Who runs local government in Venezuela?
Venezuela is formally a federation of 23 states, a Capital District and federal dependencies, with about 335 municipalities and elected governors and mayors. Since 2006, the state has also built a parallel 'popular power' system of communal councils and communes, which receive funds directly from central government and are registered by a national ministry. Since January 2026, after Nicolás Maduro was seized by US forces, Delcy Rodríguez has governed as acting president, and the communal system has continued to be used to allocate funds.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela · Federal republic (constitutionally), highly centralised in practice · South America
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| States (23) + Capital District + federal dependencies | Governors and state legislative councils directly elected; the head of the Capital District is appointed by the President | State roads, police and some health services; heavily dependent on central transfers. |
| Municipalities (335) | Mayor and municipal council directly elected | Local services, urban planning, local taxes. |
| Parishes (over 1,100) | Parish boards (juntas parroquiales comunales) formed from communal council spokespeople rather than by direct vote | Small-scale co-ordination; little autonomy. |
| Communal councils and communes (popular power) | Spokespeople (voceros) elected by residents' assemblies; registered with the Ministry of Communes | Run community projects with central government money; communes group several councils. |
Three questions about local power in Venezuela
Are local leaders elected?
Governors, mayors, state and municipal councillors are elected. Communal council spokespeople are chosen in local assemblies. Parish boards are filled from communal councils. The head of the Capital District is appointed.
Which laws set up local government?
States, municipalities and communal councils are all set out in law; the communal system is defined as 'popular power' under a series of 2009–2010 laws. Armed groups' control in some areas is illegal and not recognised.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Elected officials answer formally to voters and courts, but central government controls most money. Communal councils answer to their assemblies and depend on registration and funding from the national ministry, which gives the central government strong influence over them.
Traditional and customary authority
The constitution (Chapter VIII, Arts. 119–126) recognises Indigenous peoples, their social organisation, their collective ownership of land they traditionally occupy, and their right to apply their own justice. Three seats in the National Assembly are reserved for Indigenous representatives. In practice the demarcation of Indigenous lands has been slow, and in mining areas in the south, armed groups have been documented as controlling territory. The Catholic Church and evangelical churches are active in social programmes but have no formal power.
Community and neighbourhood power
Communal councils (consejos comunales) were created by a 2006 law, upgraded to an organic law in 2009. Each groups a few hundred families in a neighbourhood; residents' assemblies elect spokespeople for committees such as health, housing and finance. Councils combine into communes (Organic Law of Communes, 2010) and communal circuits. They gain legal status by registering with the national Ministry for Communes, and receive money directly from central government rather than through mayors or governors. Since 2024 the government has held national 'popular consultations' in which residents vote on which community projects to fund; in 2026 the acting president scheduled further rounds and extended them for the first time to condominium boards.
Points to know
- Researchers have found that many communal council participants value them for solving local problems, while critics say they bypass elected mayors and tie community groups to the governing party.
- Communal councils receive money directly from central government, not through municipalities, which weakens elected local governments.
- In 2008 there were already almost 26,000 communal councils; official reports in 2026 referred to tens of thousands grouped in communal circuits.
- Venezuela's federation is mostly on paper: states have few taxes of their own and depend on transfers decided in Caracas.
Local terms
- Consejo comunal
- Communal council: a neighbourhood body of a few hundred families that runs state-funded projects.
- Comuna
- A grouping of several communal councils into a larger self-governing area.
- Vocero
- A spokesperson elected by a communal council's assembly.
- Consulta popular
- A national vote in which communities choose which local projects to fund.
Sources
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)'s Constitution of 1999 with Amendments through 2009, Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- Country profile: Venezuela, OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment, checked 14 October 2026
- Los consejos comunales en Caracas vistos por sus participantes: una exploración (Política & Sociedade, 2011), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, checked 14 October 2026
- Noticias, agosto 2026 (includes announcement of the Consulta Popular Nacional by the acting president), Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Venezuela, checked 14 October 2026
See also: Venezuela's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.