The Bolivarian Revolution refers to a left-wing populism social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who founded the Fifth Republic Movement in 1997 and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007. The "Bolivarian Revolution" is named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan and Latin American revolutionary leader, prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence in achieving the independence of most of northern South America from Spanish rule. According to Chávez and other supporters, the "Bolivarian Revolution" seeks to build a mass movement to implement Bolivarianism—popular democracy, economic independence, equitable distribution of revenues, and an end to political corruption—in Venezuela.
Bolivarian government: 1999–present
Venezuela
Venezuela | Bolivarian government: 1999–present
He was a Venezuelan president and founded the Fifth Republic Movement. Founded the clandestine Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 in the early 1980s He was the president of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. It is led by him.
what is the symbol of flag of ecuador?
user
It consists of horizontal bands of yellow (double width), blue and red.
assistant
who designed it?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
does it resemble any other flag?
user
Yes, Colombia and Venezuela
assistant
which pledge is related to it?
user
Juramento a la Bandera
assistant
does the above latter country face any kind of shortage?
user
Yes, products like milk, various meats, basic necessities etc.
assistant
is any rights suspended over there?
user
Yes, constitutional rights.
assistant
why?
user
The approval of the extension of States of emergency corresponds to the National Assembly.
assistant
which government is in power here during 1999 and onwards?
user
The Bolivarian government
assistant
can you name any person from this government form?
user
Hugo Chávez
assistant
how is he connected to it?
user
Since 15 March 2013, the remains of former president Hugo Chávez now rest in the Museum of the Bolivarian Revolution (Cuartel 4 de febrero), also known as the "Montaña Barracks", the very spot where the coup attempt of 1992 was launched.
23 de Enero | Bolivarian government
His critics referred to these government officials as the "Boliburguesía" or "Bolivarian bourgeoisie", and highlighted that it "included few people with experience in public administration". The number of his immediate family members in Venezuelan politics led to accusations of nepotism also. In June 2000 he separated from his wife Marisabel, and their divorce was finalised in January 2004.
Hugo Chávez | First presidential term: 2 February 1999 – 10 January 2001
With the election of Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela in 1999, Rodríguez Chacín worked as his intelligence chief.
Ramón Rodríguez Chacín | Hugo Chávez government
They interpret Bolívar's ideas from a populist perspective, using socialist rhetoric.
Venezuela | Bolivarian government: 1999–present
Over 40 countries stated that they would not recognize the National Constituent Assembly. The European Union and the Holy See have also not recognized the legitimacy of the assembly. Following the establishment of the ANC, Argentina, Colombia, France, Peru, and the United States have characterized the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela as a dictatorship. President Nicolás Maduro's allies such as Bolivia, Cuba, China, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria discouraged foreign intervention in Venezuelan politics and congratulated the president and recognized the results of the election.
2017 Constituent National Assembly | Recognition
The Bolivarian Revolution refers to a left-wing populism social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who founded the Fifth Republic Movement in 1997 and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007. The "Bolivarian Revolution" is named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan and Latin American revolutionary leader, prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence in achieving the independence of most of northern South America from Spanish rule. According to Chávez and other supporters, the "Bolivarian Revolution" seeks to build a mass movement to implement Bolivarianism—popular democracy, economic independence, equitable distribution of revenues, and an end to political corruption—in Venezuela.
Venezuela | Bolivarian government: 1999–present
This includes A New Era (UNT) together with allied parties Project Venezuela, Justice First, Movement for Socialism (MAS) and others. Hugo Chávez, the central figure of the Venezuelan political landscape since his election to the presidency in 1998 as a political outsider, died in office in early 2013, and was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro (initially as interim president, before narrowly winning the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election).
Venezuela | Government and politics
It added new environmental protections, and increased requirements for government transparency. It increased the presidential term from five to six years, allowed people to recall presidents by referendum, and added a new presidential two-term limit. It converted the bicameral legislature which consisted of a Congress with both a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies into a unicameral one that consisted only of a National Assembly. As a part of the new constitution, the country, which was then officially known as the Republic of Venezuela, was renamed the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela) at Chávez's request, thereby reflecting the government's ideology of Bolivarianism.
1999 Constituent National Assembly | Setting up the assembly
Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958, Venezuelan politics were dominated by the Third Way Christian democratic COPEI and the center-left social democratic Democratic Action (AD) parties; this two-party system was formalized by the "puntofijismo" arrangement. Economic crises in the 1980s and 1990s led to a political crisis which resulted in hundreds dead in the Caracazo riots of 1989, two attempted coups in 1992, and impeachment of President Carlos Andrés Pérez for corruption in 1993. A collapse in confidence in the existing parties saw the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez, who had led the first of the 1992 coup attempts, and the launch of a "Bolivarian Revolution", beginning with a 1999 Constituent Assembly to write a new Constitution of Venezuela.
Venezuela | Government and politics
Chávez, a former paratroop lieutenant-colonel who had led an unsuccessful coup d'état in 1992, was elected President in December 1998 on a platform that called for the creation of a "Fifth Republic", a new constitution, a new name ("the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela"), and a new set of relations between socioeconomic classes. In 1999, voters approved a referendum on a new constitution and in 2000, re-elected Chávez, also placing many members of his Fifth Republic Movement party in the National Assembly. Supporters of Chávez call the process symbolised by him the Bolivarian Revolution and were organised into different government-funded groups, including the Bolivarian Circles.
History of Venezuela | Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution
The Fifth Republic of Venezuela (), commonly known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the period in contemporary Venezuelan history from 1999 with the election of Hugo Chávez to the presidency and the installation of his Bolivarian Revolution, to the present day. Venezuela has been considered the Bolivarian Republic following the adoption of the new Constitution of 1999, when the state was renamed in honor of Simón Bolívar. Since Chávez's election into office, Venezuela developed into a dominant-party system, dominated by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela and where numerous other parties exist. The 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election raised concerns of an emerging dictatorship.
Fifth Republic of Venezuela | Introduction
The number of fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants was 7.56 in 1990. The number increased to 24.44 in 2010. In 2000, 2,535,966 Venezuelans had landline telephones. By 2009, this had increased to 6,866,626. The Bolivarian government has also launched an aerospace program in cooperation with the People's Republic of China who built and launched two satellites that are currently in orbit—a communications satellite called Simón Bolívar and a remote sensing satellite called Miranda. In July 2014, President Maduro announced that a third satellite would be built by Chinese–Venezuelan bilateral cooperation.
Economy of Venezuela | Technology
A collapse in confidence in the existing parties led to Chávez being elected president in 1998 and the subsequent launch of a "Bolivarian Revolution", beginning with a 1999 Constituent Assembly to write a new Constitution of Venezuela. Chávez also initiated Bolivarian missions, programs aimed at helping the poor. In April 2002, Chávez was briefly ousted from power in the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt following popular demonstrations by his opponents, but he returned to power after two days as a result of demonstrations by poor Chávez supporters in Caracas and actions by the military. Chávez also remained in power after an all-out national strike that lasted from December 2002 to February 2003, including a strike/lockout in the state oil company PDVSA.
Venezuela | Hugo Chávez: 1999–2013
López González joined the Venezuelan cabinet in 2006 where he served as president of Metro de Caracas and Los Teques Metro. In December 2008, President Hugo Chávez appointed him commander of the 5th Jungle Infantry Division, Operation Theatre No. 5 and Garrison Ciudad Bolivar. He was made the commanding general of the Bolivarian Militia on 30 July 2011. He also served as secretary of the Security and Intelligence Unit Electric System.
Gustavo González López | Chávez government
This ended the Punto Fijo Pact and ushered in the present-day Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
1999 Constituent National Assembly | Introduction
Venezuela became the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" () with the adoption of the 1999 constitution, which renamed the country in honor of Simón Bolívar. The new constitution was promulgated by President Hugo Chávez, who served "de jure" from 1999 until his death in 2013. The new constitution augmented the presidential term from five years to six years. Chávez's presidency was interrupted shortly in 2002 following a failed coup d'état attempt that put Pedro Carmona in office for a day. After government-loyal forces ousted Carmona from Miraflores, Vice President Diosdado Cabello assumed executive control for a couple of hours until Chávez could be restored.
List of presidents of Venezuela | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1999–present)
On 15 January, Nicolás Maduro spoke about Wikipedia and said that the opposition was "aiming to garner political power and become president of the Wikipedia Republic, of the Twitter Republic", in reference to the edit wars that took place surrounding the appointment of Juan Guaidó as president in the midst of the presidential crisis. Maduro added "There they are with their Wikipedia and their Twitter". William Castillo, former president of the National Commission of Telecommunications (Conatel) and current deputy minister of International Communication denied the block of Wikipedia, and alleged that it was a DoS attack against the site, to discredit the Venezuelan government.
Block of Wikipedia in Venezuela | Government
As President of Venezuela from 1999, before his death, former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez developed strong ties with the government of Iran, in particular in the area of energy production, economic, and industrial cooperation. The two countries have good cooperation in construction, oil and gas, and in infrastructure projects. He has visited Iran on several occasions, the first time in 2001, when he declared that he came to Iran to "prepare the road for peace, justice, stability and progress for the 21st century". As the fifth President of Iran with a term lasting from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005, Mohamed Khatami visited Venezuela on three occasions.
Iran–Venezuela relations | 2001-2005: Chávez and Khatami administrations
After the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état, when Pérez Jiménez abandoned the government and the country on 23 January 1958, more than 400 prisoners were found in the basement of the headquarters of the "Seguridad Nacional".
United States–Venezuela relations | Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship (1953–1958)
The State is autonomous and politically equal to the rest of the Federation. It organizes its administration and its public powers through the Constitution of the State of Bolivar, approved by the Legislative Council in Ciudad Bolivar on July 2, 2001.
Bolívar (state) | Politics and government
Under the new Bolivarian 1999 Constitution, the legislative branch of Government in Venezuela is represented by a unicameral National Assembly. The Assembly is made up of 165 deputies "(diputados)", who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote on a national party-list proportional representation system. In addition, three deputies are returned on a state-by-state basis, and three seats were reserved for representatives of Venezuela's indigenous peoples. All deputies serve five-year terms. In 1999 a two-term limit of six years each was established for the President of Venezuela.
Elections in Venezuela | 1990–1999: Later constitutions
Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. Economic shocks in the 1980s and 1990s led to several political crises, including the deadly Caracazo riots of 1989, two attempted coups in 1992, and the impeachment of President Carlos Andrés Pérez for embezzlement of public funds in 1993. A collapse in confidence in the existing parties saw the 1998 election of former coup-involved career officer Hugo Chávez and the launch of the Bolivarian Revolution, beginning with a 1999 Constituent Assembly to write a new Constitution of Venezuela. This new constitution officially changed the name of the country to "República Bolivariana de Venezuela" (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela).
History of Venezuela | Introduction
Hugo Chávez, the central figure of the Venezuelan political landscape since his election to the Presidency in 1998 as a political outsider, died in office in early 2013, and was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro (initially as interim President, before narrowly winning the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election). Venezuela has a presidential government.
Politics of Venezuela | Introduction
"In the democratic era, Venezuela has attempted to fulfill the principles of Simon Bolivar's ideals through a variety of means. It maintained active membership in the United Nations (UN) and its related agencies, other than this; the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organization of American States (OAS) and its related entities, and a host of other world and hemispheric organizations. In all these forums, Venezuela consistently aligned itself with other democracies" Venezuela and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the related agencies of the UN such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.
Foreign relations of Venezuela | Other international organisations to which Venezuela belongs
This deal also included construction of an underwater fiber optics cable to bypass a US embargo which was aimed to be built within 2009. From 2008 to 2011, Hugo Chávez's government in Venezuela gave Cuba $18 billion in loans, investments and grants. During the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela, trade between the two countries slowed. Venezuela's exports to Cuba dropped from $5.1 billion in 2014 to $1.6 billion in 2016, while Cuban exports to Venezuela declined from $2 billion to $642,000 in the same period.
Cuba–Venezuela relations | Economic ties
Later into 2001, an organization known as the "" (CD) was founded, under which the Venezuelan opposition political parties, corporate powers, most of the country's media, the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce, the Institutional Military Front and the Central Workers Union all united to oppose Chávez's regime. The prominent businessman Pedro Carmona (1941–) was chosen as the CD's leader. The CD and other opponents of Chávez's Bolivarian government accused it of trying to turn Venezuela from a democracy into a dictatorship by centralising power amongst its supporters in the Constituent Assembly and granting Chávez increasingly autocratic powers. Many of them pointed to Chávez's personal friendship with Cuba's Fidel Castro and the one-party socialist government in Cuba as a sign of where the Bolivarian government was taking Venezuela.
Hugo Chávez | Opposition and the CD
The president is elected by a plurality vote with direct and universal suffrage for a six-year term. A president may be re-elected perpetually (only in consecutive terms) as of 15 February 2009. The president appoints the Vice President. The president decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the National Assembly. Former ministries include the Venezuelan Ministry of Infrastructure, which became the "Ministry of Public Works and Housing" and was split into the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Housing & Habitat in June 2010. The Ministry of Popular Economy became the "Ministry of Communal Economy" in 2007, and was merged into the Ministry of Communes and Social Protection on 3 March 2009, along with the Ministry of Participation and Social Protection.
Government of Venezuela | Executive power
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (, ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012. Born into a middle-class family in Sabaneta, Barinas, Chávez became a career military officer and, after becoming dissatisfied with the Venezuelan political system based on the Puntofijo Pact, founded the clandestine Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s.
Hugo Chávez | Introduction
Hugo Chávez's government then "hired contingents of government-funded but technically independent online commentators" to help spread and defend his message.
Bolivarian propaganda | Internet
The nature of Sino-Venezuelan relations completely changed once Hugo Chávez won the 1998 Venezuelan Presidential elections. From the outset of his presidency, Hugo Chávez sought to distance himself from the United States and court other allies that could help him find alternative sources of trade, diplomatic and military relations. During the first year of his presidency, he visited China and would accumulate the greatest number of visits to China out of any other Latin-American leader during the same period (1999-2012). While giving a speech at Beijing University, Chávez is reported to have stated that “the Bolivarian Revolution is rooted in the ideology of Communist China’s founder, Mao Zedong”.
China–Venezuela relations | Chávez administration (1999-2013)
Hugo Chávez died in March 2013. A special presidential election was held in April, which was won by Chávez's Vice President, Nicolás Maduro. In July 2017, during the crisis in Venezuela, in an article of Russia's Military-Industrial Courier, a journal popular with military officers of the Russian Armed Forces, in the event of a Venezuelan civil war, it was recommended that the Russian government provide military intelligence to the Bolivarian government, establish alliances with ALBA and to assist proxy leftist militant forces, such as colectivos, to maintain the Bolivarian government's power. Maduro was re-elected for a second term in May 2018, but the result was denounced as fraudulent by most neighboring countries, the European Union, Canada and the United States.
Russia–Venezuela relations | Maduro era
On the afternoon of 12 January 2019, the "NetBlocks" Internet observatory collected technical evidence of the blocking of all versions of Wikipedia in Venezuela. The restrictions were implemented by CANTV, the largest telecommunications provider in the country. NetBlocks identified a major disruption to the network affecting the telecommunications infrastructure, which coincided with other restrictions affecting the ability of Venezuelans to access information in the previous 24 hours. It is believed that the reason is an attempt to hide or suppress the Wikipedia article of the newly appointed president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, who included him as "51st President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." The information collected also shows several websites that had recently been restricted, meaning that political instability in the country may be the main motive for the control of the Internet.
Block of Wikipedia in Venezuela | Block
Under the governments of Hugo Chávez and his successor Nicolás Maduro, the armed forces have undergone significant changes, including in its name (from National Armed Forces to National Bolivarian Armed Forces). There has also been a political change in partnerships switching from cooperation with the United States and its allies to expanded cooperations with Russia as the biggest of those new military allies.
National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela | Bolivarian government
Returning to Venezuela in 1898, that year Villegas Pulido headed of government of the state of Falcón. Afterwards, from 1900 until 1901 he led the government of the state of Guárico, followed by the state of Apure from 1903 until 1904. He was also appointed Attorney General of Venezuela in 1899, holding the role until 1909. From 1906 until 1907, he was Consul of Venezuela in the island of Trinidad, and in 1909 he served as president of the chamber of deputies (cámara de diputados). In 1912, he started a 22-year term as interim president of the Order of the Liberator (Orden del Libertador) that lasted until 1934.
Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido | 1898-1949: State and federal positions
The atmosphere of heightened confrontation initiated by the December 2001 "paro cívico" continued into the year 2002. The opposition formed a "Coordinating group for Democracy and Freedom," later known as the Democratic Coordinator ("Coordinadora Democrática", CD) to organise joint action against the government. On 23 January, the opposition staged a massive march, which was met by a counter march by government sympathisers. On 4 February, a pro-government march was countered by opposition marches in several cities. According to economist Francisco Rodríguez, "real GDP contracted by 4.4 percent and the currency had lost more than 40 percent of its value in the first quarter of 2002 ...
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 2002: Coup and strike/lockout
The Venezuela President, Hugo Chávez, acknowledged that the joint production between his country and Iran cars, has been affected by the embargo that United States keeps on the Islamic country.
National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela | Caracas acknowledges problems with Iran by U.S. embargo
Chávez launched what he called the "Bolivarian Revolution" and fulfilled an election promise by calling a Constituent Assembly in 1999, which drafted the new Constitution of Venezuela. However, Chávez was granted executive power by the National Assembly to rule by decree multiple times throughout his tenure, passing hundreds of laws. Chávez ruled Venezuela by decree in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ("Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela", PSUV) was created in 2007, uniting a number of smaller parties supporting Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution with Chávez's Fifth Republic Movement. The Democratic Unity Roundtable ("Mesa de la Unidad Democrática", MUD), created in 2008, unites much of the opposition (A New Era (UNT), Project Venezuela, Justice First, Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) and others).In 2008, the government expelled the US-based Human Rights Watch, which was criticizing the government's Human rights record.
Politics of Venezuela | 1999–2013
In 2007 the leading Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) party dissolved and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) formed as the leading government party. On 15 August 2007, PSUV founder and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez proposed an amendment to 33 articles of Venezuela's 350-article Constitution. Chávez stated that the proposed constitutional reforms were needed to complete the transition to a socialist republic and to implement his Bolivarian Revolution. The proposal was narrowly defeated by 51 to 49 percent. In 2009 a constitutional referendum resulted in the abolition of term limits for the office of President of Venezuela. The 2010 parliamentary elections took place on 26 September 2010 to elect the 165 deputies to the National Assembly.
Elections in Venezuela | 2000–present: Recent elections
During his studies in Caracas he met Hugo Chávez shortly before the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, and through Chávez met Luis Reyes Reyes (who later would be the Governor of Lara between 2000 and 2008). Falcón was elected as a delegate to the 1999 National Constituent Assembly from Lara State.
Henri Falcón | Career
Following the end of the Cold War and the fall of the military dictatorships in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, social movements including labor and indigenous currents opposed the austerity and called for debt forgiveness, sometimes resulting in clashes with the state (see Caracazo and 2000 Ecuadorian coup d'état). It was in this context that Chávez and MBR-200 (as the Fifth Republic Movement) won the 1998 elections and initiated the constituent process that resulted in the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999.
Bolivarian Revolution | Background
Echoing strong national sentiment the Government elevated a proposal to the National Assembly (Parliament) for a statute amendment that would allow placing the late president's body near that of Simón Bolívar (the Liberator and father of the country) in the National Pantheon of Venezuela, a secular building housing the remains and/or cenotaphs to independence war heroes and former presidents. The statute (still unamended) requires that a number of years pass before any such moves. Chávez's remains were placed instead at a mausoleum (built in 99 days) at the now Revolution Museum (formerly Army Museum) at the Mountain Barracks (former site of the Military Academy in La Planicie Barracks).
Death of Hugo Chávez | Tomb
Under the current Bolivarian 1999 Constitution, the legislative branch of Government in Venezuela is represented by a unicameral National Assembly. The Assembly is made up of 165 deputies "(diputados)", who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote on a national party-list proportional representation system. In addition, three deputies are returned on a state-by-state basis, and three seats are reserved for representatives of Venezuela's indigenous peoples. All deputies serve five-year terms and must appoint a replacement "(suplente)" to stand in for them during periods of incapacity or absence (Art. 186). Under the 1999 constitution deputies could be reelected on up to two terms (Art.
National Assembly (Venezuela) | Structure and powers
During that same visit, Chávez also proclaimed that Simon Bolivar was a “soul mate of Mao Zedong”. While Sino-Venezuelan relations were not strong at the time of Hugo Chávez's 1999 election, by his third term in 2012 the alliance between these socialist regimes were stronger than ever before. In terms of their diplomatic ties, Venezuela became a supporter of China on issues relating to Iran and North Korea; and they also publicly supported the creation of an international currency, which is a position that China favored.
China–Venezuela relations | Chávez administration (1999-2013)
In the 1998 presidential elections, one of candidate Hugo Chávez's electoral promises was to organize a referendum asking the people if they wanted to convene a National Constituent Assembly. His first decree as president was thus to order such a referendum, which took place on 19 April. The electorate were asked two questionswhether a constituent assembly should be convened, and whether it should follow the mechanisms proposed by the president. The "yes" vote in response to these two question totalled 92% and 86%, respectively. The 1998 parliamentary elections were on 8 November 1998. There were 207 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 54 seats in the Senate.
Elections in Venezuela | 1990–1999: Later constitutions
At the same time the Venezuelan government supporters commemorated the first year since the death of President Chávez, the Venezuelan government severed diplomatic relations with Panama. Three days following, the government declared cessation of economic ties with Panama.
Venezuelan protests (2014–present) | Government allegations
President Hugo Chávez was first elected in December 1998 on a platform calling for a National Constituent Assembly to be convened to draft a new constitution for Venezuela. Chávez's argument was that the existing political system, under the earlier 1961 Constitution, had become isolated from the people. This won broad acceptance, particularly among Venezuela's poorest classes, who had seen a significant decline in their living standards over the previous decade and a half. The National Constituent Assembly (ANC), consisting of 131 elected individuals, convened in August 1999 to begin rewriting the constitution. In free elections, voters gave all but six seats to persons associated with the Chávez movement.
National Assembly (Venezuela) | 1999 Constitution
Graduated with honors from the faculty of law of the Central University of Venezuela, Escarrá was previously a member of the COPEI party. After the victory of Hugo Chávez in the 1998 elections, he became a member of the 1999 Constituent National Assembly representing the Fifth Republic Movement. Unlike his brother Carlos Escarrá, who was a militant of the ruling party, Escarrá strongly criticized Chavez in the coming years, filing appeals in the Supreme Tribunal of Justice against the president's actions, calling to ignore the government in December 2007 with a march no return to Miraflores, calling for an indefinite strike as parliamentarian after the expropriations in the South of the Lake of 2010 and describing in 2010 the Communes Law and the Communal Parliament as "a coup d'etat to the Constitution."
Hermann Escarrá | Education and opposition to Bolivarian government
Elections for the new unicameral National Assembly were held on 30 July 2000. During this same election, Chávez himself stood for reelection. Going into the elections, Chávez had control of all three branches of government. Chávez's coalition also garnered a commanding two-thirds majority of seats in the National Assembly while Chávez was reelected with 60% of the votes. The Carter Center monitored the 2000 presidential election; their report on that election stated that, due to lack of transparency, CNE partiality, and political pressure from the Chávez government that resulted in early elections, it was unable to validate the official CNE results.
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 2000–2001: Re-election, rule by decree, land reform
Stratfor says that Diosdado Cabello—president of the 2017 Constituent National Assembly but then serving as chief of staff for Chávez—was instrumental in the founding of the Bolivarian Circles, and maintains close ties to the colectivos. According to Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, colectivos were modeled after the Iranian Basij militia; Humire noted that Chávez had personal meetings with Iranian officials that included the commander of Basij, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Nadqi. Chávez assigned colectivos to be "the armed wing of the Bolivarian Revolution" for the Venezuelan government, giving them weapons, communication systems, motorcycles and surveillance equipment to exercise control in the hills of Caracas where police are forbidden entry.
Colectivo (Venezuela) | Description and history
On January 3, 1959, the Minister of State of Cuba requested from the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs the recognition of the new Cuban Government, which emerged after the fall of Batista. On January 5, 1959, the Venezuelan Government recognizes the newly established Cuban government in Havana.
Cuba–Venezuela relations | 20th century
It was also noted that since Chávez was not physically present in Venezuela anymore, the Chávez eyes to Bolivarian government supporters represented an "omnipresent" Chávez, reminding voters of their "ideological commitment". Some who experienced the work say that it instills a presence of Chávez, a sense that he is "always watching you" that has been compared to the Orwellian figure, Big Brother.
Hugo Chávez's cult of personality | Analysis
The Cartel of the Suns, a group of high-ranking officials within the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, has been described as "a series of often competing networks buried deep within the Chavista regime". Following the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, the Bolivarian government initially embezzled until there were no more funds to embezzle, which required them to turn to drug trafficking. President Hugo Chávez made partnerships with the Colombian leftist militia Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and his successor Nicolás Maduro continued the process, promoting officials to high-ranking positions after they were accused of drug trafficking.
Deep state | Venezuela
Following the death of former President Hugo Chávez, citizens suffered under a socioeconomic crisis under his successor, Nicolás Maduro, as rampant crime, hyperinflation and shortages diminished their quality of life as a result of American intervention. As a result of the ensuing crisis, political tensions culminated into a series of protests that occurred since 2014. As a result of discontent with the Bolivarian government, for the first time since 1999, the opposition was elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly following the 2015 parliamentary election.
2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election | Background
The Bolivarian Circles () are political and social organizations of workers' councils in Venezuela, originally created by President Hugo Chávez on 21 December 2001. The circles have also been described as militias and compared to Cuba's Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and Panama's Dignity Battalions. They are named in honor of Simón Bolívar, the leader who transformed most of South America from Spanish colonial outposts to the independent states now in place. Following the involvement of Bolivarian Circles in defending President Chávez during the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, the government sponsored the creation of official Communal Councils on 10 April 2006, with many councils instead becoming armed colectivos.
Bolivarian Circles | Introduction
In March 2013 Hugo Chávez died. In April, a special presidential election was held, and Chávez's vice president, Nicolás Maduro won. In 2017, the Supreme Tribunal of Venezuela removed power from the elected National Assembly, resulting in a constitutional crisis and protests that year. Maduro called for a rewrite of the constitution, and the Constituent Assembly of Venezuela was elected in 2017, under what many—including Venezuela's chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega and Smartmatic, the company that ran the voting machines—considered irregular voting conditions; the majority of its members were pro-Maduro. On 20 May 2018, presidential elections were called prematurely; opposition leaders had been jailed, exiled or forbidden to run, there was no international observation, and tactics were used to suggest voters could lose their jobs or social welfare if they did not vote for Maduro.
China–Venezuela relations | Maduro administration (2013-present)
Chávez's bid for the presidency was supported by a coalition called the "Polo Patriótico" (Patriotic Pole, PP) which, besides Chávez's MVR, included the PPT, and significant portions of the MAS, LCR, "Movimiento Primero de Mayo", and "Bandera Roja".
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 1992 and beyond
By 1998, support for Democratic Action and COPEI had fallen still further, and Hugo Chávez, a political outsider, won the 1998 election.
Politics of Venezuela | 1958–1999
While Chávez and the other senior members of the MBR-200 were in prison, his relationship with Herma Marksman broke up in July 1993. In 1994, Rafael Caldera (1916–2009) of the centrist National Convergence Party who allegedly had knowledge of the coup was elected president and soon afterward he freed Chávez and the other imprisoned MBR-200 members, though Caldera banned them from returning to the military. Chávez went on a 100-day tour of the country, promoting his Bolivarian cause of social revolution. On his tours around the country he met Marisabel Rodríguez, who would give birth to their daughter shortly before becoming his second wife in 1997.
Hugo Chávez | Political rise
Chávez also stated his desire that a leftist, Latin American analogue of NATO be established.
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 2004–2005: Focus on foreign relations
These actions have worsened tensions and sparked violence during protests against the Maduro administration over concerns that Maduro would eliminate or significantly erode the independence of Venezuela's democratic institutions and shift the country towards one-man rule.
List of presidents of Venezuela | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1999–present)
Adán studied at the University of the Andes where he was involved with pro-guerrilla groups prior to the election of his brother Hugo into the presidency.
Adán Chávez | Guerilla affiliations
By the time Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1999, retired armed forces personnel who served with him were appointed to several cabinet posts and were given seats in the National Assembly. Chávez only allowed retired military personnel to run for elective posts at all levels as well as to serve in appointive government positions except for the Ministries of Defense and the Interior, per tradition led by active generals of the armed forces (the latter since the early 21st century). One of the advances achieved in the new Bolivarian Constitution of 1999 was to allow the right to vote in the elections to all service personnel of the armed forces without any limitation whatsoever, thus bringing it in line with other countries that allow the practice.
National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela | Role of the military in Venezuelan politics
In the early-2000s, Hugo Chávez's relationship with FARC caused uneasiness among the military in Venezuela. In January 2005, intelligence firm Stratfor reported that the controversial arrest of Rodrigo Granda in December 2004 showed Chávez's support of the FARC after he was allegedly put under pressure from FARC and due to Granda's Venezuelan citizenship being granted before Chávez's involvement in the 2004 Venezuela recall elections, with the Venezuelan citizenship granting Granda "a base of operations" to perform illicit operations internationally. In May 2006, the head of Venezuelan Military Intelligence, Hugo Carvajal, was allegedly at a meeting with Germán Briceño Suárez "Grannobles", a FARC Commander of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP, with the meeting's perimeter protected by members of the Venezuelan National Guard, Venezuelan Military Intelligence and Bolivarian Intelligence Service.
Corruption in Venezuela | Hugo Chávez government
It is the lead party of the Great Patriotic Pole coalition. The Democratic Unity Roundtable ("Mesa de la Unidad Democrática", MUD), created in 2008, unites much of the opposition. Hugo Chávez, the central figure of the Venezuelan political landscape since 1998, died in office in early 2013, and was succeeded by Nicolás Maduro (initially as interim President, before narrowly winning the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election).
Elections in Venezuela | Current
He appointed new figures to government posts, adding leftist allies to key positions and "army colleagues were given a far bigger say in the day-to-day running of the country". For instance, he put Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 founder in charge of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services and made , one of the 1992 coup leaders, governor of the Federal District of Caracas. Chávez appointed conservative, centrist and centre-right figures to government positions as well. He reappointed Caldera's economy minister, Maritza Izaquirre, to her previous position and appointed businessman Roberto Mandini president of the state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.
Hugo Chávez | First presidential term: 2 February 1999 – 10 January 2001
Following the arrest of the nephews, Associated Press correspondent Hannah Dreier was detained by SEBIN agents. She was then interrogated, being threatened with being beheaded in a way like ISIL did to James Foley, saying they would release her for a kiss. They later stated that they wanted to exchange Dreier for President Maduro's nephews.
Narcosobrinos affair | Government of Venezuela
Confidence in the traditional parties collapsed enough that the 1993 presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera on around 30% of the vote, representing a new electoral coalition, National Convergence. By 1998, support for Democratic Action and COPEI had fallen still further, and the 1998 election was won by political outsider Hugo Chávez. Since then, a range of newer parties (such as A New Era and Justice First) have been more prominent in opposition to Chávez than the traditional main parties Democratic Action and COPEI. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ("Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela", PSUV) was created in 2007, uniting a number of smaller parties supporting Chávez' Bolivarian Revolution with Chávez' Fifth Republic Movement.
Elections in Venezuela | Current
Aporrea was created after the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt to "defend the gains of the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the will of the people". The site was created by Gonzalo Gomez and Martin Sanchez, who withdrew in 2004 to take up a post as diplomat for the Venezuelan government. Since 2010, the Venezuelan government stopped contracting advertisement on the site, forcing it to run commercial ads. Advertising on the site remains free for cooperatives, small businesses and NGOs.
Aporrea | History
In recent years, Bolivarianism's most significant political manifestation was in the government of Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez, who from the beginning of his presidency called himself a Bolivarian patriot and applied his interpretation of several of Bolívar's ideals to everyday affairs, as part of the Bolivarian Revolution. That included the 1999 Constitution, which changed Venezuela's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and other ideas such as the Bolivarian Schools, Bolivarian Circles and the Bolivarian University of Venezuela. The term "Bolivarianism" is often used specifically to refer to Chávez's rule. The central points of Bolivarianism as extolled by Chávez are the following: Chávez's version of Bolivarianism, although drawing heavily from Bolívar's ideals, was also drawn from the writings of Marxist historian Federico Brito Figueroa.
Bolivarianism | Bolivarianism of Hugo Chávez
During the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, the French Government "immediately signalled its refusal to accept a breakdown in institutional legitimacy. Since the presidential crisis started, France has supported Juan Guaido.
France–Venezuela relations | History
The legislature approved the Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy to Re-establish the Validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela () on 5 February, defining the timing of the transition.
President of Venezuela | 2019–2020 crisis
Beyond the political-military sphere the two countries also pledged to work together academically in the commissioning of a new university programme at the existing, tuition-free Bolivarian University, with a focus on teaching socialist principles and to promote discussion of "21st century socialism." The government of Venezuela said this followed with plans to establish the University of Civilizations under accords recently signed with Iran.
Iran–Venezuela relations | Academic relations
After the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt toppled Chávez for two days, Pedro Carmona fled house arrest and asked for political asylum at the Colombian ambassador's residence in Caracas, which he was later granted. The government of Hugo Chávez criticized the decision but granted Carmona safe passage out of Venezuela.
Colombia–Venezuela relations | 2002 – Coup d'état against Hugo Chávez
At the request of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, Chávez also attended the 2006 summit of the African Union in Banjul. He also visited the People's Republic of China and Malaysia.
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 2006–2008
The meeting between Carvajal and Briceño Suárez involved talks about logistical and political support while also creating plans to meet with Chávez. Chávez's former bodyguard Leamsy Salazar stated in "Bumerán Chávez" that Chávez met with the high command of FARC in 2007 somewhere in rural Venezuela. Chávez created a system in which the FARC would provide the Venezuelan government with drugs that would be transported in live cattle across the Venezuelan-Colombian border while the FARC would receive money and weaponry from the Venezuelan government after receiving the drugs. According to Salazar, this was done in order to weaken Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, an enemy of Chávez.
Corruption in Venezuela | Hugo Chávez government
The Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela do not have official diplomatic relations, as Venezuela recognized the People's Republic of China in 1974, although unofficial relations were preserved through a Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Caracas until it was closed in 2009. In the 2000s, increasing partnership between the socialist government of Hugo Chávez and the People's Republic of China has led to a more overt rejection of the Taiwan's legitimacy by Venezuela. During the Venezuelan presidential crisis, Taiwan has been supportive of Juan Guaidó and the opposition-led National Assembly in its efforts to restore democracy and stability in the country.
Taiwan–Venezuela relations | Introduction
In February 2001 the ELN commander José María Ballestas, accused in Colombia of hijacking an Avianca airplane, was captured in Venezuela but later released causing diplomatic tensions between the governments of Hugo Chávez and Andrés Pastrana. Ballestas was later recaptured by Venezuelan authorities and in December 2001, was extradited from Venezuela to Colombia.
Colombia–Venezuela relations | 2001 – Ballestas case
According to Jose Vicente Haro, a constitutional lawyer, the Venezuelan opposition should name new directors of Venezuela's branches of government in order to establish a parallel government and to further pursue corrupt individuals, however noting that the Bolivarian government may attempt to jail opposition leaders.
2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis | Reactions to parallel government
While Chávez was in office, his government was accused of corruption, abuse of the economy for personal gain, propaganda, buying the loyalty of the military, officials involved in drug trade, assisting terrorists such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, intimidation of the media, and human rights abuses of its citizens. Government price controls put in place in 2002 which initially aimed for reducing the prices of basic goods have caused economic problems such as inflation and shortages of basic goods. The murder rate under Chávez's administration also quadrupled during his terms in office leaving Venezuela as one of the most violent countries in the world.
Venezuelan protests (2014–present) | Bolivarian Revolution
With various newspapers reporting links between the Venezuelan government and Ollanta Humala, there were allegations that Hugo Chávez funded Ollanta Humala during his 2006 presidential run. During Humala's run for president in Peru in 2006, his wife Nadine Heredia received funds from various sources allegedly aligned with the Venezuelan government, including a then newly purchased newspaper named "The Daily Journal" that became aligned with the Venezuelan government. Reports from a congressional advisor from Humala's party, the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP), suggested that "Nadine directs Venezuelan funding for social projects and propaganda through an NGO called 'Promotion of the Identity and National Development of Peru' (Prodin)", with Prodin's website sharing that Nadine worked with the Venezuelan Embassy on social programs and was "promoting cooperation with the Cuban Government in the area of literacy, education, and others".
Bolivarian propaganda | Chávez-Humala alliance
The Puntofijo Pact and AD-COPEI duopoly over Venezuelan politics collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of AD member and President of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez for corruption and the 1993 election of former COPEI leader Rafael Caldera on a National Convergence coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez. In the 2000 elections for the new National Assembly of Venezuela, AD won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-COPEI alliance.
Democratic Action (Venezuela) | Chávez-Maduro era: 1999—present
Didalco Bolívar is a Venezuelan politician, and was Governor of Aragua State from 1995 to 2008. His first three election victories (1995, 1998, 2000) were as a representative of the Movement for Socialism. In the 2004 elections he represented For Social Democracy (PODEMOS), a party he co-founded in 2003. In 2009 he fled to Peru after being charged with corruption allegedly committed while Governor. He was arrested on his return to Venezuela on 31 August 2011, and was released on probation in September. Shortly before his return he claimed that PODEMOS was selling nominations for governorships, and had concluded a $9m deal with a Miami-based businessman associated with the party.
Didalco Bolívar | Introduction
After Nicolás Maduro was elected as the new president of Venezuela in April 2013, he served as an adviser and collaborator on constitutional issues; He has been named member of the dialogue tables with the opposition and of the Truth, Justice and Peace Commission. During the counting of signatures of the stage of promotion of the presidential referendum of Venezuela from 2016–2017, he was a legal consultant to the governmental commission for the recall. Following the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election, Escarrá is currently a member of the presidential commission for the 2017 National Constituent Assembly for the circuit of Guatire, Miranda.
Hermann Escarrá | Support of the Bolivarian government
Following the death of President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela faced a severe socioeconomic crisis during the presidency of his successor, President Nicolás Maduro, as a result of their policies. Due to the state's high levels of urban violence, inflation, and chronic shortages of basic goods attributed to economic policies such as strict price controls, civil insurrection in Venezuela culminated in the widespread protests in the country. The discontent with the Bolivarian government saw the opposition being elected to hold the majority in the National Assembly of Venezuela for the first time since 1999 following the 2015 Parliamentary Election. As a result of that election, the Bolivarian officials of the lame duck National Assembly filled the Supreme Tribunal of Justice with their allies.
Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela in exile | Foundation
In the evening of 12 January 2019, the NetBlocks internet observatory had collected technical evidence of the blocking of all editions of Wikipedia in Venezuela. The restrictions were being implemented by CANTV, the largest telecommunications provider in the country. NetBlocks identified a major network disruption affecting the telecommunications infrastructure, which coincided with other restrictions affecting Venezuelans’ ability to communicate and access information during the previous 24 hours. The cause is believed to be an attempt to suppress a Wikipedia article that listed newly-appointed National Assembly president Juan Guaidó as “president number 51 of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.” The collected data also showed that a number of local websites had been recently restricted, indicating that recent political instability could be the underlying cause for what may be a tightening regime of internet control.
Censorship in Venezuela | Wikipedia
It has also publicly declared its sympathy towards Chávez and his Bolivarian Revolution, though none of the either confirm or deny any involvement with the insurgent group. A Venezuelan guerrilla organization, the Bolivarian Forces of Liberation, also espouses Bolivarianism, although it is not known if they have any ties to the Venezuelan government.
Bolivarianism | Panhispanism
On July 21, 1903, in the vicinity of Ciudad Bolivar, the last battle of the Liberating Revolution was fought where the government army under the command of Juan Vicente Gómez defeated the opposition forces of General Nicolás Rolando. The defeat of the Liberating Revolution marked the end of the 19th century in Venezuela, which was characterized by political instability and great civil wars, giving way to a period of consolidation of the central government under the rule of the Andean people. The state gained more autonomy in 1989 when the first elections for governor and legislative assembly were held and the practice of appointments from the central government in Caracas was ended.
Bolívar (state) | 20th century
In the elections of November 1998 he was elected to the Venezuelan Senate, representing the state of Aragua. On 29 January 2000, he was appointed as the first executive vice president of Venezuela. Eleven months later, on December 26, with the majority vote of the National Assembly, he was appointed as Attorney General of the Republic, a position he held until November 2007. He was appointed Second Vice-President of the 2017 Constituent National Assembly on 4 August 2017 but he is replaced by Elvis Amoroso a month later.
Isaías Rodríguez | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Colectivos emerged during the 1960s from guerrilla warfare in urban Venezuela, and made a return during the presidency of Hugo Chávez, when Chávez created their parent organizations, known as Bolivarian Circles. InSight Crime says their power began to increase in 2002, when Chávez decided he needed a security force independent of the military to counteract opposition demonstrators. In 2006, they received arms and funding from the state when they were brought under the government's community councils. Chávez eliminated the Metropolitan Police in 2011, turning security over to the colectivos in some Caracas barrios. "Bloomberg" says that when he created the Bolivarian Circles, Chávez "brought the former outlaws into the socialist fold", where some also gained access to weapons through government jobs.
Colectivo (Venezuela) | Description and history
The municipality is governed by a mayor and a council, all of whom are elected and are affiliated with a national party. The current mayor is Héctor Frontado, who was previously the mayor of neighboring municipality Mejía from 2013-17. In 2017, Cabeza was arrested and later sentenced for a corruption scheme in which his used his office as mayor to illegally obtain expensive goods.
Bolívar Municipality, Sucre | Government
Luis Herrera Campins was elected to the presidency in 1979, with the country in deep debt and bound by International Monetary Fund demands. In 1983, the Venezuelan currency, the bolívar, was devalued on what became known as Black Friday, unleashing an economic crisis. The subsequent government of Jaime Lusinchi did little to counter the crisis. Corruption increased, and the Caldas Corvettes crisis in 1987, sparked by a sovereignty dispute in the Gulf of Venezuela, generated one of the biggest moments of tension between Venezuela and Colombia.
Republic of Venezuela | Herrera Campins and Lusinchi administrations (1979-1989)
After the separation in 1856 of the then Federal Territory Amazonas, the province of Guayana was renamed in 1864 as the Sovereign State of Guayana once the Federal Revolution came to power under the command of Juan Crisóstomo Falcón. In 1864 Guyana became one of the independent states of the United States of Venezuela. In 1879, it was one of the seven states of the Federation, without the territory corresponding to Amazonas which had become Federal Territory Amazonas. In 1881 it became one of the nine political entities into which the country was divided, receiving the name of Great State Bolivar formed by Guayana and Apure.
Bolívar (state) | 19th century
In 1992, the then Colonel Hugo Chávez and his made 2 coup attempts, resulting in 2 years jail time. During this time, Chávez met with Luis Miquilena, a left-wing activist who ultimately advised Chávez to pursue his political ambitions through the electoral process. Consequently, after his release in 1994, Chávez began to pursue politics instead of military power, and created the party 'Movement for the Fifth Republic'. After the election of 1994 in which Raphael Caldera, the Copei party leader was elected President, Chávez began to gain support and in 1998, both major parties were defeated and Chávez was successfully elected.
Economic history of Venezuela | 1990 - 2012: Hugo Chávez
The party's manifesto states: "This is an infamous epoch because the laws are used to create injustice; it is a disastrous epoch because the laws are used to subdue, frighten and eliminate the people who protest and who demand justice". In January 2012, López, at the time a presidential candidate, described the current Venezuelan government as authoritarian, and called on Venezuelans to join him in choosing "the path of democracy." He said that the "first commitment" of government must be to justice, specifically to "functioning courts," an end to impunity, and an end to corrupt tax authorities.
Popular Will | View of Bolivarian government
Carvajal met Hugo Chávez in 1980 at the military academy of Caracas, where Chávez was his instructor. Carvajal took part in the 1992 coup attempt organised by Chávez against the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez. He was detained together with Chávez and he was set free with a general amnesty that president Rafael Caldera introduced in 1994. In September 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) accused Carvajal of helping Colombian guerrilla FARC in its drug trafficking activities by protecting them from drugs seizures, supplying arms and providing with Venezuelan official documents. He was placed on the list together with Henry Rangel Silva, Director of Venezuela's Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services, who later became Minister of Defense and Governor of Trujillo and with Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former Minister of the Interior & Security.
Hugo Carvajal | Career
As of January 2020, efforts led by Guaidó to create a transitional government have been described as unsuccessful by various analysts and media networks, with Maduro continuing to control Venezuela's state institutions. On 5 January 2020, the National Assembly Delegated Committee election resulted in claimed victories by both Guaido and legislator Luis Parra as the president of National Assembly, starting another crisis in the legislative body, in addition to the presidential crisis.
Venezuelan presidential crisis | Introduction
VTV also aired ads showing the September 11 attacks, comparing them to the opposition stating "The people know who the terrorists are". In 2005, the program "Dossier" was cancelled after its host and producer, Walter Martinez, accused the government of corruption.
Venezolana de Televisión | Bolivarian government
Meanwhile, Venezuela's doctors went on strike, protesting the siphoning of public funds from their existing institutions to these new Bolivarian ones, run by Cuban doctors. Chávez focused considerably on Venezuela's foreign relations in 2004 and 2005 via new bilateral and multilateral agreements, including humanitarian aid and construction projects. Chávez has engaged, with varying degrees of success, numerous other foreign leaders, including Argentina's Néstor Kirchner, China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russia's Vladimir Putin. On 4 March 2005, Chávez publicly declared that the U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was "dead". Chávez stated that the neoliberal model of development had utterly failed in improving the lives of Latin Americans, and that an alternative, anti-capitalist model would be conceived in order to increase trade and relations between Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil.
History of Venezuela (1999–present) | 2004–2005: Focus on foreign relations
In the ensuing decade, this would be increased to 90,000 barrels a day (in exchange for 40,000 Cuban medics and teachers), dramatically aiding the Caribbean island's economy and standard of living after its "Special Period" of the 1990s. However, Venezuela's growing alliance with Cuba came at the same time as a deteriorating relationship with the United States: in late 2001, just after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in retaliation for 11 September attacks against the U.S. by Islamist militants, Chávez showed pictures of Afghan children killed in a bomb attack on his television show. He commented that "They are not to blame for the terrorism of Osama Bin Laden or anyone else", and called on the American government to end "the massacre of the innocents.
Hugo Chávez | Second presidential term: 10 January 2001 – 10 January 2007
Background to the current political landscapes is the development of democracy in Venezuela during the twentieth century, in which Democratic Action (ADˣ or Acción Democrática in Spanish, founded in 1941) and its predecessors played an important role in the early years. Democratic Action led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period (1945–1948). After an intervening decade of dictatorship (1948–1958) and the fall of dictator Marcos Peres Jimenez saw ADˣ excluded from power, four Venezuelan presidents came from Democratic Action from the 1960s to the 1990s. This period, known as the "Fourth Republic", is marked by the development of the 1958 Punto Fijo Pact between the major parties (originally including the Democratic Republican Union, which later dwindled in significance), with the notable exclusion of the Communist Party of Venezuela.
Politics of Venezuela | 1958–1999