Popular assembly
Encyclopedia
A popular or people's assembly is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Assemblies tend to be freely open to participation and operate by direct democracy
. Some assemblies are of people from a location, some from a given workplace, industry or educational establishment others are called to address a specific issue.
The term is often used to describe gatherings that address, what participants feel are, the effects of a democratic deficit
in a representative democratic systems
. Sometimes assemblies are created to form an alternative power structure, other times they work with other forms of government
.
the Ecclesia
was the assembly of all male citizens. Citizens who did not engage politically were called ἰδιώτης (idiōtēs), meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word eventually transformed to its modern form - idiot.
After closure the Chilvert printing press was occupied by workers who organised through an assembly. Within weeks of being reopened as a workers cooperative Chilvert printed a book called Que son las Asembleas Populares? or What are the Popular Assemblies?, a collection of articles written by renowned intellectuals Miguel Bonasso, Stella Calloni and Rafael Bielsa
as well as workers and participants in the assemblies.
As with other workplaces, the print factory was saved from closure by the actions of a popular assembly. The military and police were blocked from entering the factory after the popular assembly of Pompeya called on barrio residents to protect the workplace. Individual police officers expressed their support for the workers and the popular assembly and successfully petitioned the judge to rescind his order to seize the factory.
The assemblies movement is reported to have spiked in power rapidly and fallen from any major significance within months. It is reported that Grigera summing up his analysis of the asambleas states
Direct democracy
Direct democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
. Some assemblies are of people from a location, some from a given workplace, industry or educational establishment others are called to address a specific issue.
The term is often used to describe gatherings that address, what participants feel are, the effects of a democratic deficit
Democratic deficit
A democratic deficit is considered to be occurring when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions are seen to be falling short of fulfilling the principles of the parliamentary democracy in their practices or operation where representative and linked parliamentary integrity becomes...
in a representative democratic systems
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
. Sometimes assemblies are created to form an alternative power structure, other times they work with other forms of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
Examples
- Curiate AssemblyCuriate AssemblyThe Curiate Assembly was the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called "Curia"...
- Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca
- Councils of Good GovernmentCouncils of Good GovernmentCouncils of Good Government were organized by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation guerrilla movement in their areas of influence .-Background:...
- Bolivarian CirclesBolivarian CirclesThe Bolivarian Circles are a loosely-knit political and social organization of workers' councils in Venezuela originally begun by President Hugo Chávez in 2001. They are named in honor of Simón Bolívar, the leader who transformed most of South America from Spanish colonial outposts to the...
- European Assembly for Climate JusticeEuropean Assembly for Climate JusticeThe European Assembly for Climate Justice took place in Brussels from 26 to 29 November 2010.Over 250 people from 10 European countries assembled for 4 days of debates, discussion, action, and networking.-Motivation:...
2010 - Occupy movementOccupy movementThe Occupy movement is an international protest movement which is primarily directed against economic and social inequality. The first Occupy protest to be widely covered was Occupy Wall Street in New York City, taking place on September 17, 2011...
2011
Ecclesia in Ancient Greece
In Athenian democracyAthenian democracy
Athenian democracy developed in the Greek city-state of Athens, comprising the central city-state of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, around 508 BC. Athens is one of the first known democracies. Other Greek cities set up democracies, and even though most followed an Athenian model,...
the Ecclesia
Ecclesia (ancient Athens)
The ecclesia or ekklesia was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens during its "Golden Age" . It was the popular assembly, opened to all male citizens over the age of 30 with 2 years of military service by Solon in 594 BC meaning that all classes of citizens in Athens were able...
was the assembly of all male citizens. Citizens who did not engage politically were called ἰδιώτης (idiōtēs), meaning a private person, a person who is not actively interested in politics; such characters were talked about with contempt and the word eventually transformed to its modern form - idiot.
Popular assemblies during the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002)
During the Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002) many Argentinian citizens started engaging and organising their actions through assemblies.After closure the Chilvert printing press was occupied by workers who organised through an assembly. Within weeks of being reopened as a workers cooperative Chilvert printed a book called Que son las Asembleas Populares? or What are the Popular Assemblies?, a collection of articles written by renowned intellectuals Miguel Bonasso, Stella Calloni and Rafael Bielsa
Rafael Bielsa
Rafael Antonio Bielsa Caldera is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician from Rosario, province of Santa Fe. He is the brother of former Argentina national football team coach Marcelo Bielsa; both are well-known Newell's Old Boys supporters...
as well as workers and participants in the assemblies.
As with other workplaces, the print factory was saved from closure by the actions of a popular assembly. The military and police were blocked from entering the factory after the popular assembly of Pompeya called on barrio residents to protect the workplace. Individual police officers expressed their support for the workers and the popular assembly and successfully petitioned the judge to rescind his order to seize the factory.
The assemblies movement is reported to have spiked in power rapidly and fallen from any major significance within months. It is reported that Grigera summing up his analysis of the asambleas states
‘no matter how progressive or ’advanced’ the social relationships, forms of decision-making and activities of asambleas are said to be, their small scale, lack of influence and flawed co-ordination between themselves and other movements render this movement unable to overcome very narrow limitations.’
See also
- AutonomismAutonomismAutonomism refers to a set of left-wing political and social movements and theories close to the socialist movement. As an identifiable theoretical system it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerist communism...
- AnarchismAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
- Direct democracyDirect democracyDirect democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
- Open town meetingOpen town meetingAn open town meeting is a form of town meeting in which all registered voters of a town may vote . This form of government is typical of smaller municipalities in the New England region of the United States....
- Participatory DemocracyParticipatory democracyParticipatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
- ReferendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
- SpokescouncilSpokescouncilA spokescouncil is a collection of affinity groups and clusters , who meet together for a common purpose, often civil disobedience. "Spokes" is short for "spokesperson", selected by each affinity group of cluster to represent them in the spokescouncil...
- Town meetingTown meetingA town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
- Town hall meetingTown hall meetingA town hall meeting is an American English term given to an informal public meeting. Everybody in a town community is invited to attend, not always to voice their opinions, but to hear the responses from public figures and elected officials about shared subjects of interest. Attendees rarely voted...
- Workers' councilWorkers' councilA workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
External links
- Peoples Assemblies - resources, news and calender
- Website for UK Education Assembly January 2011
- Website for the European Assembly for Climate Justice November 2010
- Via Campsenia - 1000 Cancuns
- The Barcelona Assembly
- The Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca
- Map of Canadian Peoples Assemblies on Climate Justice December 2010
- Popular Assemblies and the Growing Popular Assembly Movement - commentary from Oaxaca by Nancy Davies 4 January 2007
- Spotlight|Throw the bums out- Argentines seek break from begging loans|Roger Burbach|28 February 2002
- Spotlight|The abyss in Argentina|by Roger Burbach|5 May 2002
- Beyond Resistance - Fight the Cuts build Peoples Assemblies by Gerry Gold & Paul Feldman|2010
- Methods to make assemblies and meetings effective, particpatory and enjoyable|Collaborative document|
Video
- Video of The People's Assembly during COP15 outside the Bella Centre, Copenhagen - 16 December 2009
- Peoples Assemblies Video by Dylan Strain