The figure of the communal councils was modified in the legislation that regulates them at the end of 2009.
First, the legislator decided to give the regulatory instrument an organic character; In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic, in order for a law to become organic, it must follow a procedure with additional steps for those that are not. Constitutional article 203 establishes the categories of organic laws.
The Organic Law of the Communal Councils (LOCC) aims to regulate the constitution, formation, organization and operation of the communal councils, as an instance of participation and its relationship with the organs and entities of the Public Power for the formulation, execution, control and evaluation of public policies, as well as plans and projects related to community development.
The LOCC conceives them as instances of participation, articulation and integration between citizens and various community organizations, social and popular movements, which allow the organized people to exercise community government and direct management of public policies and projects aimed at responding to the needs, potentials and aspirations of the communities.
The framework of action of the community councils is called the community cycle, which is made up of the following phases: a.- Diagnosis, where needs are identified; b.- Plan, is the phase that determines the actions to follow according to the diagnosis; c.- Budget, includes the determination of resources and costs for execution; d.- Execution, implies the concretion of the programmed to take it to the real world; e.- Social Comptroller, is the action for the surveillance, supervision and monitoring of the previous steps.
To obtain legal personality and, therefore, be able to interact with public bodies and entities, such as other private entities, they must register through a special registry at the ministerial level, which will analyze the relevant documentation, prior substantiation in accordance with the LOCC and the Law Organic of Administrative Procedures (LOPA), issuing the corresponding decision; In case of being unfavorable, they may be appealed according to the LOPA, exhausting the administrative route and giving access to the contentious administrative jurisdiction.
The Communal Councils are made up of: the Citizens Assembly, the Community Coordination Collective, the Executive Unit, the Community Administrative and Financial Unit and, finally, the Social Comptroller's Unit.
1.- The Citizens Assembly, which is the highest instance of deliberation and decision for the exercise of community power, participation and popular leadership. Its decisions are made by a simple majority of the attendees with a qualified quorum and are binding on the communal council.
It has among its functions the following (article 23 LOCC):
a.- Approve the geographic scope of the communal council; b.- Approve the creation of work committees or other forms of community organization, permanently or temporarily; c.- Choose and revoke the spokespersons; d.- Elect and revoke the members of the electoral commission; e.- Approve the Community Comprehensive Development Plan and other plans; f.- Approve community projects, alternative communication, education, health, culture, recreation, physical activity and sport, housing and habitat, among others; g.- Evaluate the management of each of the units that make up the communal council; h.- Appoint the spokesmen of the communal council for the different instances of popular participation and management of public policies; i.- Approve the constitutive act and statutes of the communal council.
2.- The Community Coordination Collective, as its name implies, looks for the link, the connection; between the different components of the communal council.
It has among its functions the following (article 25 LOCC):
a.- Follow up on the decisions approved by the Citizens Assembly; b.- Coordinate the elaboration, execution and evaluation of the Community Comprehensive Development Plan, articulated with those foreseen by the municipal, state and national levels; c.- Know, after execution, the management of the Community Administrative and Financial Unit of the community council; d.- Present proposals approved by the Citizens Assembly, for the formulation of public policies; e.- Guarantee permanent and timely information on the actions of the units of the Communal Council to the Citizens Assembly; f.- Summon the other units of the Communal Council for matters of common interest; g.- Coordinate the application of the community cycle for the elaboration of the Community Plan for Integral Development; h.- Prepare the statutes of the communal council; i.- Promote community education and training for spokespersons and the community; j.- Coordinate actions with the different committees that make up the Executive Unit in their relations with public bodies and entities for the fulfillment of their purposes.
It indicates the Organic Law of the Communal Councils (LOCC) that are integrated by the Citizens Assembly, the Community Coordination Collective, the Executive Unit, the Community Administrative and Financial Unit and, finally, the Social Controllership Unit.
Continuing with the sequence about the organs that make up a Communal Council, it is the turn of the Executive Unit, the Community Administrative and Financial Unit, as well as the Social Controllership, since the previous ones were worked on in the previous article on the Subject.
3.- The Executive Unit is the instance of the communal council in charge of promoting and articulating the organized participation of the inhabitants of the community, community organizations, social and popular movements in the different work committees; It will meet to plan the execution of the decisions of the Citizens Assembly, as well as to know the activities of each of the committees and work areas.
The committees may include:
to health; b.- Urban Land; c.- Housing and habitat; d.- Communal economy; e.- Integral Security and Defense; f.- Alternative community media; g.- Recreation and sports; h.- Food and consumer protection; i.- Technical water table; j.- Social protection of children and adolescents; k.- People with disabilities; l.- Education, culture and citizen training; m.- Family and gender equality.
The roles are not defined by the LOCC, although it refers to the statutes for its implementation, as well as in the Regulations of the Law.
In the case of indigenous peoples and communities, in addition to the above, the following could be established: a.- Environment and land demarcation committee; b.- Committee of traditional indigenous medicine; c.- Committee of own education, bilingual intercultural education and indigenous languages.
Among the functions of the Executive Unit (article 29 LOCC) are:
a.- Execute the decisions of the Citizens Assembly; b.- Create and organize the internal community information system; c.- Coordinate and articulate the organization and operation of the work plans of the committees and their relationship with the Social Comptroller's Unit, the Community Financial and Administrative Unit and the other social organizations in the community; d.- Promote the creation of new organizations with the approval of the Citizens Assembly in defense of the collective interestand the integral development of the community; e.- Organize social volunteering as a school that generates awareness and activates social duty in work committees; f.- Promote the participation of the work committees in the elaboration and execution of public policies, through the presentation of proposals to the public bodies and entities; g.- Promote and promote community projects that seek to satisfy the needs, aspirations and potential of the community.
4.- The Community Administrative and Financial Unit, previously known as Community Banking, being one of the specific aspects of the legislative reform, is the instance of the community council that functions as an entity for administration, execution, investment, credit, savings and financial intermediation. from the resources of the Citizens Assembly; It is made up of five (5) inhabitants of the community elected through a popular election process. The spokespersons of this Unit incur civil, criminal and administrative responsibility, as the case may be, since they are subject to the provisions established by the Organic Law of the General Comptroller of the Republic and the National Fiscal Control System, the Organic Law against the Corruption, among others, because they manage public resources and funds.
Among its functions (article 31 LOCC) are the following:
a.- Execute the decisions of the Citizens Assembly in the area of its competence; b.- Prepare the accounting records with the supports that demonstrate the income and expenses made; c.- Submit quarterly the management report and the public accountability when required by the Citizens Assembly, the Community Coordination Collective or the public bodies or entities that have granted resources; d.- Provide financial and non-financial services in the area of its competence; e.- Carry out community financial intermediation; f.- Support the policies of promotion, development and strengthening of the social, popular and alternative economy; g.- Promote alternative forms of exchange of goods and services to satisfy the needs and strengthen the social economy; h.- Promote family savings; i.- Manage the funds of the communal council; j.- Consign the vouchers of the Affidavit of Patrimony of the Spokespersons of the Community Administrative and Financial Unit, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Comptroller General of the Republic; k.- Prepare and present the annual project of expenses of the funds of the communal council.
5.- The Social Comptroller's Unit is the instance of the community council to carry out the evaluation of community management and the monitoring of its activities, resources and administration of the funds of the community council. It is made up of five (5) inhabitants of the community elected through a popular election process. It is a coordinating body with the Citizen Power: Public Ministry, Comptroller General of the Republic and Ombudsman.
Among its functions (Article 34 of the LOCC), those of exercising vigilance, supervision and control of the execution of plans, community projects, phases of the community cycle, annual expenditure, public account stand out; cooperation with public bodies and entities in the function of control over resources; remittance of the sworn declarations of patrimony, among others.
On another occasion, other aspects related to the Theme will continue to be discussed.
