In Venezuela, thousands of communes participate in an unprecedented exercise of direct democracy, voting to decide on projects to improve their standard of living, with funds provided by the state. Our correspondent Adriana Sivori brings us closer to the life of these communes in another episode of Venezuela on the move.
00:00In Venezuela, thousands of communes participate in an unprecedented exercise of direct democracy,
00:23voting to decide on projects to improve their standard of living with funds provided by the state.
00:28Correspondent Adriana Zivori brings us closer to the life of these communes in another episode of Venezuela on the Move.
00:35Hello, how are you? I imagine that you have heard about the communes.
00:41In Venezuela, there are 5,338 of them.
00:45The residents go to the polls at least three times a year to choose directly what project to carry out in their locality.
00:52For example, if they need to build a sports center or if a street needs to be repaired.
00:56The population decides on public policies.
00:59They receive a budget and they manage it themselves.
01:02There are no intermediaries.
01:04It's a form of direct democracy.
01:06Through Venezuela on the Move, I want to introduce you to AnĂbal,
01:09a man from the countryside and two young men, Jorland and Jormann.
01:13If you want to know what they have in common, stay with us to find out.
01:17Let's take a trip to a place in Venezuela little known abroad.
01:23We are comuneros.
01:28I believe that everything must come out from the commune.
01:31There will have to be a moment when the commune becomes the guarantee for all these things.
01:35Everything related to its production, its economy, its social life, the maintenance of its green areas,
01:42the generation of its wealth and the provider of its tranquility.
01:46A solid place with the capacity to generate wealth for our homes.
01:51I really believe that people are wise.
01:53And I have always said it.
01:54Because the community knows what is best for it.
01:56People know what is best for them.
01:58And when they vote for a project, it is because they have already decided
02:02that that project is the right one to suit their people's needs.
02:05It has been like that and there we go.
02:08It is the practice of direct democracy.
02:11In the last consultation in his area, he, as the majority, decided for the restoration of a health center.
02:18The funds are sent by the central government and are managed by the commune.
02:23While we go around the place, AnĂbal tells us about the change in his life.
02:30He was in a private company, then he was a civil servant.
02:34But since seven years ago, he has been running this farm in what once was a wasteland.
02:39Here, he breeds animals with the hope of expanding and generating more employment for the neighbors.
02:45Because if a person or a family is economically well, their children can also go to school.
02:52And they go to high school and later to the university.
02:55So in that way, we are supporting their homes, their families and their economies.
03:00And when their economy is well, everything is fine and their children are well.
03:05They can be well-educated, well-fed and healthy.
03:09And it's the young people who are precisely trying to make their dreams come true.
03:15Always with the idea of growing.
03:17The perfect community for me is the one where everybody is united.
03:22We should be a territorial farmers organization because that's what we want as farmers.
03:28There are many farmers here, but they are dispersed.
03:33And what I want is for all of us to be together, so that we can all produce and earn the same,
03:38so that we don't lack anything in the community.
03:40And to respect the environment, to respect the plants, to respect the areas that cannot be forested.
03:45We have all that knowledge here in our community.
03:48They put their knowledge at the service of every corner of their neighborhood, which is located in a mountain and surrounded by large buildings.
04:00They dedicate themselves to recycle and clean up their lands and even grow medicinal plants.
04:07We are learning to be able to tell our children and our youth that it is possible to make an ecological path in our parish.
04:19By parish, they mean a locality or neighborhood.
04:22The most important thing for them is the citizens' participation.
04:27The constitution of this Caribbean nation established a direct democracy since 1999, a practice that has strengthened in the past year.
04:34One of the popular consultations carried out in 2025 was considered unprecedented in the country,
04:39when young people from the age of 15 in a protagonist role chose from 37,000 initiatives the ones they considered the best to improve their lives.
04:48And with this direct vote, I wrap up for today.
04:50But you can keep following us through our multi-platform journey continues with Venezuela on the move.
