What is "colectivo"

Colectivo ( English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from vehículos de transporte colectivo ("vehicles for collective transport"), reflecting their origin as shared taxis.

When they first appeared in the 1920s, colectivos were small buses built out of smaller vehicle chassis (cars, vans, etc.) and, later, out of truck chassis (1950–1990, by Mercedes-Benz Argentina), not specifically designed for the transportation of people, and were decorated with unique hand-painted drawings ( fileteado) that gave each unit a distinct flavor.

They steadily evolved and grew larger, but kept their picturesque style until the 1990s, when the urban fleet was modernized with standard rear-engined bus units.

During most of their history, tickets were sold by the driver, who would drive off as soon as all passengers had boarded, selling tickets while driving.

The term colectivo or collective refers to a type of community organization in Venezuela that supports the Government of Venezuela and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela with their Bolivarian Revolution. The term may refer to a community organization with any shared purpose, such as a neighborhood group that organizes social events, a group that has a hobby or the militant groups that have been accused of attacking individuals.

Colectivos say they are "dedicated to the promotion of democracy, political groups and cultural activities" in Venezuela. Some colectivos help with after-school programs, child care centers, puppet shows, drug rehabilitation, and sports programs; they also encourage voting by going door to door and protect communities from criminals. However, colectivos have been described as armed gangs or paramilitary groups by many organizations, with Human Rights Watch describing them as "armed gangs who use violence with impunity" who harass political opponents of the Venezuelan government. Colectivos have been accused of attacking Venezuelan opposition TV staff, sending death threats to journalists, and tear-gassing the Vatican envoy in 2009 after Hugo Chávez accused them of intervening with his government. There are between 20 to 100 different colectivos in Venezuela, with the most prominent groups being the Tupamaros, Frente Francisco de Miranda, Alexis Vive, La Piedrita and Ciudad Socialista Frente 5 de Marzo.