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This article deals with the democratic changes implemented by the government of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela. We have directed our gaze on the project "participatory and protagonist democracy", focusing our analysis on the communal councils and the communes. We have used as sources speeches, government plans, the country's legislation, in addition to the recent historiography about the subject. We believe that despite the limitations and mistakes, the Chavez's government has promoted great changes in the political culture of the country by providing direct and active political participation of population groups through the institutions of participatory democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]