the barrios

the barrios
the barrios
Petare


jan 2006

There is talk of revolution in Venezuela. A Bolivarian Revolution. Named after Simón Bolívar El Libertador, the hero who freed the northern part of South America from the Spanish, it claims to be transforming the lives of the 80% of Venezuelans that live in poverty there.

The man leading the revolution is President Hugo Chavéz, a man loved and despised in equal measure. The middle and upper classes have no love for Chavéz nor any understanding of why the working class adore him. He is a friend of Fidel Castro so they think he is a dictator even though he has won 8 elections in the same number of years.

The working class like him because he is brown skinned like them. He also talks like them. They feel that for the first time they are truly represented by their President. They also have something more concrete to support his government for, however. For the last 3 years his government has been pouring money into social programmes that are lifting them out of poverty.

Known as the Missions, these programmes have brought free health care, education and subsidised basic food stuffs to the most poverty stricken people of the country. 

As two journalists visiting Caracas for the World Social Forum we thought it essential to see the Missions and to talk to those people who have benefited from them.

There is one problem with visiting the barrios, however, insecurity. Caracas is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and the barrios are the most dangerous parts of the city. The word insecurity is a word much used by middle and upper class Venezuelans. They are referring to the relatively high risk of theft, muggings, kidnappings and murder Caraqueños (citizens of Caracas) are subject to on a daily basis.

Even worse for us, we were going to Petare, perhaps the biggest barrio in all of Latin America and no doubt home to many of the thieves, muggers, kidnappers and murderers causing that insecurity. Mention to a Venezuelan from one of the wealthier parts of the city such as Altamira that you are heading to Petare for a sight seeing tour and they'll probably tell you that you're mad.

Advice comes from international travel experts too, 'Don't take valuables with you to Petare and do not go alone…', warns the Lonely Planet guide to Venezuela ominously, '…the suburb is close to dangerous slum areas.'

Despite all of the above we went, two conspicuous English journalists, armed only with a note pad, pen and a camera. After ten minutes of wandering around taking a few pictures we had still managed to avoid being either mugged or murdered. In fact people seemed totally uninterested in our presence.

We decided to enter the Alcaldía, which is a bit like the local council offices of the barrio, to make the community aware of our presence and to see if they had any objections. The building itself was difficult to miss covered with Bolivarian slogans and revolutionary rhetoric. Working class communities here display their political allegiances in a fashion not dissimilar to working class communities in the north of Ireland.

Once inside people were actually very friendly and welcoming, even enthusiastic about our presence. We met two community activists, Domingo Alvarez, the more senior and officious of the two, and Richard XXXX who although quite a laid back character was clearly a committed community activist. Almost immediately Domingo agreed to talk to us about the Missions and Richard to show us around the barrio.

We began by discussing Mission Barrio Adentro. This is the Mission responsible for providing health care to the barrios. There are health centres dotted around the barrios and these are staffed by Cuban doctors, opticians and dentists along with Venezuelan assistants (In return for supplying doctors to Venezuela, Cuba receives oil at discounted rates). They administer preventative medical care, carry out minor treatment and prescribe medicine. While we were there, there was a queue of patients typical in size to that of a surgery in the UK.

When we asked him why there were no trained Venezuelan doctors he said that they worked largely in the private sector and were unsupportive of Barrio Adentro. Carla, one of the Venezuelan assistants, put it more bluntly, 'They wouldn't come to the barrios before and, when they did, they saw it as a punishment'

Class mistrust is as evident in the barrios as it is in Altamira.

The unavoidable truth is that there were no clinics like this in the barrios before. There was no preventative treatment such as vaccinations for the poorest 80% of the population. If people became ill they just accepted it. There were some public hospitals for more serious treatment but general health care was something that had to be paid for. And this in the fourth largest oil producing country the world.

Domingo explained to us that the Venezuelan assistants in the clinics aren't merely assistants but trainees. They come through the educational Missions to be trained by the Cuban doctors. The idea is that the Cubans will only remain so long as they are needed. This way the health and education Missions not only serve but actively involve the local community.

There are actually four educational Missions and these take Venezuelans right up to university entry level. Mission Robinson I is for basic literacy and numeracy and is open to all ages. It was started as part of a mass literacy campaign and after 3 years the government claims to have taught 1.3 million Venezuelans to read and write.

Mission Robinson II is for primary level education. We had the opportunity to go to a school and see children being taught and playing in their afternoon break. All the teachers are from the barrio. Whilst Richard showed us around the school he introduced us to the Mothers of some of the children. After chatting we discovered that they actually work in the kitchens on a rotational basis preparing the school meals for the children. At every level local community involvement in the process is evident.

The final two educational Missions are Missions Riba and Sucre. Riba is for secondary education while Sucre is a bridging course between Riba and university. Riba is particularly aimed at those that dropped out of secondary school and the schools have night classes and even distance learning equipment for people who work in the day time. In all something like 12 million Venezuelans are registered in an educational Mission. That's about half of the entire population.

While walking around we asked Richard about danger and insecurity in the barrio. We asked if it would be safe for us, two foreigners, to walk around without him. He looked puzzled by the question and replied that of course it would be safe but warned us to take precautions with valuables. In fact, walking around it was peaceful, a welcome break from the busier Sabana Grande area of the city where we were staying.

Of course there are problems in the barrios just as there are problems in working class districts in cities throughout the world. But what we found in Petare is that the community is struggling to combat these problems, not through an oppressive, exclusionary law and order approach but by strengthening the community and encouraging involvement among all age groups. They appear to be having some success.

We also found other characteristics typical of working class communities too, however: warmth, friendliness, generosity and an almost overbearing desire to make you feel welcome. To define the barrios as 'dangerous slum areas' is to demonise every person who lives there. This has consequences for the wider society.

Most of the lower middle classes, some of whom are not much better off than those in the barrios, don´t see beyond the anti- Chavez rhetoric of opposition leaders and they think his support is based on a cult of personality. While there may be an element of truth in this it misses the point.

He is popular among the working class because they correctly identify him with the radical change that is occurring in their communities. As Richard said, 'The old oligarchy was in power from 1958 -1998 and they did nothing for us. All that money from the oil disappeared. They want to overthrow Chavez but we will not allow that to happen.'

If the wider society saw first hand why Chavez had support it may over time lead to a better understanding among Venezuelans generally.

Our final visit was to a Mercal store. Mission Mercal provides cheap, subsidised food stuffs for poor communities. They do this by bypassing the capitalist distribution chain and buying direct from the wholesalers. The stores, too, can be seen all around the barrio.

Besides the stores there are what are called 'Popular Dining Areas'. At these homeless people or anyone in dire poverty can get a meal free of charge. We were given a drink each for free. We felt a little guilty.

This may seem an uncritical account of the Missions but they really are remarkable. There are several other Missions, too, each serving a different purpose. They are giving people the tools to transform their lives and their communities. 

The Missions are actually administered outside the traditional institutions of the State. That is to say that Mission Barrio Adentro isn´t administered by the Ministry of Health nor Mission Riba by the Ministry of Education. They are financed directly to the barrios and are run from there by the local community. The reason for this is that the Government sees the traditional state apparatus as corrupt and as containing a large number of people opposed to the process.

Domingo told us how he sees this developing, ´It´s a process. The community is learning every day and little by little the process will grow and extend itself. In time the old institutions will become less relevant. That´s how we hope it will proceed.´.

And this is the real danger for the opposition. The social progress could turn the poor 80% of the population into a real political force. 

Talking to people calls the word 'insecurity' to mind again. You can feel it in the barrios too. They fear that those opposed to Chavez want to reverse the social progress that is being made. That should not happen and we suspect it will not happen without a fight.

Steven Mather