@thanks-

You will find no argument from me against the theory of local communities making their own decisions and administering themselves.  Unfortunately that is not what happened in Venezuela.

These local groups were all decreed by centralized power, funded by centralized power, and their leaders chosen by the same power.  No one who was not a full supporter of the Chavez regime was or is welcome or allowed a voice.

So the theory is sound, but the application doesn't pass the smell test.  That statement applies to all of the "good ideas" that have been proposed but poorly implemented over the past 11 years that Chavez has been in power. Most have disappeared, for instance the barrio al dentro medical clinics, the workers cooperatives, and the education misiones.  The money to fund them was stolen for the most part and ended up in the pockets of those who were put in positions of trust.  The real purpose behind them was propaganda, and once the propaganda purpose had been met they were forgotten.   Ideology is what politicians hide beind, not necessarily what they believe or practice.  The overriding goal of narcissists and sociopaths in power is to remain in power, regardless of the facade of Marxism, capitalism, or populism.

Communities should govern themselves, and the decisions they make should go from the individual to the family to the neighborhood and on up, not from the top down.  A facade of populism won't work, not when it's all a propaganda stunt from which funding will be removed if the wishes of those in power are not implemented.

Worth a mention here is that last week Chavez "nationalized" the Hilton Hotel on Margarita island, where he recently held a conference featuring such bastions of freedom as Moammar Qaddafi and Robert Mugabe.  Seems he didn't like the bill the hotel sent, so he took the hotel.

I don't make any of this stuff up.