Experiences of New Type of Democracy

By Jaime Yovanovic Prieto (Profesor J)

Regardless of the name they give it, in our continent there exist several experiences of new democracy in places that are shown to be superiors to the prehistorical forms of the dominant democracy. Let’s take a look at some of them:
The autonomous Zapatista municipalities and the Board of Good Government, which have been published by Clajadep in its web page http://clajadep.lahaine.org
Municipalities that are directed by members of communities originated in Ecuador, where the elected representatives are subordinated to the organization of the communities.
In the region of Lambayeque in Peru, the regional president has gotten to the approximation of several social sectors with an elevated degree of community participation.
The region of Tampogrande, also in Peru, has gotten the cohesion of the most diverse social sectors in defense of the land against the voracity and depredation of the mine industry.

In Bolivia, the Coordinadora del Agua y la Vida (The Coordinator for Water and Life) in Cochabamba, was able to stop the privatization of water based on a mobilization of the population that unified in big social front.
As for Argentina, in the region of Esquel, in a similar experience as that of Tambogrande, has unified to the local population in defense of the territory against the mine industry, which are poisoning the water and soil with cyanide.
An experience with the Mapuche region, a community which is in conflict in Chile, has been about the defense of land, nature, preserved areas, forests, etc.
The productive autonomous and horizontal self-organization of the unemployed movement, which is part of the MTD (Movement of Unemployed Workers) Aníbal Verón in several neighborhoods of Argentina.
In Guatemala, more specifically in the area of Petén, there is an articulation and discussion of its own projects between the different social sectors of the region.
The activities of the municipal workers of Uruguay that have co-cited the meeting with the population, which is about the “carps of the people”.

The new assemblies of the people in different cities of Chile.
The neighborhoods autonomous assemblies in Argentina.
In Brazil, there exist several local experiences of democratic self-organization, like in Fortaleza, Piracema, Belem and so on.
In Paraguay, they are already reflecting on the matter.
In different communities of the continent, there are developing practices of self-government.
On top of all this, we have to add the possibility of constituting reflective groups about a new type of democracy and rights in Chile.
In many places, there are several initiatives that are pointing to the constitution of democracy from the bottom, self-organized and autonomous, which is about a process of expansion.
With this vignette we can see that, because of the ineffectiveness of the actual democracy, the popular movement of sovereignty is in a state of searching the solutions that can permit them to advance toward the overcoming of the prehistory of democracy in the form of self-organization. With that, they will be able to achieve the effective actions of the people’s rights.

Jaime Yovanovic Prieto (Profesor J)