PSUV press conference in Caracas on March 9, 2026. Photo: Ministry of the Interior, Justice and Peace.
The general secretary of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, announced that participation in the March 8 National Consultation exceeded 35% of the electoral roll of registered voters in those states, thereby strengthening the exercise of direct democracy across the country.
“The goal set by President Maduro was 20 comrades per grassroots committee, but we went further and set the goal at 30,” he said during his tour of the Tiuna Fort on Monday, March 9, where he was accompanied by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. “Our people mobilized and demonstrated that the structure of this party is at the service of the people’s power. This party is at the service of grassroots communities in every corner of our country.”
He said that after evaluating the consultation process, there was great satisfaction “in confirming that what began as an idea has now become an established method, strengthened every day and increasingly consolidated as part of our participatory and protagonist democracy.”
The people govern in Venezuela
The minister for Social and Territorial Development, Héctor Rodríguez, reported that Caracas saw the highest turnout in the entire capital region during the seventh National Popular Consultation and the first of 2026.
He congratulated the people of Venezuela, and especially women, for their participation. He pointed out that during the assembly process more than 36,000 projects were proposed, of which 5,338 projects were selected in the consultation, giving the people a leading role not only in identifying problems but also in deciding where resources should be directed.
“This is proof that in Venezuela it is the people who govern—the materialization of Bolívar’s and Chávez’s popular projects, and the materialization of this consultation process proposed by the president of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro. We are very happy with the results in yesterday’s voting,” he said.
The deputy general secretary and head of communications of PSUV, Jorge Rodríguez, said that the steady increase in participation in the National Popular Consultation every three or four months is clear evidence of the strength of the initiative.
He considered that this growth “represents a true materialization of democracy, where the people’s will is expressed through voting to directly decide which projects are priorities for communities.”
Venezuela Advances Grassroots Democracy with 10,000 New Communal Projects
He also highlighted the increase in participation. “The number of voters far exceeded the records of the previous consultation” held in November, he noted.
“This is a very strong and powerful message from the people to continue advancing along the path of building democracy, peace, harmony, and a process of democratic coexistence,” he said.
(Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SC
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
