Inside a Venezuelan commune resisting U.S. economic war

Caracas, Venezuela, Dec. 12 — Yesterday, President Nicolás Maduro visited the Amalivaca Socialist Commune, one of the Communal projects of the Bolivarian Revolution, which are part of the process providing participation and self-determination for communities in Venezuela. 

The Commune committees work directly with the government, which provides resources for collective production. These are not private businesses: workers run them collectively and decide how what they produce is used for the benefit of the Commune and society as a whole.

Walking through the commune, you can see how the members, the families, the children are provided for under difficult conditions, how dignity and resistance to U.S. terror and theft of vital resources are maintained.

The U.S. government and the enabling corporate media repeat ad nauseam about the dictatorship and poverty of the Venezuelan people. 

President Maduro moved freely among the people, without the heavy security cordons typical of U.S. or European leaders. The security seemed to come only from the people who surrounded him as he walked around the Commune; our U.S. delegation was visiting. 

At a crowded, open-air gathering, people approached the president directly. I was able to shake his hand and express solidarity. Without knowing me or my intentions, President Maduro handed me a microphone, showing no fear of what I might say. It was an interaction that reflected confidence in the people, not distance from them.

After walking through the commune, the president sat down for an extended discussion. He spoke at length about the impact of U.S. sanctions, the illegal seizure of Venezuelan resources abroad, and the constant threats directed at the country. He emphasized the need to push for peace and rejected the drive toward what he called “crazy war.”

Maduro also focused on the determination of the people, the concrete work of the commune itself — the challenges it faces, the progress it has made, and the importance of expanding production under collective control. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting projects identified by the community as necessary, particularly those that strengthen food security and local self-sufficiency.