The election is over and after a decade of trying to undermine Venezuelan democracy, the right have given President Hugo Chavez a much-needed kick up the backside. The Bolivarian revolution is not under threat, but the opposition - almost extinct a few years ago - is making a comeback.
We provide here links to the official results of the National Assembly elections on S26 in Venezuela as well as links to different articles analysing them. For basic information, see also the Hands Off Venezuela newsletter produced immediately after the election results were announced.
Comuna Under Construction (Dir: Dario Azzellini & Oliver Ressler 2010) is an excellent new documentary on the exciting democratic process involving consejos comunales (communal councils) in Venezuela.
We travelled to Caracas in July 2010 to see how the Bolivarian revolution was progressing. Of everything we saw, we found the degree of community level organisation the most impressive. Since 2006, thousands of communal councils have been set up by Venezuelans. The size of the communal councils can range from 150 families in cities to 10 families in rural areas. Following the tradition of social movements in Venezuela, communal councils are set up to deal with local problems such as schools, roads and cultural-political activities.