Venezuela’s Social Transformation: 1936-1958
Social Transformations in Venezuela (1936-1958)
1936-1958 Social Transformations: During the transition period (1936-1958), Venezuela experienced dramatic social changes. The rise of the oil industry initiated a process of industrialization and urban development, impacting core indicators of quality of life and human development. Socially, a new profile of Venezuelan society emerged, with the middle classes gaining prominence. Social programs in education, health, and housing improved the population’s quality of life. These changes were reflected in the 1947 Constitution, which established extensive social rights developed during the brief democratic period of 1945-1948. The 1948 coup interrupted this progress, hindering the achievement of social objectives.
Socio-economic Characteristics
During this transition, Venezuela’s total population in 1936 was over 3.5 million. This changed from the 1940s onward. The oil boom and the start of urban expansion and industrial development led to a population increase, a steady rise in its natural growth rate, and a transformation in the internal structure of the urban-rural population relationship, altering the country’s demographic and cultural landscape.
Between 1936 and 1957, the Venezuelan population’s occupations varied, as evidenced by the following percentages:
- a. In agriculture: 52%
- b. In oil and mining: 3.5%
- c. In manufacturing: 13.2%
- d. In energy and construction: 1.2%, in transport and communications: 3.4%, and 2% in other areas.
- e. In commerce and finance: 7.8%
- f. In various services: 14.7%
Pyramid of Social Class
The development of the Venezuelan social structure during the period (1936-1941), after the social groups settled, was linked to the emergence of various organizations and movements seeking to improve their living standards. Due to the booming oil exploration, many people migrated to urban centers, resulting in increased misery, overcrowding, homelessness, and strain on health services, education, and other resources.
Emergence of Business Organizations, Trade Unions, and Social Function
Throughout the twentieth century, particularly between 1935 and 1958, Venezuelan society underwent significant changes. Socio-economic problems were prominent, with social groups seeking better options to defend their interests by forming organizations. These organizations helped them secure better opportunities and defend their rights.
Business Organizations
In the first ten years (1937-1947), various private economic organizations emerged, establishing joint working relationships. The largest organizations of this time were: The Association of Commerce and Production, created by production and trade agencies to respond to the economic policy initiated by the government of Medina Angarita. However, the Chambers of Commerce, which represented the mercantile bourgeoisie, were already operating in the country. They functioned as the only strong body, as other sectors like landowners lacked a union to represent them due to disorganization and inequality. The conditions created by World War II and state protection led to the development of the industrial bourgeoisie to protect their interests.
Trade Associations (Unions)
The emergence of an organized labor movement and a modern labor and union system in Venezuela was relatively late. The start of oil exploitation in the early twentieth century brought income and capitalist production and organization methods. However, the type of economy and the intense control that foreign companies had over rural society limited the autonomy of the economic and political model. Consequently, the few workers’ struggles were not spontaneous demonstrations of an organization that endorsed them. Under these conditions, the first oil workers’ strike occurred in 1925, leading to the founding of the National Association of Employees (ANDE) in Zulia State. This movement paved the way for oil workers and spread to other employment sectors. On February 27, 1936, the first Cabimas Workers and Employees Union of Petroleum (SOEP) was organized. Then, in Maracaibo, the Zulia Workers Union (UTZ), composed of 18 unions, was formed. During those years (1936-1937), there were 15 strikes in defense of individual liberties and collective bargaining. This union was driven by emerging political parties and resulted in the First Venezuelan Congress of Workers, which gave rise to the Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CVT), now (CTV), initially bringing together more than 125,000 workers. At the end of Eleazar López Contreras’s government, the Venezuelan Workers Confederation was dissolved, the first major oil strike was suspended, and the new democratic parties and their leaders went into exile or hiding.
The Student Movement
The student body has always played an important role in Venezuelan society. The student movement’s opposition to autocracy, which began during the time of Guzman Blanco and Gomez, was reborn during the dictatorship, manifesting through public protests. As a result, many students were banished, and the Central University was closed for eleven years. In 1928, protests and freedom speeches by student leaders led to the arrest and imprisonment of over two hundred students, triggering a wave of protests from different social sectors and wildcat strikes that lasted for several days. This action in the streets forced the regime to release the detained university students.
The student movement has been seen in American history as the most successful mass movement in the country. From their leaders, new groups emerged after the death of Gomez, organizing outside the doctrines of the parties. Since then, students have been an active part of the struggle for citizenship claims. The Central University reopened, becoming a pillar of political struggle. It organized the Student Federation of Venezuela (FEV), led by Jovito Villalba, which became the most feared student movement of the time by reactionary groups.