Venezuelan Political History: Democracy, Dictatorship, and Economic Crises
Key Features of Venezuelan Democracy
- Alternation of power between two dominant parties (Democratic Action)
- Multiparty system with diverse ideologies (Social Democrats, Social Christians, Marxists)
- Two main constitutions: 1961 and the current Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Constitution
- Generally, constitutional guarantees were retained, with some temporary suspensions
Bipartisanship in Venezuela
Bipartisanship is a political system favoring two major political coalitions. Proponents argue it creates political stability by excluding extremist sectors. Opponents argue it is undemocratic as it excludes minorities.
Economic Events
Black Friday (February 18, 1983)
A significant devaluation of the bolivar against the US dollar due to economic policies under President Luis Herrera Campins.
Carlos Andrés Pérez’s Economic Policies (1989-1992)
Radical economic measures led to initial macroeconomic success but high social and political costs, including two coup attempts and a corruption trial.
Political Concepts
Democracy
A form of government where power resides in all members, decisions respond to the collective will, and social interactions are based on free and equal membership.
Dictatorship
A form of government where power is concentrated in a single individual (dictator), characterized by the absence of division of powers, arbitrary control, and lack of consent from the governed. (Latin: dictatura)
Important Governments and Organizations
Broad-Based Government (Raúl Leoni)
Included Democratic Action, URD, and National Democratic Front (NDF) members, as well as independents.
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
COPEI
Committee of Independent Electoral Political Organization
Punto Fijo Pact (October 31, 1958)
An agreement between Democratic Action (AD), COPEI, and Democratic Republican Union (URD) after the overthrow of Marcos Pérez Jiménez.
VA Message (May 20, 1993)
Message after the Supreme Court of Justice found no merit for trial
“I address my countrymen in one of the most critical moments in the history of the country and the most difficult of my career as a public man. I must confess that despite all my experience and knowledge of the dramatic political history of Venezuela, I never thought that personal or political passions could spill over in the same manner and that Venezuela could look back without fear of the incessant ranting of violence so common in our historical process. Our character has changed little. Our way of fighting relentlessly cruel. He has revived strongly doubt inquisitorial and destructive spirit that knows no bounds to annihilation, whether moral or political. I acknowledge with great sorrow that reality and not just because I am the major aim of rancor, whom he declares war and was meant to lead to the gallows, but because this is a symptom and a sign of extreme gravity, something that will not disappear from the political scene because they simply charge a scapegoat. This situation will continue to affect, dramatically, the country in the coming years. I represent a long political history. A story that begins from the death of Juan Vicente Gomez and the first government that succeeded the dictatorship that took many decades for our presence in the twentieth century. I was part of young people in 1945 recklessly launched to transform the country.”