Block committees sound alarm in Venezuela

By TIM JOHNSON
Herald Staff Writer

CARACAS -- The movement supporting presidential front-runner Hugo Chavez plans to set up political committees on every block, in every factory, on every ranch and in every classroom across Venezuela.

To the opponents of the populist former coup leader, the plan smacks of the neighborhood ``snoop'' committees that keep a lid on dissent in Cuba.

A top aide to Chavez says not to fear: The committees won't serve as social monitors -- or worse, political police. They will only allow Venezuelans from all walks of life to contact the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) that Chavez founded, and perhaps channel observations about corruption to the proper authorities.

``They won't have any function like watching or controlling the citizenry that could be associated with what happens in Cuba. Absolutely not,'' said Hector Davila, the movement's national secretary for electoral matters.

Opponents have used the issue to attack Chavez as he comes within striking distance of capturing the presidency in Dec. 6 elections. Polls say Chavez is the clear front-runner. Chavez expressed admiration for Cuban President Fidel Castro in a visit to Havana in late 1994, but has moved toward the political center to consolidate his support.

Name is similar

Some Venezuelans are uneasy, though, over the movement's explanation of the committees. For one thing, there is the name. According to the official charter of the Fifth Republic Movement, the political committees are called Networks of People's Power. People's Power also happens to be the name of a Cuban elected body.

Asked about the similarity, Davila shrugged.

``The Cubans don't have a copyright on the word `people,' '' he said.

The wording of the charter's Article 18 indicates that the committees will be ubiquitous: ``Two or more primary activists of the Movement . . . will establish the Networks of People's Power on every block, residential compound or building, classroom, factory, office, store, business, hamlet, ranch, plaza or wherever else there is a concentration of people.''

In Cuba, citizens are obligated to take part in neighborhood groups, called Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, that are the eyes and ears of the Communist Party. The groups are known for meddling in the affairs of the citizenry, although their activity has lapsed somewhat in recent years.

Similar watchdog groups were established by the Sandinistas in Nicaragua from 1979 until 1990, and were widely loathed by Sandinista opponents.

A lack of concern

Some analysts think the Fifth Republic Movement's committees will never amount to much. They dismiss any concerns.

``Some of the leftists who surround Chavez and are accustomed to the Leninist way of forming parties went overboard on this,'' said Vladimir Gessen, a psychologist and political commentator.

Gessen noted that many political parties in Venezuela have hierarchical structures and a broad grass-roots presence across the country.

``Democratic Action has a cell in every township,'' Gessen said, referring to the dominant center-left party. ``And if they could put one on every block, in every house, they'd do it, too.''

A Chavez spokesman, Carlos Enrique Tinoco, offered the same comparison.

``The Democratic Action party that was formed by Romulo Betancourt, the father of Venezuelan democracy, also has neighborhood committees, committees in every housing development, union hall, etc.,'' he said. ``No one has ever asked them why they have committees everywhere.''

Disparate elements

The leadership of Chavez's movement comprises an array of radical leftists, nationalists and military hard-liners. The movement has surged on a wave of discontent among those who feel that the political system is unresponsive to the majority of Venezuela's 24 million people.

Perhaps because Chavez has evoked deep mistrust among some Venezuelans, fears have not been assuaged over the role of the grass-roots committees.

``This seems dictatorial to me. . . . They can seek to retaliate against you. Those who sit on a committee can denounce their neighbors,'' said Mercedes Girona, an unemployed philosopher.

``It's evil,'' said Ladislao Iturriza, a sociology student. ``He wants the same thing as Castro in Cuba, to control all movement on the streets.''

Chavez supporters dismiss suggestions that the committees might help an eventual Chavez government impose authoritarian controls.

An eye on corruption

``Communism will never take root here. It has ended in Latin America forever,'' said Bartolome Vasquez, a taxi driver and Chavez supporter.

He said he favored the grass-roots political committees because they may help Chavez -- if he wins elections -- root out bureaucratic corruption that they say is eating away at the government.

``The idea is to get rid of corruption, to separate those who are stealing from those who are not,'' he said.

Davila, the campaign official, said anti-corruption efforts may be only an incidental part of the committees' work.

``Their function will be political organizing,'' he said. ``Look, it's not much different from other parties in Venezuela.''