Venezuela’s Urban Poor: Newly Influential and Potentially Volatile Shantytown residents celebrate the return of Chavez to power (April 2002)

Emergence of the Urban Poor in Venezuela Early growth of slums in Caracas (1940’s) Superbloques: built by Perez Jimenez  Perez Jimenez (1952 – 1958)  Public housing for rancho residents  National guard stationed at entrances to the city  Rural construction workers kept in camps around the city

A Decade of Rapid Migration Fails to Increase Political Influence Breakdown of order leads to invasions of open land in the cities New settlements consolidated before order is restored Slum dwellers tend to support political parties that are outmaneuvered by AD and COPEI  URD  FDP  MEP

INCOMPLETE INTEGRATION INTO THE PUNTO FIJO SYSTEM  Never given their own sectoral organizations inside of AD and COPEI  Some efforts by COPEI to form and nourish neighborhood councils during the Herrera government ( )  “Brought off” through subsidies

Urban Poor and the Venezuela’s Economic Downturn  Subsidies to urban poor first item to be reduced during 1980’s  Urban poor support for C.A. Perez in 1988 election campaign  Austerity program leads to violence/ rioting in ten largest cities (February 28/29, 1989).  Desperation over consequences of downturn in living conditions  Feeling of betrayal

Eerie calm settles over slums after supression of the riots

Efforts by Punto Fijo Democrats to Respond to Frustrations of Slum Dwellers  Juntas Parroquiales empowered to act as demand making institutions  Economic decline complicates responding to economic concerns  Petroleum income continues to be depressed  Urban poor last to benefit from neoliberal reforms  Prioritization of patronage to party militants  Quality of life in the urban slums

Chávez and the Desire to Punish  Urban poor alienated from AD (Carlos Andres Perez) at the time of February 4, 1992  Some from slums serve as foot soldiers in the coup  Chavez appearance on TV makes him a national figure  Neo-liberal policies of Caldera II intensify alienation  Caldera seen as going back on promise to recreate safety net  Urban poor alienation from regime supportive parties intensifies  Hugo Chavez steps into the vacuum

Urban Poor Transform Electoral Politics  Electoral support for MVR in 1998  Electoral support for the Constitutional Convention of 1999  Elections of July 30, 2000  MVR approaches absolute dominance  MAS – conditional support  AD – strongest opposition congressional delegation  COPEI – all but disappears

 Traded Oil for Health Workers from Cuba  -Began rise to power after 3000 were slaughtered on Feb 27, 1989 because of rapid inflation  -Between 2003 and 2006 Unemployment dropped from 20% to 10%  2006: Raised minimum wage by 15%

Urban Poor in Fifth Republic  Government organizes the Bolivarian Circles (1999)  Restoration of Chavez to power following the coup of April 9-11, 2002  Challenging the middle sectors  Presidential missions to assist the poor  Discrimination against opponents in hiring  2006 Communal Councils begin replacing Bolivarian Circles  20,000 in place as of 2011

What Are Communal Councils?  Urban Council: families (strongest in neighborhood shantytowns)  Rural Council: at least 20 families  Citizen assemblies (a minimum of 10 percent of residents over age 15)

“The councils are part of a broad effort to build a new political system of participatory democracy, in which citizens have control over the decisions that affect their lives.” -

Participatory Democracy?  Direct control of citizens over government (Rousseau)  Stands in opposition to representative democracy (Locke)  Chavez views communal councils as a laboratory for perfecting participatory democracy  Centralized control has increased  Decentralized political institutions (mayors and city councils) have seen their powers diminished  Opponents of the government view communal councils as mechanisms for consolidating President Chávez’s power

Money Within the Communal Councils  By law, they can receive funds  directly from the national, state, or city governments  from their own fundraising  from donations  Award Grants for Community Projects  Communal Banks

Other Dimensions of Financing  12, 000 have received funding for community projects  Established about 300 communal banks  Central government refuses to fund Communal Councils controlled by the opposition (only a few in middle class areas)