Venezuela History Politics States Geography Economy

1 History

Venezuela was the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in South America in 1522, and most of the territory eventually became part of the viceroyalty of New Granada. Parts of what is now eastern Venezuela became New Andalusia. After several unsuccessful uprisings, the country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simón Bolívar. Venezuela, along with what are now Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, was part of the Republic of Greater Colombia (Gran Colombia) until 1830, when Venezuela separated and became a sovereign republic.

Much of Venezuela's 19th and early 20th century history was characterized by periods of political instability, dictatorial rule, and revolutionary turbulence. Following the military's withdrawal from direct involvement in national politics in 1958, Venezuela has enjoyed an unbroken tradition of democratic civilian rule, though not without conflict. In 1992, there was an attempt by the military, including Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez, to remove then-president Carlos Andrés Pérez from power. Though the coup ultimately failed, and Chávez and his compatriots were jailed, Perez was eventually impeached and convicted for corruption. Chávez's role in resisting the unpopular president made him a prominent figure in national politics after he was released from jail in 1994 by Perez's successor, Rafael Caldera.

Chávez was elected president in 1998 with 56% of the vote as part of a new political party, the Movement for the Fifth Republic. His platform called for the signing of a new constitution, which was written by a Constituent Assembly and approved by referendum in 1999. Chávez was re-elected in 2000 under the new constitution with 59% of the vote. In November 2000, the National Assembly granted Chávez the right to rule by decree for one year, and in November 2001, Chávez made a set of 49 decrees, including large reforms in oil and agrarian policy. Chávez has since faced considerable opposition and a polarised country. In December 2001, the nation's largest business and labor union organizations attempted to organize a general strike. In 2002, a coup d'état briefly installed a business leader as president, but Chávez was restored to power in less than 48 hours. A recall referendum was held on August 15, 2004, which Chávez won with approximately 58% of the vote. The fairness of the vote count has been disputed by some elements of the political opposition, although it was certified by the Organization of American States and the Carter Center.

See also: Discoverer of the Americas

2 Politics

Main article: Politics of Venezuela

The Venezuelan president is elected by a plurality vote with direct and universal suffrage and functions as both head of state and head of government. The term of office is 6 years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The president appoints the vice-president and decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the legislature. The president can ask the legislature to reconsider portions of laws he finds objectionable, but a simple parliamentary majority can override these objections.

The unicameral Venezuelan parliament is the National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional. Its 165 deputies, of which three are reserved for indigenous peoples, serve 5-year terms and may be re-elected for a maximum of two additional terms. They are elected by popular vote through a combination of party lists and single member constituencies. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, whose magistrates are elected by parliament for a single 12-year term. The Consejo Nacional Electoral is in charge of electoral processes; it is formed by five main directors elected by the National Assembly.

See also

List of Presidents of Venezuela

3 States

Main article: States of Venezuela

Venezuela is subdivided into 23 states (estados), one federal district (distrito federal) and one federal dependency (dependencia federal), marked by a *:

4 Geography

Main article: Geography of Venezuela

Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes, such as the northeasternmost extensions of the Andes mountains in the northwest and along the northern Caribbean coast, of which the highest point is the Pico Bolivar at 5,007 m. Also found in the northwest are the lowlands around Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The centre of the country is characterised by extensive plains known as the llanos that stretch from the Colombian border to the river delta of the Orinoco east. To the south are found the dissected Guiana Highlands, home to Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall.

The local climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though more moderate in the highlands. The capital, Caracas is also the country's largest city. Other major cities include Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Valencia, Maracay , and Ciudad Guayana.

5 Economy

Main article: Economy of Venezuela

The Venezuelan economy shifted after the World War I from a primarily agricultural orientation to an economy centered on petroleum production and export, which continues to dominate, accounting for roughly a third of Gross Domestic Product, around 80 percent of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Venezuelan officials estimate that GDP grew by 2.7 percent in 2001. A strong rebound in international oil prices fueled the recovery from the steep recession in 1999.

Nevertheless, a relatively weak non-oil sector and capital flight — and a temporary fall in oil prices — undercut the recovery. In early 2002, in the middle of a strike arranged by the political opposition, the government changed the exchange rate regime from a crawling peg to a free floating exchange rate, causing the bolívar to depreciate significantly.

President Chávez has begun channeling oil revenues from the government owned oil company PDVSA to finance social programs in 2003. Opponents claim that it is undermining the independent status of the banks and oil company, which is clearly an attempt to improve his public support. Several economists from the opposition parties say that his actions will cause inflation and loss of foreign investor confidence. On the other hand, these programs are wildly popular among Venezuela's millions of poor people.

6 Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Venezuela

The Venezuelan people comprise a rich combination of heritages. The historically present Amerindians, Spanish colonists and Africans were joined by Italians, Portuguese, Arabs, Germans, and others from neighbouring countries in South America during waves of immigration in the 20th century. About 85% of the population live in urban areas in the northern portion of the country. While almost half of Venezuela's land area lies south of the Orinoco river, this region contains only 5% of the population.

The national and official language is Spanish, but numerous indigenous dialects also exist ( Guajiro , Pemon, Warao , etc), as do dialects introduced by immigrants. Nominally 96% of the population is Roman Catholic; other denominations, primarily Protestant, make up the remainder.

7 Culture

Main article: Culture of Venezuela

List of Venezuelans
Music of Venezuela
Media of Venezuela
List of players from Venezuela in Major League Baseball
Venezuelan Summer League Baseball
Venezuelan Winter League Baseball
Miss Venezuela Pageant

8 Miscellaneous topics

9 Footnotes

^* The name Venezuela, meaning "Little Venice", is due to the Amerindian stilt villages which the Spanish explorers encountered in the Orinoco river.

¹. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been the full official title of the state since the adoption of the 1999 constitution, when the state was renamed in honour of Simón Bolívar.

10 External links

Gobierno en Línea - Official governmental portal (in Spanish)
Presidencia de la República de Venezuela - Official Presidential Site (in Spanish)
Asamblea Nacional - Official Parliamentary Site (in Spanish)
Hugo Chávez Frias' Landslide Victory
Venezuelanalysis.com
Venezuela Banknotes
Venezuela in Photographs (in Spanish)
Venezuela's News Channel
One of Venezuela's Radio Network
Venezuela's Electronic News
Venezuela's Major Newspaper
Government of Ramón J. Velásquez

Countries in South America
Argentina \| Bolivia \| Brazil \| Chile \| Colombia \| Ecuador \| Guyana \| Paraguay \| Peru \| Suriname \| Uruguay \| Venezuela
Dependencies: Falkland Islands \| French Guiana

Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom)
Antigua and Barbuda \| The Bahamas¹ \| Barbados \| Belize \| Dominica \| Grenada \| Guyana \| Haiti \| Jamaica \| Montserrat \| Saint Kitts and Nevis \| Saint Lucia \| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines \| Suriname \| Trinidad and Tobago
Associate members: British Virgin Islands \| Turks and Caicos Islands
Observer status: Anguilla \| Aruba \| Bermuda \| Cayman Islands \| Colombia \| Dominican Republic \| Mexico \| Netherlands Antilles \| Puerto Rico \| Venezuela
¹ A member of the community but not the common market.

Organization of American States (OAS)

Southern Common Market (MercoSur)
Argentina \| Brazil \| Paraguay \| Uruguay
Associate members
Bolivia \| Chile \| Colombia \| Ecuador \| Mexico \| Venezuela

South American countries Venezuela

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