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The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela, "little Venice") is a country in northern South America 1. It borders the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Off the Venezuelan coast are also found the Caribbean states of Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles and Trinidad and Tobago.
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| National motto: None | ||||
| Official language | Castilian (Spanish) | |||
| Capital | Caracas | |||
| President | Hugo Chávez | |||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 32nd 912,050 km² 0.3% | |||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 43rd
27/km² | |||
| Independence
- Recognised | From Spain
1821 | |||
| Currency | Venezuelan bolívar | |||
| Time zone | UTC -4 | |||
| National anthem | Gloria al bravo pueblo | |||
| Internet TLD | .ve | |||
| Calling Code | 58 | |||
Main article: History of Venezuela
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. Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998 with 56% of the vote and re-elected in 2000 with 59%. However in 2002 the Chávez presidency saw a failed attempted coup d'état after riots and protests shook the capital of the country. The Venezuelan military announced Chávez's resignation on television, and invited a business leader to become interim president under still-mysterious circumstances. Within hours, the new president abolished the National Assembly, the Supreme Court Of Justice, the National Electoral Council and repealed the current constitution, and the military withdrew its support. The Venezuelan government claims that the coup occurred with the assistance and encouragement of the US government. Loyalist military officials supported by people with strong loyalty to Chávez, restored him to power in less than 48 hours.
The U.S. has supplied funds to Cofavic and Sumate among other opposition organisations, for human rights workshops, publications and other political activities in 2003, which Chávez insists is an attempt to destabilize the leftist government. A recent presidential recall petition was ruled invalid leading to a week of rioting in Caracas, by U.S.-supported political organisations. Liliana Ortega, a prominent human rights advocate in Venezuela has been labeled an enemy of the state. The Organization of American States has become involved in the debate over alleged censorship and human rights abuses. Former U.S. Ambassador John Maisto claims that Chávez is similar to Fidel Castro in the numerous reports by opposition groups of disappearances and the use of torture. All political parties and all the private mass media enjoy complete freedom of expression and action, but the government is debating severe restrictions on the content of private broadcast media, uncurbed until now to the point of bitter slandering and blackmailing. Rallies of the opposition have considerably dwindled in mass support since the failed business strike that ended in January 2003, in part because of widespread popular resistance. The government is believed to provide transportation and meals to supporters to bolster turnout at rallies in support of the government. Chávez' populist appeal relies in part on the popularity of social programs with aims like bringing the literacy rate to near 100%, expanding access to secondary and university-level education, distributing food at low prices, and agrarian land reform. It is clear that a portion of the propertied classes feel threatened by the incendiary rhetoric of President Chávez, but thus far his action against private property has been largely limited to the farm sector, and foreign investment activity has not disappeared.
In 2004, the opposition organized a petition drive to call a vote on a referendum which would remove Chávez from office, and claim to have gathered over 3.4 million signatures, about 1 million more than required. The signature drive was supervised by the Organization of American States and by the Carter Center, and included a number of controls against fraud including fingerprints and bar coding of each signature page. However, the government has rejected many of the signatures for alleged irregularities. The 'Sala Electoral' (Electoral Chamber) of the Supreme Court ordered that the signatures be validated and a date be set for the referendum, but the National Electoral Council (CNE) appealed to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court which is dominated by Chávez loyalists. In the meantime, there are widespread reports by the opposition media of people being fired from government jobs and being denied passports and other government services, because they signed the petition ("Reafirmazo"). During anti-government protests in February and March 2004, nine persons were killed, many were arrested, and the government is accused by the opposition of torture and unlawful detention of many others. There has been no formal accusation in the legal organisations of these alleged abuses.
During the spring of 2004, the CNE established a procedure allowing the citizens whose recall signatures had been rejected to affirm or deny them. This process, called the "Reparo", was successful in bringing the number of signatures over the constitutionally required threshold. A recall referendum was held on August 15, 2004. Opinion polls suggested the contest would be close, but Chávez won the referendum with approximately 58% of the vote. The fairness of the vote count has often been disputed by the Wall Street Journal, but not by the U.S. government.
See also: Discoverer of the Americas
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
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 *:
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 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.
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.
Main article: Culture of Venezuela
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. Prior to that the state was known as the Republic of Venezuela. Not many Venezuelans agree with this change in the country's name, because of political interests.
2. US Secretary of State Colin Powell has rejected these allegations as unfounded (, May 6, 2002. El Universal).
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