The Dialectics of Constituted and Communal Power
A Conversation with Ángel Prado
Ángel Prado, mayor of El Maizal Commune discusses how developing communal power and self-governance, as inspired by Hugo Chávez, can ensure dignity for everyone and ownership of the production cycle.
The main spokesperson of El Maizal Commune is trying to put institutional power at the service of the commune.
Ángel Prado, mayor of El Maizal Commune discusses how developing communal power and self-governance, as inspired by Hugo Chávez, can ensure dignity for everyone and ownership of the production cycle.
El Maizal Commune lies at the gateway to Venezuela’s Llanos region, between the states of Lara and Portuguesa. It is one of the most consolidated communes in Venezuela with some 3500 families living in its territory; vast expanses of land dedicated to corn and cattle; and a range of productive projects.
Ángel Prado is the commune’s main spokesperson. Two years ago he won a difficult battle to become mayor of Simón Planas, which is the municipality comprising most of El Maizal along with 11 other communes. In this interview, Prado discusses his efforts in conjugating constituted power with the longstanding project of developing communal power.
Some of our readers are surely familiar with El Maizal, but could you present an overview of the commune?
El Maizal is a sum of experiences, practices, victories, and defeats. However, it is first and foremost a program and project bequeathed to us by Chávez, a program that shapes who we are and how we organize.
El Maizal embodies the communal way of life, which is based on seeking innovative methods and political approaches to create a better world. Of course, this new way of living is not defined by the logic of capital, but by putting what there is in common and ensuring dignity for all.
El Maizal brings together 27 communal councils and 2335 hectares of communal land. Beyond that, it has been able to link its work to that of the other communes in Simón Planas and with those in the Communard Union, which is a national organization made up of more than 50 communes. This is all very important because, as Chávez once said, communes can’t remain isolated; if they do, they will be devoured by the hegemonic system, which is capitalist.
I think that El Maizal contributes significantly to our society and our class, because it adheres to Chávez’s roadmap. That’s why our commune – like many others – serves as a beacon, an example that inspires popular organizations around the country and even around the world.
Communes are more than just political entities; they represent an emerging economic model based on new social relations. Could you elaborate on this?
The battle against capitalism takes place on a large scale; it’s about dismantling the existing norms, especially concerning property. That’s why the collective ownership of property, the collectivization of work, and, of course, the communal distribution of surplus are so important.
Our end goal is to establish a culture of communal property countering the individualism promoted by capitalism. We aim to bring people together, organize within and for the community, and protect our means of production, all the while advancing toward industrialization and direct distribution. Ultimately, we aim to control the entire production cycle.
Currently, because we are primary producers, the surplus of our communal production is often captured by the capitalist market. This is a serious problem, which underscores the importance of communal industrialization.
What I am saying is not just true of El Maizal Commune: all communes need to industrialize. Failing to do so means having a survival economy on the periphery of the existing capitalist system.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, much of the global left turned its back on state power. Arguably, Chávez played a crucial role in repositioning the concept of “taking power” into the discourse of the left.
In Simón Planas, the communal movement sought a foothold in a space of constituted institutional power: the Mayor’s Office. It did so by supporting your successful campaign to become mayor. Why was it important to control that institution?
As Chavistas and communards, we aim to control existing resources and put them at the service of the people. In our case, this means taking control of the means of production and of the public institutions in our municipality.
El Maizal has a long history of communalizing vacant land and means of production, but more recently we succeeded in taking control of the Mayor’s Office by participating in the elections. Like Chávez, we don’t shy away from such contests.
Depending on who controls it, a local government can help or hinder progress toward communal goals and we work hard to do the former. Following Chávez, we believe in actively disputing power: seizing and placing it at the service of the people. Without Chávez’s ascent to political power, the commune wouldn’t have gained traction. His leadership was key to promoting the socialist project and rekindling discussions about the utopia we pursue.
Of course, it’s important that one not be devoured by power; instead, it should serve the people. In our country, when wielded in a revolutionary manner, state power can become a catalyst for advancing the commune.
catalyst for social transformation is the communal movement.
Nonetheless, there are potential pitfalls and dangers. If we were to interpret the Mayor’s Office as the focal point of politics, we would be failing as revolutionaries and Chavistas, since we would be abandoning what should be the core of our political and economic life: the commune.
Your administration as mayor of Simón Planas has proven highly effective. Municipal institutions have solved numerous problems with infrastructure, healthcare, and education. While these achievements are commendable, how do they contribute to the strategic goal of communal socialism?
Now the community participates in the political and economic direction of Simón Planas, thus strengthening communal organization.
Some of the comrades we have talked to here say that the “communal government” should eventually replace the Mayor’s Office. But what exactly is a “communal government” in that context?
government operates with autonomy, sovereignty, and the freedom to make decisions without institutional constraints.
Inspired by Chávez’s vision, our objective is to dissolve old institutions, such as the municipal government, and replace them with self-governed spaces fully committed to the communalization of society.