In April 2006 the Government of Venezuela passed The Law of Communal Councils (consejos comunales) which empowers local citizens to form neighbourhood-based elected councils that initiate and oversee local policies and projects towards community development.
[1] Over 19,500[2] councils were registered throughout the country and billions of dollars have been distributed to support their efforts by the government.
The formal functioning committee is composed of the following five units:[4] All council persons are people within the community elected by the citizens' assembly for a period of 2 years.
They are an independent group who monitor and report on the application of council resources and activities towards the community development plan.
[citation needed] Communal councils circles exist in other countries and are widespread in Europe, North America, and Australia.