Discussing Community Feminism in Venezuela: Interview with Moira Blanco Cardona
Revamped Narrative:
Meet Moira Blanco Cardona, a pioneering force behind the Communard Union_, an organization that unites over 100 Venezuelan communes. She's also the voice of the Women and Gender Equality Committee in the Vencedores de Carorita Commune, Lara state. Blanco Cardona has been advocating for communal feminism, a unique, grassroots feminism rooted in the struggle to build anti-patriarchal communes and spearheaded the First National Gathering on Communal Feminism, held last month. Here, she discusses the origins, evolution, and challenges of communal feminism.
Initial Spark:
The genesis of communal feminism dates back to 2018, when we championed the concept of anti-patriarchal communes - calling for the erosion of patriarchy at the communal level and ultimately, society as a whole. In 2019, the vision of a unified national organization, the Communard Union, took shape. It was designed as a political and social tool to strengthen and unify the communal movement under a socialist banner.
The Communard Union was brought to life in 2020, aiming to revitalize and amplify the voice of the communal movement amidst the invisibility brought on by the economic crisis and the pandemic. This crisis intensified poverty levels, impeded access to food, basic services, and led to a drop in communal leaders' morale. This decline was particularly noticeable among women, who were often pushed back into the private sphere, exacerbating gender-based violence and poor health conditions.*
Throughout 2020, the Communard Union organized regional meetings in various Venezuelan states, resulting in heated debates and strategies for resistance, achievements, and maintaining the socialist vision championed by Hugo Chávez and carried forth by Nicolás Maduro.*
Growing the Movement:
From these conversations, a women-led working group emerged, providing a platform for debate and devising strategies based on their lived experiences. These discussions on feminism, its definition, and practice led to the emergence of communal feminism, a term coined in 2020 during a regional gathering by the Argelia Laya Collective in Lara. This term encapsulated the feminist practices already in place amongst the Venezuelan communal movement.*
Communal feminism represents the legacy of trailblazing Venezuelan women like Argelia Laya—a guerrilla fighter, teacher, and feminist—and the millions of women who played vital roles in their communities during Venezuela's most challenging times by distributing food, carrying heavy loads, initiating alternative food options, and recovering traditional medicinal practices.*
Contractions and Challenges:
In response to patriarchal domination within the communal movement, tensions filtered through. To address these, a concerted, transformative approach is required. The Communard Union tackles these issues through cohesive actions that foster a new way of doing politics, tailoring policies to the unique needs of each communal territory while advocating education rooted in community realities.*
Education: The Foundation of Change:
The Communard Union believes that consciousness emerges from our interactions with the world around us. Effective education requires collective debate and recognizing our diversity as well as the sharing of popular, ancestral, and scientific knowledge. The educational initiatives should challenge not just activists but all members of the communal life.*
Revolutionizing Society:
Can communal feminism rekindle Venezuela's diminished feminist movement while fuelling the growth of the communal movement? Absolutely! Communal feminism is the path to building a better world, free of division and based on equality. Women's Committees within the Communard Union are the fundamental tools to drive transformative processes, reaching every corner of society and fostering the empowerment and liberation of women within the commune.*
Sources:
[1] Research Institute on Social Movements and Transformative Change, 2023. "Communal Feminism - Afro-Indigenous Grassroots Women's Movement for Transformation in Venezuela"
- Moira Blanco Cardona, the voice of the Women and Gender Equality Committee in Caracas, has been instrumental in integrating communal feminism within the Vencedores de Carorita Commune.
- The Communard Union, spearheaded by Moira Blanco Cardona, has been rendering politics and general-news circles more aware of the unique grassroots feminism called communal feminism, rooted in the struggle to build anti-patriarchal Venezuelan communes.
- The Cardona-led Communard Union's approach to education, based on collective debate, recognition of diversity, and sharing of knowledge, aims to revolutionize society, fostering the empowerment and liberation of women throughout Caracas and beyond.
