Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela (Jacobin)

Building the Commune: Radical Democracy in Venezuela (Jacobin)

<b>Latin America’s experiments in direct democracy</b><br><br>Since 2011, a wave of popular uprisings has swept the globe, taking shape in the Occupy movement, the Arab Spring, 15M in Spain, and the anti-austerity protests in Greece. The demands have been varied, but have expressed a consistent commitment to the ideals of radical democracy.<br><br> Similar experiments began appearing across Latin America twenty-five years ago, just as the left fell into decline in Europe. In Venezuela, poor barrio residents arose in a mass rebellion against neoliberalism, ushering in a government that institutionalized the communes already forming organically. In Building the Commune, George Ciccariello-Maher travels through these radical experiments, speaking to a broad range of community members, workers, students and government officials. Assessing the projects’ successes and failures, <i>Building the Commune</i> provides lessons and inspiration for the radical movements of today.