The Revolutionary Process in Venezuela

Historian, author and activist Larry Shoup will report back on his recent trip to Venezuela. He will discuss the latest developments in the Bolivarian revolutionary process going on in that country. Led by the immensely popular Hugo Chavez, who describes himself as a "subversive," the Venezuelan people are in motion, actively working to create a new society. This exciting process is complex, but can be summed up by focusing on the creation of dual power in the economic and political realms. In economics, hundreds of thousands of cooperatives, a type of workers control, are being created with the help of the government. These are meant to eventually outflank and superseed traditional capitalism. In politics, community councils, consisting of groups of about 200 families each, are being organized to directly govern themselves, instead of relying on traditional representative "democracy." These councils are meant to eventually result in a new type of direct participatory democracy. The entire process is well underway but far from complete. The long term goal is a new type of "21st century Socialism." What are the achievements of and future prospects for this revolutionary process?