Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez congratulated Venezuelans for their participation in the second National Popular Consultation of 2026, held Sunday, October 18. She announced that funding is ready for the community projects selected through the vote, and called on authorities and community representatives to proceed with their execution.The consultation allowed residents across 5,418 communes and communal circuits to choose local investment priorities. Organizers opened 11,495 voting centers for projects previously discussed in assemblies involving 48,086 communal councils. Each commune or communal circuit selected one priority project for financing.Speaking from Lara state on Sunday, Ángel Prado, who heads the communes portfolio, announced that the financing process would begin Monday, October 19. Communities are expected to carry out the approved works during the final quarter of the year. The consultation was the eighth held nationally since 2024, continuing the transfer of public resources and investment decisions to organized communities.In her remarks to Venezolana de Televisión, Rodríguez described participation as extraordinary and highlighted the involvement of communal organizations and condominium boards. She linked the consultation to the development of participatory democracy, emphasizing residents’ authority to decide their communities’ priorities.“The investment resources for these projects are now ready to be allocated for their execution,” she said. Rodríguez urged participants to continue with respect and peaceful democratic coexistence, with community organizations directing local decisions.Héctor Rodríguez identifies barriers to participationIn remarks reported Monday, Education Minister Héctor Rodríguez welcomed participation while acknowledging that strengthening popular power requires improving the material conditions that allow people to take part in community decisions.He identified work schedules, family responsibilities, available time, economic stability, and access to basic services as factors affecting attendance at assemblies where decisions are taken. Difficulties in these areas can generate frustration and discourage sustained involvement, he explained.Rodríguez also pointed to resistance from powerful vested interests and cultural and ideological practices that encourage individualism. He stressed that Bolivarian socialism recognizes individual effort as an essential contribution to collective well-being, while arguing that participatory democracy requires practical conditions that enable residents to exercise it.Cabello: Turnout surpassed expectationsAt the United Socialist Party of Venezuela’s weekly press conference Monday, October 19, PSUV Secretary General Diosdado Cabello said that Sunday’s participation surpassed expectations. He congratulated residents for organizing and peacefully selecting projects to address their communities’ needs.Cabello criticized the far-right opposition for refusing to acknowledge the turnout and significance of the democratic celebration. He challenged those minimizing the consultation to continue underestimating the Venezuelan people, contrasting community participation with opposition practices that, he said, resort to violence and reject results when they lose.The Chavista leader described the consultation as authentic democracy and reaffirmed Hugo Chávez’s call for “commune or nothing.” He emphasized that communal councils and communes had exercised their right to determine which projects should receive public funding.Venezuela Strengthens Communal Self-Government With Nationwide Popular ConsultationCabello also highlighted the first formal participation of condominium boards through a pilot initiative. Residents submitted and voted on proposals addressing shared needs in their buildings and residential communities. He expressed hope that this participation would expand in future consultations, extending access to the process to more organized residents. Special for Orinoco Tribune by staffOT/JRE/SF