Venezuela’s Geography, Territory, and Political Organization
Venezuela’s Geography and Territorial Organization
The Gulf of Venezuela
Benefit: The Gulf of Venezuela allows transit to a major shipping area, Lake Maracaibo.
Ownership: Based on historical and geographical rights, the Gulf belongs to Venezuela, as stated in the Constitution.
The Modern State and its Territory
Definition of Territory: The essence of a state’s existence.
Key Elements of a Modern State: Territory, people (or nation), and government.
Composition of Territory: Land, waters (rivers, lakes, seas), subsoil, and airspace.
Historical Venezuelan Territory: In the 16th and 17th centuries, Venezuela was comprised of provinces.
Definition of Provinces: The elementary territorial and political unit in Spanish America, ruled by a governor and captain-general.
Venezuelan Provinces under Spanish Rule: Margarita, Venezuela, Trinidad, Nueva Andalusia (Cumaná), Guayana, and Maracaibo.
The 1810 Constitution (Article 5): Defined the territory of Venezuela before the political transformation of 1810, initiating border negotiations with Nueva Granada.
1941 Treaty on the Gulf of Venezuela: Established Castilletes as the starting point of the western limit, differing from the 1833 Michelina-Pombo Treaty.
Geographical Divisions of Venezuela
Venezuela is divided into three main geographical regions:
- Guayana Region
- Coastal Mountain Region
- Central Plains (Llanos) and Taika Depression
Guayana Region
Location: Southwest Venezuela, bordering Guyana and forming part of the Amazon states (45% of national area).
Geology: Igneous and metamorphic rocks of the Guiana Shield.
Relief: Tepuis (table mountains), peninsulas, and vast plains.
Coastal Mountain Region
Location: Northeast Venezuela, comprising the Maracaibo Basin, the Andes, and the Coastal Range.
Geology: Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks.
Relief: Complex, with mountains, hills, and limited flat land.
Central Plains (Llanos) and Taika Depression
Location: Between the Andes and the Orinoco River, encompassing Apure, Barinas, Portuguesa, Cojedes, Guárico, Anzoátegui, Monagas, and Delta Amacuro states.
Geology: Sedimentary rocks.
Relief: Vast expanse of flat, low-lying terrain.
Political Organization of Venezuela
Levels of Governance
Self-government: Direct exercise of power by community members to solve their problems.
City: The primary political unit of national territorial organization.
Communal City: Communities within a defined perimeter, characterized by self-governance and subject to popular referendum.
Federal City: Population settlement within a federal district.
Commune: Geo-human cells within an area, formed by communities with the power to shape their own geography.
State (like Ontario): A territory under the sovereignty of a federal state.