What are communes?

Communes lie at the heart of Venezuela's vision to transform society; they are self-organized neighborhoods that, in coordination with one another through a national Union of Communes, are building a world that puts people, and the planet, before profit and transforms society from the ground up.

In the words of comunero Carlos Herrera, “The commune is the day-to-day process of building self-government. It is the space where our means of production are put at the service of the people. And this, I should highlight, is a process devoid of paternalism – it is a process of empowerment.”

Communard Johan Tovar added, “If the communal council is the basic organizational cell, then it is also the space that will foster the new socialist society. … The commune is a diverse but unified working body: a social body where the most complex problems in our society can begin to be resolved.”

Why are we fundraising, and what are we fundraising for?

The impact of the US blockade has been suffocating for the Venezuelan people, costing the country billions of dollars and killing up to 40,000 people a year (while threatening to kill 300,000 more in a single year) and causing 85% shortages in pharmacies.

Despite the commune’s clear vision, extraordinary creativity, organization, and discipline, the barriers to financial resources are real, and stifling. We know that communes in Venezuela, alongside other social and political movements in the country, are committed to an internationalist perspective and to fighting for the rights of all people – including in the United States. The funds that we raise will go to help support the process to empower the people of Venezuela to build a society that puts people and the planet first.

We do not see fundraising as any short of charity project – far from it. By supporting the communes, we are also fighting to preserve and strengthen a beacon of light in dark times and to uphold some of the most fertile seeds of the future that, together, can save us from the destruction of the planet and the greed of the same capitalist system, the same system that causes rampant homelessness, death, and suffering in the United States. Our liberation is bound together.

Where will the funds go?

Dozens of communes across the country are organizing into a union through which they can support each other, share resources and knowledge, and strengthen the communal project and social life in Venezuela, with an internationalist perspective. Our funds will go through the Communard Union to be distributed to strengthening the work of dozens of communes across the country.

$250 can pay for transport for the communard union to sell the products they produce, such as sugar, coffee, beans, vegetables, and other basic goods, such as by paying to replace tires.

$275 – With this amount, AIAC paid to repair a truck part in the recycling plant that fuels the productive work of 3 communes located in the state of Anzoátegui so that the commune could restart its operations. With his recycling plant, the communards produce plastic wood that is turned into building materials, such as replacement parts for school chairs and desks and parks for children, as part of a vision that centers the fight against climate change and the wellbeing of the planet.

$500 – can pay for the tools needed (such as raw materials and churning devices) for a commune in Lara State to convert goat’s milk into cheese, increasing the earnings from 80 cents to $ 1 per liter for milk to $6 per kilo for cheese, helping the commune to strengthen its organization and meet the needs of its residents.

$1,000 – can pay for the implements needed to improve the production of macadamia nuts, such as a drying and packing machine to help preserve the nuts and help the products reach a wider distribution network. The goods are currently being sold for $20/kilo in Lara state, where they are produced, versus $72/kilo in Lechería (Anzoietgui) or the international price of $35/kilo.

$3,000 can pay for an education / training course for 50 communards for 7 days, including food and transport, to help communards develop leadership and various projects such as feminist struggles.

$5,000 – Would fund the Brigada Argelia Laya, paying for 25 people to travel to regions across the country for 1-2 months to help set up new communes and strengthen the movement in parts of the country where it is not as strong. Primary costs include transit, food, and basic materials such as butcher paper and markers. Because of a lack of funds, the union has not been able to reach regions such as Bolívar and the Amazon region. Contributing to this brigade would be key in helping to expand and strengthen the communard movement and social life in Venezuela.