Venezuela Survey: 68% Report Active Commune Where They Live

According to an online survey conducted by the news outlet Últimas Noticias, 68% of the population of Venezuela reports an active commune where they live, strengthening President Maduro’s assertion that the communes will soon be the new “epicenter of people’s power.”

During the presentation of the Constitutional Reform project in February of this year, President Nicolás Maduro announced that Communal Power would be incorporated into the new constitution. Then, on April 27, during the second National Popular Consultation of 2025, he stated that his plan was for Venezuela to have designed its own socialist model by 2029, and for “the communes to be the epicenter of the new power of the people.”

Since last year, a popular communal consultation mechanism has been implemented, in which each commune selects the local infrastructural projects that will receive funding from the Federal Government Council. Two consultations were held in 2024, and six more were announced for 2025: four are quarterly, and two cover sectors covering cultural and youth projects. Two of these consultations have already been held, and on Sunday, July 27, alongside the municipal elections, the first youth popular consultation was held.

With these instruments, the government, in the words of President Maduro, hopes by 2027 to “have all the country’s communes enjoying a high level of public services, health, education, coexistence, and progress at all levels.” Popular consultations, which also place the completion of local public works in the hands of the communes themselves, have become the spearhead of the current political project of the Bolivarian Revolution. “We have found the path,” the president said, “we have hit the nail on the head: direct democracy.”

How many are there?
According to data from the Ministry of Communes’ statistical system, available on its website, there were 3,663 registered communes in the country as of December of last year. The official number of community councils is 49,183 nationwide.

Source: roraima.comunas.gob.ve

Data from the same ministry shows that of the 49,183 registered community councils, 37,576 (76.4%) have a current spokesperson, while 11,627 (23.6%) do not currently have the position. The data also shows that 30,129 community councils (61.35%) are linked to a commune directly, as can be seen below:

An investigation was conducted by Últimas Noticias to learn how people relate to communes and community councils. They put out an internet survey for adults across the country between July 14 and 18. Only 300 people participated, so statistically speaking the sample is very limited, raising the margin of error; however, the results remain significant.

Overall active majority
The first question was whether there was an active commune in their area, to which more than two-thirds (68.84%) answered yes.

Question: Is there a commune established and active in the area where you live?
68% of respondents answered there is an established and active commune where they live.

Últimas Noticias also observed that 15.73% said they don’t know whether there is a commune in their area.

Another 7.72% said there is no commune where they live. 6.23% said the commune was established but is not active, and 1.48% said it was active in the past but not currently.

Those who answered that there is a commune in their territory were also asked if they knew the name of their commune. Eight out of ten (81.47%) said they did know, and 18.53% said they didn’t know.

Question: Do you know the name of the commune to which the sector or area where you live belongs?
Eight out of ten know the name of their commune.

Likewise, 83.62% stated they knew the spokespersons for their sector’s community council, while 16.38% said they did not.

Question: Do you know the spokesperson(s) of your community council?
83% know the spokesperson(s) of the community council in their area.

Finally, Últimas Noticias asked whether the respondents actively participate in their community council’s activities. 67.67% responded that they do participate, while 32.33% said they do not.

Question: Do you participate in the activities of your community council?
67% participate in the activities of their community council.

The data confirms that the communal framework is not an abstract discourse, but a concrete, everyday reality for the majority: almost seven out of ten live where there is an active commune, more than eight know its name, and more than eight know its spokespersons. Two out of three also participate.

With the development of direct participation mechanisms such as popular consultations and the concrete implementation of local infrastructural projects on the ground, we have begun to see how this data is translating into tangible realities for the people.

Despite the survey’s statistical limitations in its low sample size, the communes are advancing at a steady pace in Venezuela. Some analysts raise questions about the communication strategy of those communes in not properly reaching the majority of their communities to inform about the discussion of the projects subjected to popular consultations; however, this remains to be seen as the projects begin to be implemented.

Another limitation raised by many is the fact that many of these communes are United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) controlled, rather than under direct local or indigenous stewardship. Some analysts envision a technological platform similar to the Patria System where all Venezuelans could know exactly where their communes are, how to interact with them, what projects are being discussed, and how to participate, which would particularly strengthen Venezuelan democracy to the next level.

President Maduro: The Communes Will Be the Epicenter of the New Power of the People

In recent years, the Venezuelan Ministry for Communes, despite the blockade and illegal sanctions enacted by the US empire, has deployed an online platform to provide detail information about the state of the communes. However, another option is needed for common people to get involved and to clearly see what projects are being financed, as well as their status. There is also currently no access to information about the people who are running the popular consultations and the projects chosen.

The communal state is considered by many to be the jewel of the Bolivarian Socialist Project, and President Maduro has insisted in recent months that even the electoral system should be interconnected with that vision. This is one of the matters for discussion in the upcoming constitutional reform proposed by President Maduro and scheduled to be voted on in December this year.

The novelty of the initiative and the harsh economic conditions suffered by Venezuela over the course of almost a decade of criminal sanctions and economic blockade led by the US empire are, for many, the reasons behind certain deficiencies in Venezuela’s infrastructure. However, the Maduro administration has shown a strong commitment to advance in that process of communal democracy, and proof that they are going forward with those plans.

(Diario VEA) with Orinoco Tribune content

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/AU