Comunas By: Jessica Grom, James Lewis, Steve Porter, & Amber Young

 A system in which a country or city is separated into districts.  This function can create decentralization. Much like the Middle Ages when feudalism divided up Europe.  Comunas can be associated with Socialism as production and consumption in public ownership are shared.  Countries around the world have seen Comunas implemented much like the 5 countries we will talk about Cuba, France, Argentina, The Soviet Union, and Venezuela  In English speaking, they are frequently called Communes What is a Comuna?

France  In France, the commune is the lowest level in the division of government, the entire inhabited part of the country is divided into communes  Communes can be large cities (like Paris) or small towns and villages  There are about 36,000 in mainland France

History in France  Communes as whole date back centuries, medieval communes were common starting in the 11 th century in Italy  Communes spread to France in the 12 th century  Before the French Revolution, the lowest level of administrative division was a parish  Communes were first formally established in France in 1789, at the beginning of the Revolution

 After the Franco-Prussian War, the Parisian working class and parts of the military took control of the city government  The “Paris Commune” was a communal-based city council that functioned for about one month in 1871  This began the radicalization of Communes, the working class revolt in the 1871 Paris Commune was source of inspiration and concern to Marx and Lenin  Communes got more governmental power after the French governmental passed laws later in the 1800s that gave more authority to municipalities The Fourth French Revolution & “Décentralization”

Comunas in Buenos Aires, Argentina  History of Comunas in Buenos Aires  1994  In the capital city of Buenos Aires amended its Constitution becoming autonomous from the rest of Argentina to manage itself through its local government  October 1, 2001  Plans to implement Comunas in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires begins  Each Comunas would have a Community Board of 7 members directly elected by each district as representatives of their own Comunas  September 1, 2005  1777 Organic Act of 2005 enacts Comunas to be fully transitioned by the end of 2006

Comunas in Buenos Aires, Argentina  1777 Organic Act of 2005  Goals for the enactment of the Comunas 1.Decentralizing the government 2.Equality and Redistribution 3.Ensuring sustainable development 4.Restoring the cultural identity of the city 5.Improving efficiency of the government 6.Promoting direct democracy within the city 7.Facilitating citizen participation

Comunas in Buenos Aires, Argentina “The communes allow citizens to actively participate in the decisions made regarding budget, public spaces, security and access to key services and processes managed by the Government to exercise their citizenship.” -comunas.buenosaires.gob.ar/

First Wave - Russian Empire First wave was Russia Empire Communes were called Mir Pre-dated Serfdom composed of “peasants communities” Sharing of Agricultural production Collect taxes

First Wave - Russian Empire Continued… Individuals in these communities relied on each other Elected a village elder and a tax collector Lenin supported this movement Survived Russian Revolution of 1917

Stalin reiterated the “sharing” of agriculture Stalin had a “five year plan” which included collectivization of farmlands In the 1930s nearly all of the farming lands were “collectivized” Collectivization of farmlands backfired when forced upon peasants- famine in the 1930s happened Collectivization was intended to also boost industrialization Second Wave – Soviet Union

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 Cuban Communist revolutionary and politician Prime Minister of Cuba from President of Cuba from First Secretary of Communist party of Cuba from Politically he is a Marxist- Leninist Fidel Castro

He became involved in leftist anti- imperialist politics while studying law at The University of Havana Eisenhower ordered the CIA to overthrow Castro Under his administration the Republic of Cuba became a one-party Socialist State The United States unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Castro. Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 and Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 Fidel Castro Continued…

In 1961, Castro adopted the Marxism-Leninism ideology. In 1965 he became the First Secretary of the newly founded Cuban Communist Party then lead to the transformation of Cuba into a one-party Socialist republic There were some social pros and cons. It brought about free healthcare and education but it halted freedom of the press. Fidel Castro Continued…

Comunas came about in Cuba in the attempt to decentralize the government and uphold to Communist ideology in Cuba The aims of the comunas are diverse. It is a territorial and political space where the purpose is to build socialism on a permanent basis. The people take charge of their education and political formation Some comunas are more advance than others as it is much more difficult to build comunas in urban areas Cuban Comunas

Chavez wants “socialist communes” Comunas are organized by territories Each comuna has different focal areas, i.e. fishing, production Comunas style governments will perform jobs that National government did Venezuela

Comunas are not in the constitution in Venezuela this creates dissent from Chavez Comunas in Venezuela are communal councils They are local community- based “self-governments” Venezuela

Questions 1.What legislation in Buenos Aires set up comunas? 2.What is one criticism of comunas in Venezuela? 3.What was the focal point of “communes” in Soviet Union?

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