Comunas
By: Jessica Grom, James Lewis, Steve Porter, & Amber Young
What is a Comuna?
 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
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 11th century in Italy
 Communes spread to France in the 12th 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
The Fourth French Revolution & “Décentralization”
 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
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
Second Wave – Soviet Union
• 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
Fidel Castro
• Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was
born on August 13, 1926
• Cuban Communist
revolutionary and politician
• Prime Minister of Cuba from
1959-1976
• President of Cuba from 19762008
• First Secretary of Communist
party of Cuba from 1961-2011
• Politically he is a MarxistLeninist
Fidel Castro Continued…
• He became involved in leftist antiimperialist 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.
Cuban Comunas
• 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
Venezuela
• 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 communitybased “self-governments”
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?
Work Cited
http://comunas.buenosaires.gob.ar/
http://www.lacomuna12.com.ar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&
Itemid=61
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires
http://www.hostellingbolivia.org/images/hostels_mundo/2_1_1.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/HozNLYcefmo/TbfwrXPyjeI/AAAAAAAAAVY/5XIFEgbN6Dg/s1600/comunas.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivization_in_the_Soviet_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obshchina
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/mir-former-russian-peasantcommunity.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384739/mir
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/collectivisation.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/s/su.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KorovinS_NaMiru.jpg
http://www.worldstatesmen.org/ru_1914.gif
http://www.insee.fr/fr/methodes/nomenclatures/cog/documentation.asp
http://www.insee.fr/fr/methodes/default.asp?page=definitions/commune.htm
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/ch01.htm
http://www.daysofthecommune.com
http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/pariscommune/Pariscommunearchive.ht
ml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9centralisation_in_France
http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr//dossiers/intercommunalite/index.shtml
http://www.libcom.org/history/1871-the-paris-commune
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barricade18March1871.jpg
http://www.cat-logistique.com/images/index.4.gif
http://www.foxnews.com/images/463425/0_61_111008_chavez.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/coll.html
http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/5123
http://worldpress.org/Americas/3626.cfm
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5425
ENDER MARCANO & MAYELA ARMAS H. 2012. Micro-missions to pave the way for territorial
reorganization in Venezuela
VÍCTOR SALMERÓN. 2012. Transfer law jeopardizes local governments in Venezuela
http://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/index.php/viva-venezuela-2012/2695-developing-the-power-of-thecommunity
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4257
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro
http://www.cetri.be/spip.php?article1663
http://www.nationstates.net/nation=cuba_socialista
http://socialistwebzine.blogspot.com/2010/06/role-of-communes-in-venezuela.html
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/eLPy0BXIZXc/UJMOJvBKFAI/AAAAAAAANEs/poYGg03gFB4/s1600/Comunas+para+sustituir+al+Estado.j
pg
http://www.analitica.com/va/sociedad/imagenes/9256962.jpg
http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/296705-fidel-castro.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2008/02/19/fidelcastro_wideweb__470x339,0.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_harpqh_9IwQ/TBt4SpyDhI/AAAAAAAACGo/Ol0ZtWeKfvc/s1600/comunaagric.jpg