Venezuela lets communities decide public works spending
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Residents across Venezuela chose public works projects for their communities during the 2nd National Popular Consultation on October 18th, an initiative begun in 2024.
Instead of waiting for government decisions, people organized to identify their own priorities and allocate public funds to address them. In the Comandante Ecossocialista Comuna, voters selected from seven proposed projects, including repairs to elderly care homes and accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.
More than 48,000 communal councils and 5,418 communes participated in the consultation, and for the first time, building associations, groups of residents in multi-unit buildings, also voted on projects. In the El Encantado building complex in Caracas, residents chose between accessibility projects and flood prevention work, hoping to repair damage from a recent earthquake. This 8th National Consultation directed over US$100 million, equivalent to R$500 million, to projects chosen by the communes.
Minister of Planning Ricardo Menéndez stated this process is part of a broader effort to restructure the Venezuelan state, giving more power to self-organized communities. The government intends to fund the two most popular projects in each territory, providing approximately US$10,000 per project directly to the community groups managing them.
