The Bolivarian Circles () are political and social organizations of

workers' councils A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of poli ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, originally created by President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

on 21 December 2001.http://www.bauleros.org/TEMAS/PAISES/ARGENTINA/2001-12-21_emancipacion.html. A version of Bolívar's oath had also been used by Chávez at the foundation of the "Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela" on 17 December 1982. See http://elies.rediris.es/elies27/APONTE_MORENO_FINAL_THESIS.pdf. The circles have also been described as

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

s and compared to Cuba's

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (), or CDR, are a network of neighborhood committees across Cuba. The organizations, described as the "eyes and ears of the Revolution," exist to help support local communities and report on "counte ...

Morsbach, Greg. (''BBC'', 12 June 2002)
"Chavez accused of fostering militia links"
Retrieved 13 Jun 2006. and Panama's Dignity Battalions. Following the involvement of Bolivarian Circles in defending President Chávez during the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, the government sponsored the creation of official communal councils on 10 April 2006, some of which became armed colectivos instead.

Background

In April 2001, President Hugo Chávez tasked then-Vice President

Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de VenezuelaDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician who currently serves as Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace s ...

and Miguel Rodríguez Torres to create and finance community organizations that would share local interests to Chávez so his government could lend resources and gain political support. Such support from the government made Chávez's opponents skeptical of any claims of

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

. They are named in honor of

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

, the leader who transformed most of South America from Spanish colonial outposts to the independent states now in place.http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.htm?tbl=RSDCOI&page=research&id=3dec9b4b4 UNHCR The circles were created as state-sanctioned groups that were to be the "principle organizing unit of popular power" and were announced by Chávez as "a great human network" that was created to defend the Bolivarian Revolution. Some circles were modeled after the Dignity Battalions that were created by

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Panamanian military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially ...

and

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

in Panama since Chávez admired the model when stationed there during his military career. The founding documents of Venezuela's Bolivarian Circles state that "the Supreme leader of Bolivarian Circles will be the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and that "the national and international headquarters for the registration of Bolivarian Circles will be the Palace of Miraflores". Some Bolivarian Circles were given combat training and weapons, with some of their leaders being trained in Cuba. According to Lina Ron, a Chávez supporter and head of her own Bolivarian Circle, La Piedrita, thousands of circles deeply loyal to Chávez were "armed to the teeth". Chávez denied allegations of funding and the circles use of weapons.

History

In January 2002, Bolivarian Circles were reported to have blocked the entrance of the newspaper office '' El Nacional'' for over an hour. Numerous journalists have been threatened, berated, and abused physically and verbally, particularly by people that identified with the Bolivarian Circles. Bolivarian Circles also took part in demonstrations that became violent against the 2002 coup attempt. Shortly after the coup attempt in a May 2002 cable from the US Embassy in Caracas, there were concerned reports of members of Bolivarian Circles receiving new motorcycles,

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

brand clothing and that members of the Bolivarian Circles became armed, causing panic in neighborhoods. Numbers of Bolivarian Circles also increased significantly that month according to Diosdado Cabello, with number rising from 80,000 to 130,000.

2007 protests

On 7 November 2007, masked gunmen riding motorcycles opened fire on students returning from a march in Caracas. At the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, eight people were injured, including one by gunfire.

Colectivos

According to

private intelligence agency A private intelligence agency (PIA) is a private sector (non-governmental) or quasi-non-government organization devoted to the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information, through the evaluation of public sources (OSINT or Open Source IN ...

company

Stratfor Strategic Forecasting Inc., commonly known as Stratfor, is an American strategic intelligence publishing company founded in 1996. Stratfor's business model is to provide individual and enterprise subscriptions to Stratfor Worldview, its online p ...

, Bolivarian Circles were also the parent organization of colectivos in Venezuela.

Notes

External links