id: basque-asamblearismo
title: Asamblearismo Assembly
description: >-
  A Basque practice of horizontal assembly decision-making used in
  cooperatives, social movements, and community organisations in the
  Basque Country. Rooted in Basque traditions of communal self-governance
  and in the Mondragon cooperative experience.
source: Mondragon Cooperative Corporation / Basque assembly tradition
source_url: https://www.mondragon-corporation.com/
tags: [basque, assembly, cooperative, horizontal, governance]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Convene the assembly
    description: >-
      All members of the cooperative or organisation are convened. The
      assembly is the sovereign body; no smaller group can override it.
  - headline: Present with full information
    description: >-
      Proposals are presented with full financial, social, and strategic
      information, shared in advance so members arrive prepared.
  - headline: Deliberate horizontally
    description: >-
      Discussion proceeds without hierarchy of rank. A facilitator manages
      turn-taking; all members may speak, including the newest.
  - headline: Decide by majority or consensus
    description: >-
      The assembly decides by the agreed threshold — often majority, sometimes
      consensus — with dissent recorded and the reasons stated.
  - headline: Mandate the governing council
    description: >-
      The assembly mandates the governing council to implement the
      decision, with the council accountable back to the next assembly.
outcome: >-
  A decision is made by the full membership, with the governing council
  mandated and accountable, in a form that keeps sovereignty with the
  assembly.
practice: >-
  Full information in advance is the discipline. An assembly that decides
  without prior information is a rubber stamp. The council implements but
  does not overrule.