Resolution
on
People's
Councils
IN THE CITY of São Paulo, the PT has begun to elaborate a policy aimed at setting up People's Councils. The resolution published below was approved by consensus at a delegate meeting of the municipal council.
The question of People's Coun cils has been placed on thin
- da by the PT's victory in São Paulo. Discussions and initiatives on this question have multiplied, raising the demand for a minimum orientation for the party that would help its members intervene in a united way, as well as help organize and deepen the discussion. That is the objective of this resolution.
The elaboration already undertaken by the party, and integrated in the PT's "Programme for Government", starts off by distinguishing autonomous organizational forms, independent from the state and from the administration machine (what we usually call the "movement" or "civil society").
Raised in this framework is the question of People's Councils, and the organization of institutional channels for popular participation in the administration (as is the case for councils on health and transport, commissions of public employees or other mechanisms for democratizing state structures in the municipality).
People's Councils are therefore bodies independent of the state. They are not created by secretariats, regional administrations or any other bodies of the administration. To be structures that broaden the organization of working people in order to facilitate their involvement in struggles, they must be unitary (with all those
April 17, 1989 • #161 International Viewpoint directly concerned participating in them, independently of their party, religious or other affiliations), and they must be democratic (based on the direct participation of those involved and respecting the plurality of opinions expressed inside them).
This implies that they will be a space for debate, organization and political struggle, which it is the party's priority task to promote and in which we seek to win and maintain our hegemony in a confrontation with the other political positions existing in society. 4 adminisration to creato Peoples Affirming that it is not up to the
Councils does not mean that it will not have to play a role in developing them, and that the PT administration will not have an active role in this
An important element in stimulating the setting up of Councils that have a political and social weight is the fact that the PT's municipal administration introduce, without prejudging possible forms, a mechanism that will enable it to give an account of its activities to the population organized in the
In addition, for the population these Councils must be a channel for discussion (and for taking positions) on the problems raised by the PT administration. For its part, the administration must recognize the Councils as a superior instrument for taking into account popular demands, which in any case will continue to be placed on the administration, and encourage those bodies and movements that take up such demands.
People's Councils cannot be created by decree simply on the basis of the political wishes of leaders of the movements. Their formation is conditioned by the accumulation of workers' experiences of political participation, by the level of consciousness and, above all, by the real extent of existing mobilization. However, their development is essential in order for the PT municipal administration to enjoy the mass organized support necessary to implement its pro-
*The People's Councils have to
6 include and unite in action the
leaderships and the mobilized sectors of the population who are involved today in neighbourhood friendly societies, militant tenants' associations, Church base communities, bodies linked to the democratic and popular camp (such as trade-union sections, regional bodies of the CUT, factory committees, sporting and cultural associations and so on), sections of the middle layers who respect internal democracy and, especially, the existing movements.
On the basis of struggles underway, they must also seek the maximum broadening of popular participation, the involvement of new sectors in political action, the incorporation of unorganized sectors and the most deep-going possible structuring mass organization in every neigh-
People's Councils are forms of government based on direct democracy, aiming for popular organization for carrying out struggles at different levels (municipal, state or national), and a form of political representation for the organized population. They can and must carry out a number
• Supporting concrete struggles taking place today (for example, around problems of housing, transport, health and so on), and unifying these popular
• Establishing new political reference points outside of traditional schemas, which go beyond the existing
• Control over the administration's
• Collaboration and pressure on the popular administration (or pressure/ confrontation with the administration when it is led by conservative forces).
• Participation in the popular administration's decision-making at a level to be established, while guaranteeing their total independence and maintaining their distinctiveness from the municipality.
Naturally, carrying out these various functions and the extent of their application will depend on the stage of development of the People's Councils, their representativeness and the more general political situation (the extent of workers' self-organization and the level of democratization in society). The extent to which these Councils are structured must be looked at in this concrete framework.
The People's Councils will adopt positions on different themes and will, therefore, vote. Another problem is
BRAZIL Lulza Erundina, PT mayor of São Paulo (DR) whether the PT's municipal administration should respect their decisions. That depends on a whole series of factors: how representative the Councils are; the questions discussed; how far decisions mesh with the PT's programme and so on. 8 Where to begin? The popular assemblies that we organized in December could be one way of approaching this problem. We could convene them on the party's initiative, with the objective of discussing a common list of themes of crucial interest to the working population. (However, this does not resolve the important problem of unequal levels of mobilization and representation in the organized movements that were apparent in December and which we must take into account.)
These meetings could even be politically strengthened through the presence of representatives from the administration; broad and representative coordinations could be set up (it is recommended that the presence of PT comrades with major responsibilities in the administration be limited). This would complement the struggles and allow a deepening of the debate in the Councils themselves.
A practice of regular report-backs from elected representatives could be developed so that the popular assemblies would establish themselves as legitimate forums of popular organization, as authentic People's Councils.
Slowing down this process would be ill-advised. We can set up these meetings (that we can consider as embryos for Councils in the future) in greater numbers than the popular assemblies in December, as long as that does not mean spreading them too thin politically, and if it represents an important broadening out in terms of par-
Holding these assemblies implies a close relationship with the regional administrations, but the definition of the territorial sphere of responsibility of each Council must be discussed in more detail, both in the party and with PT comrades who have responsibilities 23 in the municipal administration....