Culture and politics — a tale of two suburbs

Margarita Windisch, Caracas, GreenLeft Weekly

Three months after the takeover of the local metropolitan police station by the poor community of 23 Enero, in the west of Caracas, the place is as busy as a beehive. The Coordinadora Simon Bolivar (CSB), a militant grassroots community organisation, has been instrumental in involving members of the barrio (neighbourhood) in transforming the derelict old police station into the pride and joy of the poor suburb.

The community is especially proud of the massive portraits painted by local artists of Latin American revolutionary heroes Che Guevara and Simon Bolivar crowning the entrance to the centre. Juan Contreras from the CSB explained: “Now our heroes greet us, not the stench of a rotten and violent system represented by the corrupt police force. Instead of having corrupt police guarding the front gate, grandmothers are doing their daily exercises under the supervision of Cuban health professionals. The centre now also provides education, dance lessons for children, and will be launching its very own radio station on November 25.”