Venezuelan law has recognized various means for exercising citizen participation; The Citizens Assembly is the one that mostly represents that concept.
As is clear from its name is the meeting of people who take an interest in a neighborhood issue or that affects the city and discuss it with their authorities.
It has in common with the open chapter that they are carried out outside the headquarters of the organs or public entities; usually in communities. Citizens actively participate in seeking solutions through concrete approaches to local authorities; they are binding for the organizations involved.
Once the celebration has been agreed, the officials must go and participate, since this exercise in living together allows knowing the perspectives, both of the official sector and of the neighbors, to tackle different aspects.
The Organic Law of the Municipal Public Power (LOPPM, 2010) defines it as a deliberative means of participation at the local level, in which all citizens have the right to participate on their own, their decisions being binding.
It also indicates that the subjects will be regulated by a (national) law; To celebrate the assembly it will be done through an express, advance and public call.
On this same point, the Organic Law of Popular Power (2010) expresses itself about the assemblies of citizens as the highest instance of participation and decision of the organized community, conformed with the integration of people with legal status, for the direct exercise of power and popular protagonism, whose decisions are binding for the community, the different forms of organization, the communal government and the instances of the Public Power.
It refers that a (national) law will regulate aspects such as its constitution, organization and operation.
Now, based on the fact that the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (CRBV, 1999) includes a series of rights, among which are applied to the subject - for example - that of association, free development of personality, expression, information, accountability, control of elected representatives, among others, reaching the point that the lack of law does not prevent their exercise, it is important that the citizen knows and exercises the various means of participation, which will result in a better quality of life and public management.
The municipalities that are in urgent need to regulate these processes, at the request of the communities, have approved ordinances where these initiatives are channeled, establishing requirements such as - to name a few - call for their celebration and installation, right to speak, formulation of petitions, form of decision-making and execution, debate regime, among others.
Hence, it is common to find - in practice - that organizational forms such as parishes, neighborhood associations or community councils maintain interest in attracting the attention of their municipal authorities through citizen assemblies, given the immediacy it represents and the possibility to solve their shortcomings in a short time.
An interesting element of the subject is that it has reached the Supreme Court of Justice, which has expressed in decisions the importance of interpreting the expression "organized community"; He pointed out that the forms of community organization - be it Public or Private Law - have the right to participate in decision-making, which can be done through various consultations or in a binding manner, as the case may be, following the guidelines established by the law for everyone. In a ruling issued by the Constitutional Chamber regarding the link between the constituted public powers and forms of citizen participation; there preponderance was given to open councils and citizen assemblies - for example - given their deliberative nature with concrete results.
It is necessary to note that - in these participative figures - they are characterized by issuing acts followed by consultations to the communities where they are carried out with conclusions addressed to authorities, as is the case with the mayors. I would like to call attention to the deepening of the exercise of the means of citizen participation in the communities, since they may also involve other levels of authority, such as the national one - for example - when it is involved in the management of public services, being punctual police, water, electricity or gas.
The possibility of repealing or modifying, by way of a Citizens Assembly, a municipal ordinance or a law, whether national or state, is pending.
It is discussed whether or not a citizens' assembly can repeal ordinances which define the Organic Law of the Municipal Public Power (LOPPM, 2010) as acts that the municipal council sanctions to establish norms of a municipal law nature, of general application on specific matters of local interest, especially if they are of a tax type, modify the budget, urban planning or planning.
In this sense, there are no known judicial decisions that set precedents in this regard; however, to be able to modify or repeal an ordinance, the appropriate route is the legislative initiative, which is regulated by the LOPPM, since it allows measuring whether or not the percentage of people fit for their full exercise meets, in addition to the condition of voter in the respective jurisdiction, which can be verified - for example - with the Permanent Electoral Registry in charge of the National Electoral Council, since - according to the CRBV - it corresponds to the Electoral Power regarding electoral processes.
On the other hand, regarding local public planning, the Law of Local Planning Councils (2010) creates an instance called Local Planning Councils, defined as the municipality's planning body; he is in charge of carrying out the Municipal Development Plan (PMD) and the other municipal plans (tourism, urban planning, among others), where the mayor, who presides over it, intervenes; the councilors of the municipality; the presidents of the communal parish boards; one counselor for each community planning council in the jurisdiction; one counselor for each parish; one counselor for each movement or social organization (farmers, fishermen, workers, athletes, women, among others.).
In those municipalities where there are no parishes, an assembly of spokespersons for the communal councils will be formed and as many councilors will be elected as there are (municipal) councilors in the same number of councilors.
Regarding urban planning, the Organic Law for Urban Planning (1987) establishes special regulations to modify the Local Urban Development Plan (PDUL), which - if not complied with - sanction with absolute nullity, since changes are not allowed "Singularly proposed".
Regarding the local budget, it is necessary to remember that it is prepared through an ordinance, which goes through a public consultation phase, where citizens can submit their opinions to the legislative body, even if they are not binding at the time of approval, remaining open the possibility for the exercise of judicial actions before the constitutional or administrative contentious jurisdiction, according to the argumentation of the alleged violation, in accordance with laws such as the Organic of the Supreme Court of Justice (2010) and the Organic of the Administrative Contentious Jurisdiction (2010).
It should not be forgotten that the Fundamental Charter includes a series of budgetary principles that the municipalities take into account, not only because there are mandatory regulations due to the Organic Law on Financial Administration of the Public Sector, such as that of the budget document (Ordinance), since the budget is only one; of balance, since expenses that exceed the total estimated income should not be approved; of specificity, which indicates that the budget items must express the object and maximum amount of the authorizations to spend; limiting nature of budget appropriations both qualitatively and quantitatively; of annuity, since they must be included in the financial year, that is, between the first of January and the thirty-first of December of the same year,with the exceptions established by legislation (multiannual framework); Programming, where we talk about budgeting techniques, where the concepts of project budget and program budget are expressed.
This implies that it would not be possible by simple request to make singular changes in budgetary activity, because administrative irregularities that fall under the jurisdiction of the municipal comptroller could be incurred, but also criminal offenses with the corresponding consequence.
