Citizens of Venezuela Cast Ballots in Third 'People's Decision' todecide State-Backed Initiatives
In Caracas, February 4, 2025, the Venezuelan people took to voting in another round of grassroots elections called the "National Popular Consultation." This marks the third such event since the initiative was launched by the Maduro administration in 2024. Each consultation aims to address pressing community issues through self-managed projects.
Community members first gather in meetings to develop project proposals, limiting their choices to a maximum of seven. On election day, voters pick their preferred project within their communal circuit – 5,334 such circuits span 1,101 parishes across the nation. Each circuit revolves around a commune, a community-driven organization that encompasses several councils, enterprises, and movements.
In total, over 36,000 projects proposed in local assemblies vied for funding. Winning projects receive an estimated $10,000 from the government, with grassroots collectives overseeing project execution.
While results and key focus areas for this specific round of voting are unavailable, past consultations commonly targeted five main sectors – water, electrical supply, road infrastructure, healthcare, and environmental concerns. Furthermore, approximately 6,481 proposals centered on water and sewage systems, 5,136 on housing, and 4,681 on road infrastructure, among others.
During the consultation in El Panal Commune, voters weighed in on six local projects centered on community needs, ranging from library renovations to sports court repairs. Orly Ortiz, local spokesperson, hailed the high turnout as a tribute to former President Hugo Chávez's legacy of popular power and self-governance.
Commune Minister Ángel Prado praised the "impressive turnout" and pledged to provide financial support for second and third-place projects. President Maduro commended the event and emphasized the importance of establishing more communal spaces for a people's self-governance agency to facilitate better communication with constituents.
As per Maduro, 60 percent of the projects voted on February 4 had already been funded. Aiming to increase communal spaces, Maduro called on the people to establish at least 6,000 communes within the next two years.
Despite a lack of information on the outcomes of the February 2025 consultation, these events represent Venezuela's pursuit of participatory democracy and a socialist future.
- The National Popular Consultation, a grassroots election in Caracas on February 4, 2025, was the third event of its kind initiated by the Maduro administration since 2024, gathering the Venezuelan people to vote on self-managed projects within their local communal circuits.
- In these consultations, community members within each communal circuit, comprising a number of councils, enterprises, and movements, elect their preferred project out of a maximum of seven choices, with the winning project receiving funding from the government.
- In the previous consultations, sectors such as water, electrical supply, road infrastructure, healthcare, and environmental concerns have been common areas of focus, with a significant number of proposals aimed at improving water and sewage systems, housing, and road infrastructure.
- As part of Venezuela's push towards participatory democracy and socialism, President Maduro aims to establish at least 6,000 communes within the next two years, further emphasizing the importance of communal spaces for self-governance and improved communication between constituents and the government.
