Venezuelan Consultation Fosters Participatory Democracy

On Sunday, Venezuelans are participating in a major national consultation called "Communes Can Do More," which will allow them to choose and prioritize development projects.

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From 06:00 to 18:00 local time, over 15,718 voting stations will receive citizens residing in 335 municipalities across the country's 24 states.

All of this involves the activation of 4,049 communal circuits in popular assemblies, said Carolina Arellano, a member of the Electoral Commission for the Popular Consultation.

Through this electoral process, Venezuelans will choose 4,500 out of over 27,000 development projects that were nominated by the same grassroots community organizations.

The text reads, "In the Velitas 480 Combative Communes' territory, citizens close the campaign of the 2024 National Popular Consultation."

Later, the selected development projects will be financed by the Venezuelan government and executed by the communities themselves.

"The people will have an exercise of sovereignty," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said, calling on the communes to consolidate inclusive democracy.

In a meeting with international electoral observers, Jorge Arreaza, the secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples' Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), recalled that Commander Hugo Chavez defined communes as the basis of popular power.

"He told us that the commune is the territory where we will give birth to socialism. This implies that if there is no commune, there is no socialism," he said.

Guy Vernaez, the minister of Communes and Social Movements, invited international observers to understand what the people's power means and implies.