. She explained a few really gruesome practices for self abortion that she had seen on a video.
Yanahir also spoke about the problems with the birthing process. Women in labor are not accompanied by anyone, they are alone with the doctors and nurses. Cesarean sections are very common, not because it is necessary, but because it is better for the doctors. Cesareans are also more expensive, so it is worse for the poor women.
*I should look into if the Barrio Adentro programs are helping with births.
Before the interview started, as we were walking around, Yanahir talked about how she is buying an apartment with her mother. Her mother recently divorced her father, because he is physically abusive, he is a fighter for socialism, but he is machista. Yanahir said that the new laws about violence against women have made it easyer for women to get divorced.
The actual interview is on tape, and I have yet to write is down, but I will include it in this section when I have it done.
Some of the topics she spoke about were;
The history of the radio station Radio Perola,
Low self esteem contributing to the problems of girls and women and how the goal of her radio program is to focus on women and raise the esteem of women.
Her program is aimed at working women, women in the home, pregnant women and many other topics as well.
Socialism here is based on the work of women, the barrio adentro doctors, the majority of the consejo comunale participants, are women.
Violence against women is a big issue, included, plastic surgery is another very popular form of violence.
Susanna
Yesterday I met with Susanna Gonzalas for lunch. Daniel came along. We met in Bolivar square and she led us to a restaurant which worked really well because it was not too noisy. Daniel brought his audio recorder, but it ran out of space mid way through, so I will have to check to see what we got.
The interview was useful, but with ordering and eating it was not really a formal interview.
I started out by explaining that I am interested in learning about the Consejo Comunales, what women are doing in their communities, and her experience of working in her Consojo.
Susanna explained,
The Consejos are a very good way of giving power directly to the people, it is real power and a very different structure. Consejo Comunales are a way of concreting what the gov. has been talking about all along.
It is a good idea because the things that need to be done in communities are designed from and by the community members. Before you had to struggle with the gov. institutions to fix things like a road. Now you decide what you are going to do and how you are going to do it.
However, the people are not prepared yet. The people have to un-learn many things from the past, but they are trying. People now have different values from what is needed to organize effectively.
She mentioned how it has been delightful to hear young people in her barrio talking about their worries about their community and the world.
She said that much of the challenge in organizing in her community is that “we are working with normal people who before maybe never worried about their neighbors.”
Then she talked about part of the culture which is very appearance obsessed, to a point where plastic surgery, specifically breast implants, are very common. Teen age girls ask their parents for them for their Birthdays. “And we are in a revolution, what does that mean?”
Even though many things existed before Chavez, the difference now is that state policies help us.
The Consejo Comunale in my barrio started with 13 people. It was not very effective, so we had a new election and suddenly there were 70 people on the council.
A lot of us are still thinking in the old way of organizing, we think about representative democracy, not participatory democracy. So the process is slow. I learned that you can’t do things for other people. So when others ask me to lead because I know how to get things done, I say no, we have to all figure out how to do it and do it collectively.
“It is a process, we learn in the process.” We are having to figure out how to do things, and sometimes work outside of the regulations because they are not working.
We have gotten a lot done. We have our electricity system done. We are going to have out road. We are going to have more new housing with the program Substitution of Shacks for houses. We have a news paper.
We have four or five opposition people in our council of 70.
I wrote an article about the same event as another community member, who was opposition, and it was a process to agree on how to present both views of the same event.
I asked her about the effects of the mission Madres de Barrio.
She replied that sometimes she thinks that what the gov. is doing is populist. Because programs like Madres de barrio don’t go to the root of the problem. But then I think about the economic divide.
I asked her to speak about other community work she has done.
She talked about the school in Nuevo Tenagua that she worked on, the barrio Charlie lived in. I did not get a lot of details about it, but she said that it was an integral project. Adults would participate, and it was very flexible. If the water came on, everyone would be let out of school to go help with laundry. Sometimes there would be school on holidays. It sounded like it ended badly, with very painful interpersonal conflict.
She talked about a co-op she started when she was younger and had no children. She started making things out of clay, never having experience or instruction before. Then she and a few other people from the community went to a work shop. They started a co-op business. This was before the gov. was promoting co-ops. It was mostly women, and two men. The women who has children and others to take care of earned more, even if the weren’t as fast or good as others. Some of the extra profits went to food for the kids at school, and other causes.
Now, by law there has to be half women in the gov. Some people say is that good if they are not trained and ready? I think it is, gaining experience is the only way to show people how to do it.
Susanna then gave us a few other people to contact who are involved in cultural co-ops, and said that she would think about more people and email us if they agreed.
Later we called the Italian couple to see if we could meet them. They told us about a free video screening they were putting on that evening, so we got the directions and sowed up on time. They are showing a series of films every Tuesday for a few weeks, all on the theme of drugs. The film last night was Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. There were other youngish people there, and they were serving pasta.
Before the film started, while they were waiting for people to show up, we spoke with the Italians, Alexandro and Clementino, and they told us about what they do in the barrio Petare. They also told us about the cultural center we were in, which has a small hostel upstairs and all sorts of classes such as capuera, and salsa.
The interview was useful, but with ordering and eating it was not really a formal interview.
I started out by explaining that I am interested in learning about the Consejo Comunales, what women are doing in their communities, and her experience of working in her Consojo.
Susanna explained,
The Consejos are a very good way of giving power directly to the people, it is real power and a very different structure. Consejo Comunales are a way of concreting what the gov. has been talking about all along.
It is a good idea because the things that need to be done in communities are designed from and by the community members. Before you had to struggle with the gov. institutions to fix things like a road. Now you decide what you are going to do and how you are going to do it.
However, the people are not prepared yet. The people have to un-learn many things from the past, but they are trying. People now have different values from what is needed to organize effectively.
She mentioned how it has been delightful to hear young people in her barrio talking about their worries about their community and the world.
She said that much of the challenge in organizing in her community is that “we are working with normal people who before maybe never worried about their neighbors.”
Then she talked about part of the culture which is very appearance obsessed, to a point where plastic surgery, specifically breast implants, are very common. Teen age girls ask their parents for them for their Birthdays. “And we are in a revolution, what does that mean?”
Even though many things existed before Chavez, the difference now is that state policies help us.
The Consejo Comunale in my barrio started with 13 people. It was not very effective, so we had a new election and suddenly there were 70 people on the council.
A lot of us are still thinking in the old way of organizing, we think about representative democracy, not participatory democracy. So the process is slow. I learned that you can’t do things for other people. So when others ask me to lead because I know how to get things done, I say no, we have to all figure out how to do it and do it collectively.
“It is a process, we learn in the process.” We are having to figure out how to do things, and sometimes work outside of the regulations because they are not working.
We have gotten a lot done. We have our electricity system done. We are going to have out road. We are going to have more new housing with the program Substitution of Shacks for houses. We have a news paper.
We have four or five opposition people in our council of 70.
I wrote an article about the same event as another community member, who was opposition, and it was a process to agree on how to present both views of the same event.
I asked her about the effects of the mission Madres de Barrio.
She replied that sometimes she thinks that what the gov. is doing is populist. Because programs like Madres de barrio don’t go to the root of the problem. But then I think about the economic divide.
I asked her to speak about other community work she has done.
She talked about the school in Nuevo Tenagua that she worked on, the barrio Charlie lived in. I did not get a lot of details about it, but she said that it was an integral project. Adults would participate, and it was very flexible. If the water came on, everyone would be let out of school to go help with laundry. Sometimes there would be school on holidays. It sounded like it ended badly, with very painful interpersonal conflict.
She talked about a co-op she started when she was younger and had no children. She started making things out of clay, never having experience or instruction before. Then she and a few other people from the community went to a work shop. They started a co-op business. This was before the gov. was promoting co-ops. It was mostly women, and two men. The women who has children and others to take care of earned more, even if the weren’t as fast or good as others. Some of the extra profits went to food for the kids at school, and other causes.
Now, by law there has to be half women in the gov. Some people say is that good if they are not trained and ready? I think it is, gaining experience is the only way to show people how to do it.
Susanna then gave us a few other people to contact who are involved in cultural co-ops, and said that she would think about more people and email us if they agreed.
Later we called the Italian couple to see if we could meet them. They told us about a free video screening they were putting on that evening, so we got the directions and sowed up on time. They are showing a series of films every Tuesday for a few weeks, all on the theme of drugs. The film last night was Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas. There were other youngish people there, and they were serving pasta.
Before the film started, while they were waiting for people to show up, we spoke with the Italians, Alexandro and Clementino, and they told us about what they do in the barrio Petare. They also told us about the cultural center we were in, which has a small hostel upstairs and all sorts of classes such as capuera, and salsa.
Barrio 23 de Enero
Late this morning Justin, Daniel, myself, and two Venezuelan friends of ours met up with Ohel at Agua Salud metro station, on the edge of the 23 de Enero Barrio. Ohel took us in a taxi to a neighborhood that was holding elections for representatives for their new Consejo Comunale (community council). This council would represent a section of the hill we looked up at from the road, as the new regulations require each council to only include 200 to 400 families. The brick houses covered every inch of land on the hill, many were two stories, and separated by walkways, mostly simply stairs.
The area where the voting took place was a small parking lot, with a tent set up over a table and a few chairs. On a wall on the opposite side of the small parking lot type area, were the postings of the various positions that people were running for, with the candidates names and pictures below. The elections began at 8am, and the results were announced around 4pm. There was a group of people who there for the entire time just observing to ensure a transparent and legitimate process. Many people, some from other communities, hung out most of the day, the area was always busy, and the music played loudly the entire time. A few women were running the operation, explaining what they were doing and the rules with a microphone.
A woman who was running for the position of women’s committee (committee del mujer) invited us to her house for lunch. We climbed a few narrow stair cases that separated the clay brick walls of the houses that blended one into another. Her house was two levels, nicely tiled and furnished on the first floor and the second floor was an open space with a railing that looked over the barrio on two sides and a thin metal roof. We ate fried chicken and french-fries, until we were called to return to the voting area where the votes were being counted. Later we learned that the women who fed us had won the election.
Ohel then took us and a few other’s who were from other communities but volunteer to help out other communities form consejo comunales. Ohel asked a bus driver who was parked nearby to take us all to another part of 23 de Enero. Here we there was a group gathering for their first meeting, to begin creating their consejo, which was for one large fourteen story building and two smaller buildings. We spoke with Ohel about the laws and regulations of the consejos. And as more people showed up for the meeting we spoke with them about why they were forming a consejo, what they hoped to do.
When the meeting began, Ohel led the meeting, standing in the middle of the large group that sat along the stone wall that separated the walkway/plaza area from a garden and then a parking lot. He explained the different positions that would need to be filled, asked people what they would like to run for, and they made plans to deliver invitations and post flyers for the next meeting. They also began choosing a name for their consejo, besides their officially given number title. They began calling out names and voting by raising their hands in favor or not, but then a man spoke up and proposed that the proposed names could all be put on the ballot so the whole community could decide.
After the meeting we were ready to go, but Ohel insisted that we go up to one of the apartments in the large building and have some soup. We followed him up ten flights of stairs, to a nice apartment where we eventually ate mondongo (cow stomach) soup and bread. There were at least three generations of women who lived in the apartment, I couldn’t figure out if it was four or not. There were men there too, but I didn’t know if they were friends or partners. After drinking little cups of sweet black coffee, and chatting with one of the women who lived there and a neighbor women who was there organizing paperwork from the meeting, we walked back to the metro in the dark, accompanied by Ohel and four others. The lights of the barrio were beautiful, and windows of the tall apartment buildings were light up brightly and wide open.
By that time it were all very sleepy, we had stayed up to around 2am the night before at a salsa club in Sabana Grande, where there had been live music. While there we also met a woman from the states who has been living in Caracas for a few months. She is trying to put together a network for people who come down here to lean about Venezuela for long periods of time. We agreed to meet Tuesday, to share contacts.
The area where the voting took place was a small parking lot, with a tent set up over a table and a few chairs. On a wall on the opposite side of the small parking lot type area, were the postings of the various positions that people were running for, with the candidates names and pictures below. The elections began at 8am, and the results were announced around 4pm. There was a group of people who there for the entire time just observing to ensure a transparent and legitimate process. Many people, some from other communities, hung out most of the day, the area was always busy, and the music played loudly the entire time. A few women were running the operation, explaining what they were doing and the rules with a microphone.
A woman who was running for the position of women’s committee (committee del mujer) invited us to her house for lunch. We climbed a few narrow stair cases that separated the clay brick walls of the houses that blended one into another. Her house was two levels, nicely tiled and furnished on the first floor and the second floor was an open space with a railing that looked over the barrio on two sides and a thin metal roof. We ate fried chicken and french-fries, until we were called to return to the voting area where the votes were being counted. Later we learned that the women who fed us had won the election.
Ohel then took us and a few other’s who were from other communities but volunteer to help out other communities form consejo comunales. Ohel asked a bus driver who was parked nearby to take us all to another part of 23 de Enero. Here we there was a group gathering for their first meeting, to begin creating their consejo, which was for one large fourteen story building and two smaller buildings. We spoke with Ohel about the laws and regulations of the consejos. And as more people showed up for the meeting we spoke with them about why they were forming a consejo, what they hoped to do.
When the meeting began, Ohel led the meeting, standing in the middle of the large group that sat along the stone wall that separated the walkway/plaza area from a garden and then a parking lot. He explained the different positions that would need to be filled, asked people what they would like to run for, and they made plans to deliver invitations and post flyers for the next meeting. They also began choosing a name for their consejo, besides their officially given number title. They began calling out names and voting by raising their hands in favor or not, but then a man spoke up and proposed that the proposed names could all be put on the ballot so the whole community could decide.
After the meeting we were ready to go, but Ohel insisted that we go up to one of the apartments in the large building and have some soup. We followed him up ten flights of stairs, to a nice apartment where we eventually ate mondongo (cow stomach) soup and bread. There were at least three generations of women who lived in the apartment, I couldn’t figure out if it was four or not. There were men there too, but I didn’t know if they were friends or partners. After drinking little cups of sweet black coffee, and chatting with one of the women who lived there and a neighbor women who was there organizing paperwork from the meeting, we walked back to the metro in the dark, accompanied by Ohel and four others. The lights of the barrio were beautiful, and windows of the tall apartment buildings were light up brightly and wide open.
By that time it were all very sleepy, we had stayed up to around 2am the night before at a salsa club in Sabana Grande, where there had been live music. While there we also met a woman from the states who has been living in Caracas for a few months. She is trying to put together a network for people who come down here to lean about Venezuela for long periods of time. We agreed to meet Tuesday, to share contacts.
Semana Santa
Semana Santa, the week of Easter, most businesses are closed and people take time off from work, for a week or more if they can. Many leave the city and visit other parts of the country or if they are rich they travel abroad.
This put a kink in my progress. No interviews were possible, the people in La Vega took off for the river for eight days, no one else was available for interviews until the week after. I really wanted to start doing more outside of painting and Spanish, it is frustrating sometimes how much things shut down for holidays, especially when I want to be getting things done.
4/13/07
Five years ago there opposition attempted to unseat Chavez with a Coup on April eleventh, and by the thirteenth he had been returned to power by the demands of the people. This Wed. there was a large gathering in downtown Caracas. There were speakers and Chavez also appeared and spoke. There were various community events on Thursday, and on Friday people gathered in front of Miraflores, the presidential palace, where they had gathered five years before demanding the return of their president.
I attended the Friday rally, which was like a giant party that filled the street and stretched for three blocks or more. Most people were in the red T-shirts that the government gives out, and many with the matching hats as well. People were simply partying in the street, drinking beer, eating pop corn and meat kabobs, waiting for Chavez to appear and speak. When he finally did arrive on the giant stage that could be seen from a few blocks away, he led a song, and his voice was projected over many speakers along the street. I was one block away, but could see him on the stage behind a giant red podium, distinctly shaped torso and head, waving his arms up in the air at times. I stayed for a while and then left, but Chavez spoke for at least three or four hours. The guard of my apartment building was watching him speak a few hours after I left the rally.
Myself and two gringo friends were flagged down by a small group of middle aged lawyers, who kept chatting with us and offering us beer for over an hour as we all waited for Chavez to appear. The warmth and hospitality of people always surprises me.
This put a kink in my progress. No interviews were possible, the people in La Vega took off for the river for eight days, no one else was available for interviews until the week after. I really wanted to start doing more outside of painting and Spanish, it is frustrating sometimes how much things shut down for holidays, especially when I want to be getting things done.
4/13/07
Five years ago there opposition attempted to unseat Chavez with a Coup on April eleventh, and by the thirteenth he had been returned to power by the demands of the people. This Wed. there was a large gathering in downtown Caracas. There were speakers and Chavez also appeared and spoke. There were various community events on Thursday, and on Friday people gathered in front of Miraflores, the presidential palace, where they had gathered five years before demanding the return of their president.
I attended the Friday rally, which was like a giant party that filled the street and stretched for three blocks or more. Most people were in the red T-shirts that the government gives out, and many with the matching hats as well. People were simply partying in the street, drinking beer, eating pop corn and meat kabobs, waiting for Chavez to appear and speak. When he finally did arrive on the giant stage that could be seen from a few blocks away, he led a song, and his voice was projected over many speakers along the street. I was one block away, but could see him on the stage behind a giant red podium, distinctly shaped torso and head, waving his arms up in the air at times. I stayed for a while and then left, but Chavez spoke for at least three or four hours. The guard of my apartment building was watching him speak a few hours after I left the rally.
Myself and two gringo friends were flagged down by a small group of middle aged lawyers, who kept chatting with us and offering us beer for over an hour as we all waited for Chavez to appear. The warmth and hospitality of people always surprises me.
Week one
I am starting this series with a painting of an older woman who I took a photo of while visiting a Mission Ribas class. The women’s granddaughter is sitting next to her. I was told that her granddaughter accompanies her to all of her classes. The photo attracts me because the women’s expression is very kind and happy.
I am trying to use the colors from the photo, as well as the shapes and perspective. I am hoping to use a painterly impressionist style, but of course that is hard when the focus of the painting is faces. I am really tired of painting realistically and smoothly, but I am still stuck in the habit. Perhaps I need to start something very abstract at the same time, to counter my tendencies. I think that I need to add more to the painting that I am working on than is already there, but the question is what that is. It is already a very crowded picture, so what then would balance it out?
Is it enough to stick with a very simple color palate, and use big strokes?
I have started reading El Pequeno Nicolas. It is very slow going because my vocabulary is so limited. It is good practice to be reading the different tenses, and to be seeing the pronouns so often.
I am trying to use the colors from the photo, as well as the shapes and perspective. I am hoping to use a painterly impressionist style, but of course that is hard when the focus of the painting is faces. I am really tired of painting realistically and smoothly, but I am still stuck in the habit. Perhaps I need to start something very abstract at the same time, to counter my tendencies. I think that I need to add more to the painting that I am working on than is already there, but the question is what that is. It is already a very crowded picture, so what then would balance it out?
Is it enough to stick with a very simple color palate, and use big strokes?
I have started reading El Pequeno Nicolas. It is very slow going because my vocabulary is so limited. It is good practice to be reading the different tenses, and to be seeing the pronouns so often.
Journaling
In Ultimas Noticias, yesterday, I read an article about the new law that was passed protecting women and children from violence. It was exciting to see the week after meeting with the women from Ina Mujer who participated in creating it.
There was also an article about the changes that are occurring in school books, to include images of Afro Venezuelans. They might have mentioned that there is more to the program, but I didn’t understand it very well. What they emphasized in the headlines seemed to be that they are working toward ending racism.
To me these things seem like such basic steps, I am almost surprised that they have not already been around for a while. However, when considering the chaotic history of this government, and what comes first in a machismo culture that has machismo leaders, that it has taken so long for laws to protect women from domestic violence and men forcing women to prostitute, is understandable.
What is interesting is that although these changes are happening late for western time standards, when legislation and changes are happening, they are being created to their full potential, to be more progressive than most other places. Because it is so bad, they are making sure they reach exactly the ideal and no less. Do we have laws protecting women from psychological violence in the US?
It would be good to know when the domestic violence laws were passed in the US, and who initiated and formed them.
There was also an article about the changes that are occurring in school books, to include images of Afro Venezuelans. They might have mentioned that there is more to the program, but I didn’t understand it very well. What they emphasized in the headlines seemed to be that they are working toward ending racism.
To me these things seem like such basic steps, I am almost surprised that they have not already been around for a while. However, when considering the chaotic history of this government, and what comes first in a machismo culture that has machismo leaders, that it has taken so long for laws to protect women from domestic violence and men forcing women to prostitute, is understandable.
What is interesting is that although these changes are happening late for western time standards, when legislation and changes are happening, they are being created to their full potential, to be more progressive than most other places. Because it is so bad, they are making sure they reach exactly the ideal and no less. Do we have laws protecting women from psychological violence in the US?
It would be good to know when the domestic violence laws were passed in the US, and who initiated and formed them.
Spring Journaling
4/23/07
Contributing factors to why Venezuela has a weak economy outside of the oil industry.
The economic explanation:
The Dutch Disease- Where new discoveries or favorable price changes in one sector of the economy, cause distress in other sectors- for example agriculture and manufacturing.
Persistent Dutch Disease provokes a rapid, even distorted growth of services, transportation and other non trade ables while simultaneously discouraging industrialization of agriculture.
Policymakers in undeveloped nations are consistently unable to counter this dynamic.
Mineral ‘rents’ have a particularly perilous nature because they can be easily exploited and exhausted.
“The rents, they argue, too often foster persistent rent-seeking behavior and a bias toward unproductive activities, leading to poor development outcome (Karl, 5).”
Karl says-However, “The Dutch Disease is not automatic. The extent to which it takes effect is the result largely of decision making in the public realm.”
She explains economic effects like The Dutch Disease are outcomes of “the particular institutional arrangements”, political habits and arrangements made by those in power.
Another contributing factor to Venezuela’s lack of industry and reliance on imports is:
As Fernando Coronil explains in Magical State, Nature Money and Modernity,
The combination of the escalating foreign debt and declining economy due to drop in oil prices in the 1980s, caused
‘Local businesspeople to lose confidence in the local market, as a result of the states inability to promote the expansion of the local economy.
Contributing factors to why Venezuela has a weak economy outside of the oil industry.
The economic explanation:
The Dutch Disease- Where new discoveries or favorable price changes in one sector of the economy, cause distress in other sectors- for example agriculture and manufacturing.
Persistent Dutch Disease provokes a rapid, even distorted growth of services, transportation and other non trade ables while simultaneously discouraging industrialization of agriculture.
Policymakers in undeveloped nations are consistently unable to counter this dynamic.
Mineral ‘rents’ have a particularly perilous nature because they can be easily exploited and exhausted.
“The rents, they argue, too often foster persistent rent-seeking behavior and a bias toward unproductive activities, leading to poor development outcome (Karl, 5).”
Karl says-However, “The Dutch Disease is not automatic. The extent to which it takes effect is the result largely of decision making in the public realm.”
She explains economic effects like The Dutch Disease are outcomes of “the particular institutional arrangements”, political habits and arrangements made by those in power.
Another contributing factor to Venezuela’s lack of industry and reliance on imports is:
As Fernando Coronil explains in Magical State, Nature Money and Modernity,
The combination of the escalating foreign debt and declining economy due to drop in oil prices in the 1980s, caused
‘Local businesspeople to lose confidence in the local market, as a result of the states inability to promote the expansion of the local economy.
Cariqual Radio Station with Yanahir
Cariqual is an area that includes about 60,000 people.
The radio station started as loud speakers driving around in a car, spreading information.
When it began, and was still illegal, it broad casted out of an apartment.
Chavez recognized the role of the independent radio stations in the coup, because the state station was taken off the air. When that happened the people from this station went to help the state station and get them back on the air.
Now we have programs directed to families, for people who are in different educational missions,
This program speaks to the needs of women. It is called Millenia de la Mujer, it is three years old.
This program is directed to women and mothers who work hard in home and in the workplace.
Yanahir, “One of my focuses of my program is to bring dignity to pregnant women. In my country the birthing process is very dehumanized. There is not very much education about what the process is like.”
In the radio program, “we are using a lot of gender in language to sensitize women to gender.”
During the day, Yanahir works in the barrios, working with pregnant women, educating them about breast milk.
The law of nutrition and lactation is being discussed in ‘street parliaments’.
The radio station started as loud speakers driving around in a car, spreading information.
When it began, and was still illegal, it broad casted out of an apartment.
Chavez recognized the role of the independent radio stations in the coup, because the state station was taken off the air. When that happened the people from this station went to help the state station and get them back on the air.
Now we have programs directed to families, for people who are in different educational missions,
This program speaks to the needs of women. It is called Millenia de la Mujer, it is three years old.
This program is directed to women and mothers who work hard in home and in the workplace.
Yanahir, “One of my focuses of my program is to bring dignity to pregnant women. In my country the birthing process is very dehumanized. There is not very much education about what the process is like.”
In the radio program, “we are using a lot of gender in language to sensitize women to gender.”
During the day, Yanahir works in the barrios, working with pregnant women, educating them about breast milk.
The law of nutrition and lactation is being discussed in ‘street parliaments’.
Frente Francisco Miranda
We are four years old, work with all of the missions, and we are anti imperialist. We bring up anti imperialist tribunals, educating people about how capitalism doesn´t benefit us. The issue is with the transnational and people who make war for money. Our mission is to break the hold they have on us. They dominate us with our own ignorance. The majority of people involved are youth aged 18- 25.
Most participants have the opportunity to take a course on social work in Cuba. All of us are volunteers.
They call themselves fighters and there are 21,000 participants across the country.
The front began after Chavez and Fidel were talking about how to bring young, new blood into the revolution.
One guy said, “We are the catalyst for the new changes.”
“Our role is to teach people their rights and how to access those rights, like how to vote.”
They think that there are more women than men members.
Our work is going to the barrios, we talk to people, if we find people who are not yet involved in missions yet, we try to get them involved.
If we find people using drugs, we take them to the rehabilitation center.
We all should be part of the territorial reserve of civilians in order to be prepared in case of an event, but most of us are too busy with our social work. The territorial reserve is open to all. It is a civilian militia that meets a few times a month in various parts of the country.
We have reading study groups, we discuss what the president says at the UN, and read Marx etc.
Most participants have the opportunity to take a course on social work in Cuba. All of us are volunteers.
They call themselves fighters and there are 21,000 participants across the country.
The front began after Chavez and Fidel were talking about how to bring young, new blood into the revolution.
One guy said, “We are the catalyst for the new changes.”
“Our role is to teach people their rights and how to access those rights, like how to vote.”
They think that there are more women than men members.
Our work is going to the barrios, we talk to people, if we find people who are not yet involved in missions yet, we try to get them involved.
If we find people using drugs, we take them to the rehabilitation center.
We all should be part of the territorial reserve of civilians in order to be prepared in case of an event, but most of us are too busy with our social work. The territorial reserve is open to all. It is a civilian militia that meets a few times a month in various parts of the country.
We have reading study groups, we discuss what the president says at the UN, and read Marx etc.
Catia TV
Wilfredo spoke to us.
He told us the story of Catia TV.
It has been running for many years, for 16 years as an illegal station, and it has been legal for the past 5 years.
It began with a group of youngsters in the 80s, who were broadcasting with a 16mm camera.
They also played films on the barrio basketball court. They showed Mexican dramas because they exemplified and drama they were experiencing.
They began broadcasting out of an asylum that was in their barrio, where there was a cultural house that served as a space for them.
They began interviewing their elders, who were afraid of the cameras at first due to the reprisals in the past. In order to get the people talking, they would ask them questions about baseball games, specific ones in the past, and they would loosen up and speak about other events that had occurred in that time.
They would project movies and baseball games, and then show footage of the interviews. The neighborhood was only 153 families, but we competed with the commercial stations because people wanted to see themselves.
“Then we began to dream about creating a community TV station. People like to see themselves, we knew that.”
Now they have community teams of audio visual production, and they give workshops to other communities.
Their motto is “Don’t watch TV, come and make it.”
“Today we are networking with 45 community TV stations.”
Nucleus of Endogenous Development
The area was a PDVSA filling station. Because of population growth, this space was abandoned as a filling station. In 2003 it was agreed that homes would be built here.
“We have a textile factory, shoe factory, which are both coops.
We have the two fazes of Barrio Adentro health clinics, and we will be building a library info center, sports court, and much more.
There will be a school of construction that teaches building with more economic materials. There will be a Bolivarian School ( I am not sure it is a university or what level), there will be a day care center for children of the workers.
All on 12 hectors of land, this is the first project of it’s kind.
The textile factory named Venezuela Advances
Is a factory for shirts and other clothes, has 154 workers, only 3 are men.
All of these women took classes at Mission Vuelvan Caracas.
The make school and military uniforms, shirts and aprons, that they are contracted to make.
Before this project, the majority of these women were unskilled. They are all different ages. “We are all the owners. All of the ideas and decisions are decided upon all together, as an assembly.”
They got a loan from the government, (probably PDVESA) for 1 billion bolivares. It is not all spent yet. PDVESA also pays for their rent and electricity.
“We are divided into sections of work, there is not an overseer.”
They have been operating for 2 years. They are looking forward to entering into a South American bartering trade system/ organization- Mercosur.
He told us the story of Catia TV.
It has been running for many years, for 16 years as an illegal station, and it has been legal for the past 5 years.
It began with a group of youngsters in the 80s, who were broadcasting with a 16mm camera.
They also played films on the barrio basketball court. They showed Mexican dramas because they exemplified and drama they were experiencing.
They began broadcasting out of an asylum that was in their barrio, where there was a cultural house that served as a space for them.
They began interviewing their elders, who were afraid of the cameras at first due to the reprisals in the past. In order to get the people talking, they would ask them questions about baseball games, specific ones in the past, and they would loosen up and speak about other events that had occurred in that time.
They would project movies and baseball games, and then show footage of the interviews. The neighborhood was only 153 families, but we competed with the commercial stations because people wanted to see themselves.
“Then we began to dream about creating a community TV station. People like to see themselves, we knew that.”
Now they have community teams of audio visual production, and they give workshops to other communities.
Their motto is “Don’t watch TV, come and make it.”
“Today we are networking with 45 community TV stations.”
Nucleus of Endogenous Development
The area was a PDVSA filling station. Because of population growth, this space was abandoned as a filling station. In 2003 it was agreed that homes would be built here.
“We have a textile factory, shoe factory, which are both coops.
We have the two fazes of Barrio Adentro health clinics, and we will be building a library info center, sports court, and much more.
There will be a school of construction that teaches building with more economic materials. There will be a Bolivarian School ( I am not sure it is a university or what level), there will be a day care center for children of the workers.
All on 12 hectors of land, this is the first project of it’s kind.
The textile factory named Venezuela Advances
Is a factory for shirts and other clothes, has 154 workers, only 3 are men.
All of these women took classes at Mission Vuelvan Caracas.
The make school and military uniforms, shirts and aprons, that they are contracted to make.
Before this project, the majority of these women were unskilled. They are all different ages. “We are all the owners. All of the ideas and decisions are decided upon all together, as an assembly.”
They got a loan from the government, (probably PDVESA) for 1 billion bolivares. It is not all spent yet. PDVESA also pays for their rent and electricity.
“We are divided into sections of work, there is not an overseer.”
They have been operating for 2 years. They are looking forward to entering into a South American bartering trade system/ organization- Mercosur.
INA Mujer
The woman we spoke with explained that her job is to promote the Afro Venezuelan perspective in the Government.
She had been recently elected as the general coordinator for the League of Afro Ven. Women for a two year term.
“I will be in charge of promoting our norms and practices having to do with health etc.
The tourist towns on the beaches are enclaves of Afro Ven. History. AIDS is a big problem in these areas.
Statistics that the ministry of health are only coming from people who are getting treated.
With out women organized we have done a community review.
We are providing written and audio visual material, linked to the UN.
In Three states they will start pilot projects to help with these issues.
We are calling out for all women to march with us on International Woman’s day. We are calling for regulations of material in the media about images of women. From the Regulating Board of Media and the Ministry of Communication.
We are also organizing the 3rd national congress of women Internationals are invited.
We have been organizing 18,000 different grassroots organizations, that all form part of Ina Mujer. Each organization has between 5-50 women.
Ina Mujer is trying to work with congress to promote the law about violence against women. The law is the first of its kind in Venezuela. It typifies the types of violence. The law has nonsexist language.
We are also working with the organizations that take in the complaints from the women, such as the police.
They also work with the Central University’s Women’s studies Dept. on various issues.
There is a lot of work to be done to raise consciousness about diversity and inclusion among women.
Afro Venezuelans are discriminated against in 3 ways:
1. Gender
2. Race
3. Class
There is a presidential commission for the prevention of xenophobia, everyone showed up for the first day for the picture, but since then the minister of education and the minister of communication have not showed up again to the meetings.
As of now, the government does not use language that reflects Afro Venezuelans, they only say that they are descendants of slaves.
“We have had to give a lot of workshops to raise consciousness about the role of Afro Venezuelans in the common image of what people have of a Venezuelan is.
One state has made progress around including text and pictures to show that Afro Ven. Identity.
With three years of w, there has been little advancement, but we hope to advance with this model.
Ina Mujer
The institute for Woman’s studies came from the fight of women to include the vision of women.
One woman in Ina Mujer has been working to consolidate the 18,000 woman’s organizations. However, there are municipalities that are not even very far from Caracas that do not have Woman’s organizations.
We also work with CEDAW, and international organization. Ina Mujer has a committee that works with this organizations, which was formed by 165 countries at a UN committee.
“We use this to propel our work for women. We report back our results about advances. An error is that we have not yet given feedback about our critique of the suggestions of the UN committee.
“transcending gender is even too radical for many women in power, so much is put off in the gov. involving women’s issues.” “ The mistake is that these issues need to include the idea that gender issues area bout men as well. This would transcend the idea that women’s issues are about harassment etc. and language, which are just symptoms. The cause is gender inequality. When you change a word, you are not changing the actions. The fact that each women is unique, because there is not equality among women.
The Organic Law of Prevention and attention to violence against women and families.
The law typifies all the different abuses.
The general fiscal agent has set aside 100 public defenders to work on this law.
Along with the law, Ina Mujer will be training the public defenders, raising their consciousness.
One woman who worked there said, “The most important thing is the manifestation of respect. Gender studies is commonly reduced to the study of women. The idea of equality has not yet been integrated on the individual or societal level.”
Another accomplishment for women is the mission Madres del Barrio (Mothers of the Neighborhood). This mission is trying to raise consciousness about the woman’s ability to be creative and work.
The social worker comes and involves them in the other missions, so they have what they need, and also they can apply/ use their skills in the community.
My thoughts:
I think that Madres del Barrio is going to be more effective than the US welfare system for many reasons. Social workers visiting the women in their community, making sure that they are contributing to the projects that are happening in the community, making sure that they are using the education, food and health missions so that they are staying healthy and learning, is a process that makes sense.
I originally heard about the program from feminists who were describing it as compensation and value of the work that goes on in the home, which contributes to society by nourishing and raising children. This seemed like a powerful idea when I heard it.However, I think it is not complete because I see the “mothering instincts” as socially created, and the ideal that we should be pushing for is true equality, which would mean sharing of the work that people do in the home.
However, in the case of a single parent, there needs to be extra help if the income is not sufficient.
She had been recently elected as the general coordinator for the League of Afro Ven. Women for a two year term.
“I will be in charge of promoting our norms and practices having to do with health etc.
The tourist towns on the beaches are enclaves of Afro Ven. History. AIDS is a big problem in these areas.
Statistics that the ministry of health are only coming from people who are getting treated.
With out women organized we have done a community review.
We are providing written and audio visual material, linked to the UN.
In Three states they will start pilot projects to help with these issues.
We are calling out for all women to march with us on International Woman’s day. We are calling for regulations of material in the media about images of women. From the Regulating Board of Media and the Ministry of Communication.
We are also organizing the 3rd national congress of women Internationals are invited.
We have been organizing 18,000 different grassroots organizations, that all form part of Ina Mujer. Each organization has between 5-50 women.
Ina Mujer is trying to work with congress to promote the law about violence against women. The law is the first of its kind in Venezuela. It typifies the types of violence. The law has nonsexist language.
We are also working with the organizations that take in the complaints from the women, such as the police.
They also work with the Central University’s Women’s studies Dept. on various issues.
There is a lot of work to be done to raise consciousness about diversity and inclusion among women.
Afro Venezuelans are discriminated against in 3 ways:
1. Gender
2. Race
3. Class
There is a presidential commission for the prevention of xenophobia, everyone showed up for the first day for the picture, but since then the minister of education and the minister of communication have not showed up again to the meetings.
As of now, the government does not use language that reflects Afro Venezuelans, they only say that they are descendants of slaves.
“We have had to give a lot of workshops to raise consciousness about the role of Afro Venezuelans in the common image of what people have of a Venezuelan is.
One state has made progress around including text and pictures to show that Afro Ven. Identity.
With three years of w, there has been little advancement, but we hope to advance with this model.
Ina Mujer
The institute for Woman’s studies came from the fight of women to include the vision of women.
One woman in Ina Mujer has been working to consolidate the 18,000 woman’s organizations. However, there are municipalities that are not even very far from Caracas that do not have Woman’s organizations.
We also work with CEDAW, and international organization. Ina Mujer has a committee that works with this organizations, which was formed by 165 countries at a UN committee.
“We use this to propel our work for women. We report back our results about advances. An error is that we have not yet given feedback about our critique of the suggestions of the UN committee.
“transcending gender is even too radical for many women in power, so much is put off in the gov. involving women’s issues.” “ The mistake is that these issues need to include the idea that gender issues area bout men as well. This would transcend the idea that women’s issues are about harassment etc. and language, which are just symptoms. The cause is gender inequality. When you change a word, you are not changing the actions. The fact that each women is unique, because there is not equality among women.
The Organic Law of Prevention and attention to violence against women and families.
The law typifies all the different abuses.
The general fiscal agent has set aside 100 public defenders to work on this law.
Along with the law, Ina Mujer will be training the public defenders, raising their consciousness.
One woman who worked there said, “The most important thing is the manifestation of respect. Gender studies is commonly reduced to the study of women. The idea of equality has not yet been integrated on the individual or societal level.”
Another accomplishment for women is the mission Madres del Barrio (Mothers of the Neighborhood). This mission is trying to raise consciousness about the woman’s ability to be creative and work.
The social worker comes and involves them in the other missions, so they have what they need, and also they can apply/ use their skills in the community.
My thoughts:
I think that Madres del Barrio is going to be more effective than the US welfare system for many reasons. Social workers visiting the women in their community, making sure that they are contributing to the projects that are happening in the community, making sure that they are using the education, food and health missions so that they are staying healthy and learning, is a process that makes sense.
I originally heard about the program from feminists who were describing it as compensation and value of the work that goes on in the home, which contributes to society by nourishing and raising children. This seemed like a powerful idea when I heard it.However, I think it is not complete because I see the “mothering instincts” as socially created, and the ideal that we should be pushing for is true equality, which would mean sharing of the work that people do in the home.
However, in the case of a single parent, there needs to be extra help if the income is not sufficient.
Central University Women´s Studies Dept.
The director Magnelena Valivieso- never showed up, but another woman spoke.
What they address-
The precence of women in organization
The study of women in/ and poverty
The are always working with violence against women and domestic violence.
They work with women and also the violent men.
They give an award every year to a person for important work.
They have spent 5 years working on the Organic Law of Work for Women.
The law that they have been working on, which Magnelena began- The Law for a Life Without Violence for Women, has not been signed yet, but is in parliament.
The age of pregnancy among girls ages 8 to 18 is getting younger.
The average number of children per woman has reduced.
They think that young pregnancies are a determining factor in the cause of women in poverty.
The directors of the schools do not let pregnant girls go to school, although they are allowed to attend by law.
21-22% of pregnancies in the country are girls under 18.
The aggravating factor is that since the 80s poverty has increased.
The number of girls prostituting and living on the streets has increased.
On Sabana Grande children in prostitution has increased.
The problem is also that the amount of participation of women in government. Each party is lawfully supposed to run 30% women candidates.
The number of women in the parliament has increased, because parties have run the women as fillers, and many of them won.
Not all of the women in the government have gender consciousness, but the women who do work closely with the women’s movement.
Something that especially effects women is not knowing what their rights are.
The department is trying to bring gender consciousness to all the departments in the University.
Right now medicine does not have a focus on women, it mostly focuses on men’s bodies.
Venezuela has the highest rate of children per women in South America.
Right now there is not a methodology for gathering statistics on violence against women, girls, anyone.
60% of households are headed by women in poor areas.
The ministry of health was offering birth control pills through the ministry of health, but now they say they don’t have the funding.
This is a political problem.
Article 50- the right of children say that doctors have to attend to children without the accompaniment of their parent. Before this law was passes, a women under 18 had to have the accompaniment of a parent to receive health care.
Much of the new policy gets stuck in the ministries, which are always changing. The minister of education just changed, so they don’t know is all of the work they have been doing on sexual education and prevention of diseases will have to start all over again or not
What they address-
The precence of women in organization
The study of women in/ and poverty
The are always working with violence against women and domestic violence.
They work with women and also the violent men.
They give an award every year to a person for important work.
They have spent 5 years working on the Organic Law of Work for Women.
The law that they have been working on, which Magnelena began- The Law for a Life Without Violence for Women, has not been signed yet, but is in parliament.
The age of pregnancy among girls ages 8 to 18 is getting younger.
The average number of children per woman has reduced.
They think that young pregnancies are a determining factor in the cause of women in poverty.
The directors of the schools do not let pregnant girls go to school, although they are allowed to attend by law.
21-22% of pregnancies in the country are girls under 18.
The aggravating factor is that since the 80s poverty has increased.
The number of girls prostituting and living on the streets has increased.
On Sabana Grande children in prostitution has increased.
The problem is also that the amount of participation of women in government. Each party is lawfully supposed to run 30% women candidates.
The number of women in the parliament has increased, because parties have run the women as fillers, and many of them won.
Not all of the women in the government have gender consciousness, but the women who do work closely with the women’s movement.
Something that especially effects women is not knowing what their rights are.
The department is trying to bring gender consciousness to all the departments in the University.
Right now medicine does not have a focus on women, it mostly focuses on men’s bodies.
Venezuela has the highest rate of children per women in South America.
Right now there is not a methodology for gathering statistics on violence against women, girls, anyone.
60% of households are headed by women in poor areas.
The ministry of health was offering birth control pills through the ministry of health, but now they say they don’t have the funding.
This is a political problem.
Article 50- the right of children say that doctors have to attend to children without the accompaniment of their parent. Before this law was passes, a women under 18 had to have the accompaniment of a parent to receive health care.
Much of the new policy gets stuck in the ministries, which are always changing. The minister of education just changed, so they don’t know is all of the work they have been doing on sexual education and prevention of diseases will have to start all over again or not
Friday, March 16, 2007
Banmujer
Banmujer is the women's development bank. I visited the bank with the global delegation. The first person who spoke to us spoke very eloquently about they mission and need for the bank. He said:
"Their concept of development is really transformation. Women are the majority of Ven. and there is 80% poverty in the country. They define poverty as exclusion, people who lack access to the system. In Ven. we view lack of participation and exclusion as lack of water, recreation, school, spiritual activities that should be a part of every one's life. Because people who live in poverty can only think of survival, that situation is a breeding ground for drugs and delinquency. There are more women in poverty, and high statistics of early pregnancy. These women need to be supported. Because the women take care of the household, a reality that is everywhere, they all work double and triple roles, they work in their homes, with the children, in paid work, but they are only payed for part. It is unfair that there are more women than men and women play a secondary role.
When women work in the capitalist process, they are often demoralized and they don't want to continue.
Here (at the bank) we don't talk about competition, we talk about cooperation, complementary process, solidarity.
The oil money began this bank, but the women pay the loans they take out, and the interest. All productive economic activity qualifies for a loan, except sail of imported goods.
A few examples of businesses women have started with that bank loans are washing, artistry, there are businesses that sterilize tools for surgery.
Women learn about the loans through publicity and propaganda, the president talks about the bank a lot. We also go to the communities, we do work shops. They tell us what the needs are in the community and what businesses they would like to create, we tell them which we can finance.
The interest is 6% a year, and it is charged because the interest is then used to create more loans. It is a social investment, a social gain.
To be continued...
However, if the women can't pay back the loan, nothing bad happens to them. They sign a paper when they take out the loan that guarantees that they will work. "
"Their concept of development is really transformation. Women are the majority of Ven. and there is 80% poverty in the country. They define poverty as exclusion, people who lack access to the system. In Ven. we view lack of participation and exclusion as lack of water, recreation, school, spiritual activities that should be a part of every one's life. Because people who live in poverty can only think of survival, that situation is a breeding ground for drugs and delinquency. There are more women in poverty, and high statistics of early pregnancy. These women need to be supported. Because the women take care of the household, a reality that is everywhere, they all work double and triple roles, they work in their homes, with the children, in paid work, but they are only payed for part. It is unfair that there are more women than men and women play a secondary role.
When women work in the capitalist process, they are often demoralized and they don't want to continue.
Here (at the bank) we don't talk about competition, we talk about cooperation, complementary process, solidarity.
The oil money began this bank, but the women pay the loans they take out, and the interest. All productive economic activity qualifies for a loan, except sail of imported goods.
A few examples of businesses women have started with that bank loans are washing, artistry, there are businesses that sterilize tools for surgery.
Women learn about the loans through publicity and propaganda, the president talks about the bank a lot. We also go to the communities, we do work shops. They tell us what the needs are in the community and what businesses they would like to create, we tell them which we can finance.
The interest is 6% a year, and it is charged because the interest is then used to create more loans. It is a social investment, a social gain.
To be continued...
However, if the women can't pay back the loan, nothing bad happens to them. They sign a paper when they take out the loan that guarantees that they will work. "
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Notes- The Women's Studies Dept. and La Vega
Last week I visited both the Women's Studies Department at the Central University of Caracas, and a barrio called La Vega in the same day, with a Global Exchange Women's Delegation.
The situation of Venezuelan women sounded bleak as the Women's studies professor spoke about the high birth rates, lack of birth control used and accessible, the increasingly young age of girls getting pregnant and in prostitution. The aggravating factor she said, is that since the 80's poverty has increased. Also, sixty percent of women living in poor areas are the head of their households, raising their families without a partner.
After that meeting, we climbed a hill in a bus to the barrio of La Vega, a community that has been strong and organized for almost 30 years. Located on the crest of a hill, La Vega looks down over the Caracas valley. There was a Barrio Adentro (health clinic) and a Mercal (subsidized grocery store) at the top where we parked. We then went into a home that was a home and also operated as a Center for Nutrition Mission. The women there cook meals and snacks for 150 people Monday through Friday. The people who receive the food are selected by a community committee and the Barrio Adentro doctor. The program is meant to reduce mal nutrition, it involves high calorie meals and after three months if a person has put on enough weight, they will leave the program. The food is payed for by the government, and the women who cook get paid $90 a month.
One of the women spoke to us about La Vega. She explained:
There have always been living here in this area, but it has only been very full for thirty years. She said that ever since she was a little she was taught that communities organize themselves. We began to organize because there were problems with delinquency, and no water. We started organizing for necessities like water.
In 1974 President Calos Adres Perez had temporary housing built there out of cardboard and zinc with communal bathrooms. He promised to eventually building sturdy structures elsewhere, but never did.
Eventually the government built very small square brick houses, and water piping. There was not water for 8 years.
The community decided to take things into their own hands, so they kidnapped the director of the water system and kept him in La Vega until he understood their need. Now they get water three days a week.
From what I understood, there is not a lack of water in the city, the infrastructure is just insufficient.
The La Vega organized a committee of security, because the community had been ruled by drug dealers. The struggle was also against the police, who brought drugs and arms to the youth.
The people decided to sit the drug dealers down and tell them what needed to happen.
Their demands were:
They could not use drugs like crack in the community.
They made an agreement the the smoking had to be outside the neighborhood.
They could not sell drugs in the neighborhood because of all of the children around.
Below a certain level on the hill, they could sell out for their houses, but not on the streets and not to kids.
The police were another problem. They would harass everyone, beat people, put them in jail, steal money.
So the community met with the police and made an agreement that they would not enter their barrio. This meeting was not sufficient on its own, they also had to use collective force to protect their community from police attacks. "All of the encounters with the police were violent, and we had to do that so that they would respect us. After so many years of the the community coming out united to defend the community members, the police do not come up here.
The last encounter with the police was when a young guy was taken out of the land cruiser he was driving and beaten up further down the hill, below the La Vega barrio. He is a member of the community's video collective, which has a lot of video making equipment and a vehicle. The cops thought that he had stolen the car, or perhaps just beat him up because he is black. One person from the community ran up the hill to gather people, and many came down to his aid. They threw rocks at the police, and smashed their vehicles. They also called the police commander who they had made an agreement with, and he was able to stop some of the backup that was being sent to back up the police. The people continued being violent until the police left, and when they did leave, it was with broken windshields and popped tires. She explained that the people would not have stopt at anything until the police left. She said "That is an example of how we make ourselves respected.
When answering a question about why Chavez has not made faster progress in eliminating corruption in the police force, she said, "This is a revolutionary process, not a revolution. Everythitng has happened democratically so it is much slower."
This community takes discipline into it's own hands. If a youngster is robbing, the community members will find him, sit him down, tell him what they think, tell him that he is not allowed to do this. If he does it again, they will beat him up. Depending on the offence, they may throw him out of the barrio.
La Vega is made up of 22 communities, and they also try to organize and aid other communities close by. They don't only provide armed back up, they also help out the other communities with theater and community art programs.
She explained that "We criticize the government. In no way will we defend anything that the gov. does and says." I Think that we are all different, what unites us is love, you have to incite love. The more united we are the more we can fight. Fight a system of poverty all around the world. One person cannot lead the struggle. Unite to your community in love."
After this talk, we went to the house of the Media Collective. It is a project that has grown strongly due to the support of a Venezuelan guy who went to college in the US, and now lives in La Vega. They have created about 5 films, and we were able to watch one of them. They do very good work and many of the young people are very busy and involved with the collective.
The situation of Venezuelan women sounded bleak as the Women's studies professor spoke about the high birth rates, lack of birth control used and accessible, the increasingly young age of girls getting pregnant and in prostitution. The aggravating factor she said, is that since the 80's poverty has increased. Also, sixty percent of women living in poor areas are the head of their households, raising their families without a partner.
After that meeting, we climbed a hill in a bus to the barrio of La Vega, a community that has been strong and organized for almost 30 years. Located on the crest of a hill, La Vega looks down over the Caracas valley. There was a Barrio Adentro (health clinic) and a Mercal (subsidized grocery store) at the top where we parked. We then went into a home that was a home and also operated as a Center for Nutrition Mission. The women there cook meals and snacks for 150 people Monday through Friday. The people who receive the food are selected by a community committee and the Barrio Adentro doctor. The program is meant to reduce mal nutrition, it involves high calorie meals and after three months if a person has put on enough weight, they will leave the program. The food is payed for by the government, and the women who cook get paid $90 a month.
One of the women spoke to us about La Vega. She explained:
There have always been living here in this area, but it has only been very full for thirty years. She said that ever since she was a little she was taught that communities organize themselves. We began to organize because there were problems with delinquency, and no water. We started organizing for necessities like water.
In 1974 President Calos Adres Perez had temporary housing built there out of cardboard and zinc with communal bathrooms. He promised to eventually building sturdy structures elsewhere, but never did.
Eventually the government built very small square brick houses, and water piping. There was not water for 8 years.
The community decided to take things into their own hands, so they kidnapped the director of the water system and kept him in La Vega until he understood their need. Now they get water three days a week.
From what I understood, there is not a lack of water in the city, the infrastructure is just insufficient.
The La Vega organized a committee of security, because the community had been ruled by drug dealers. The struggle was also against the police, who brought drugs and arms to the youth.
The people decided to sit the drug dealers down and tell them what needed to happen.
Their demands were:
They could not use drugs like crack in the community.
They made an agreement the the smoking had to be outside the neighborhood.
They could not sell drugs in the neighborhood because of all of the children around.
Below a certain level on the hill, they could sell out for their houses, but not on the streets and not to kids.
The police were another problem. They would harass everyone, beat people, put them in jail, steal money.
So the community met with the police and made an agreement that they would not enter their barrio. This meeting was not sufficient on its own, they also had to use collective force to protect their community from police attacks. "All of the encounters with the police were violent, and we had to do that so that they would respect us. After so many years of the the community coming out united to defend the community members, the police do not come up here.
The last encounter with the police was when a young guy was taken out of the land cruiser he was driving and beaten up further down the hill, below the La Vega barrio. He is a member of the community's video collective, which has a lot of video making equipment and a vehicle. The cops thought that he had stolen the car, or perhaps just beat him up because he is black. One person from the community ran up the hill to gather people, and many came down to his aid. They threw rocks at the police, and smashed their vehicles. They also called the police commander who they had made an agreement with, and he was able to stop some of the backup that was being sent to back up the police. The people continued being violent until the police left, and when they did leave, it was with broken windshields and popped tires. She explained that the people would not have stopt at anything until the police left. She said "That is an example of how we make ourselves respected.
When answering a question about why Chavez has not made faster progress in eliminating corruption in the police force, she said, "This is a revolutionary process, not a revolution. Everythitng has happened democratically so it is much slower."
This community takes discipline into it's own hands. If a youngster is robbing, the community members will find him, sit him down, tell him what they think, tell him that he is not allowed to do this. If he does it again, they will beat him up. Depending on the offence, they may throw him out of the barrio.
La Vega is made up of 22 communities, and they also try to organize and aid other communities close by. They don't only provide armed back up, they also help out the other communities with theater and community art programs.
She explained that "We criticize the government. In no way will we defend anything that the gov. does and says." I Think that we are all different, what unites us is love, you have to incite love. The more united we are the more we can fight. Fight a system of poverty all around the world. One person cannot lead the struggle. Unite to your community in love."
After this talk, we went to the house of the Media Collective. It is a project that has grown strongly due to the support of a Venezuelan guy who went to college in the US, and now lives in La Vega. They have created about 5 films, and we were able to watch one of them. They do very good work and many of the young people are very busy and involved with the collective.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)