Introduction%20to%20Venezuelan%20Politics%20Pl.Sc.%20422

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Introduction to Venezuelan Politics Pl.Sc. 422
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Nineteenth Century Heritage

• Simón Bolívar and South American Independence
• Venezuela splits from Gran Colombia (1830)
• The Federal Wars 1858-63
• Desire for a more democratic society
• Anti-clericalism
• Personalism
• Caracas vs. Interior

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Nineteenth Century Heritage

• Victorious Liberals fail to restore order
• Three more years of instability lead to victory
  of Antonio Guzmán Blanco and Liberal
  Enlightenment (1870 1888)
• Centralization of power in Caracas
• Economic development
• Modernization

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Antonio Guzmán Blanco and Liberal Enlightenment
(1870 1888)

• Rules directly or behind the scenes
• Holiday in Paris (1884-1886Autocratic, but a
  modernizer
• Centralization of power in Caracas
• Economic development
• Modernization

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Political Chaos Ends Liberal Era

• 1890 Guzmán Blancos heirs divide into factions
• 1899 clash among political factions leads to
  violence
• Return of revolutionary chaos opens the way for
  Andean domination.

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THE ANDEAN DICTATORSHIPS BEGIN

• Cipriano Castro and the Táchira Revolutionaries
• October 22, 1899 Victorious Andeans enter
  Caracas
• Castro in power 1899-1908
• Four years of intermittant fighting
• Default on foreign debts leads to blockade (1902)
• U.S. role as negotiator
• Castro becomes nationalist hero by resisting
  demands for debt payment by North Atlantic
  nations
• November 1908 to Europe for an operation

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Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935

• Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935)
• Political unification
• Economic transformation
• Primitive style runs Venezuela like his ranch
• Cattle deals used to build the state
• Force and economic incentives ensure loyalty of
  the inner circle
• Outburst of hatred against Gómez clan upon the
  passing of the dictator

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Heirs of Gomez Modernization and Oligarchic
Democracy (1935-1945

• López Contraras
• Medina Angarita (1940-45)
• Continuing modernization
• Nationalism and petroleum
• Politics of the aborted 1945 presidential
  election campaign
• Revolution of October 18, 1945

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A DECADE OF REVOLUTIONARY MODERNIZATION

• Trienio (1945-48)
• Rapid modernization of peasants
• AD takes control of organized labor
• Marxist cast of AD governments antagonizes the
  church
• Incorporation of provincial middle class
• Constitution of 1947
• Universal suffrage
• Representative democracy

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Elections of December, 1947

• ADs Rómulo Gallegos wins more than 2/3 of vote
• Opposition parties frustrated
• COPEI (Christian Democrats)
• PCV (Communists)
• URD (Democratic Republican Union)
• Sectarianism leads to revolution of November 28,
  1948

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TEN YEARS OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY (1948-58)

• Dictablanda (1948-52)
• Pérez Jiménez and the New National Ideal
• Populism
• General Pérez Jiménez and the New National Ideal
• Physical development
• Reliance on petroleum income
• Decay of the military regime
• Increasing persecution of opponents
• Corruption
• All work and no play makes Marcos a dull boy

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TRANSITION TO REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

• Democratic Forces meet in New York City to
  coordinate efforts against General Pérez Jiménez
  (Fall of 1957)
• Plebiscite on another term (November 1957)
• Democratic Revolution of January 23, 1958
• Return of exiles
• Pact of Punto Fijo (shares power)

• Orinoco River

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TRANSITION TO REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

• National Elections December 1958
• Results (Presidential)
• AD Rómulo Betancourt (49)
• URD, PCV Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal (35)
• COPEI Rafael Caldera (16)
• January 1, 1959 Punto Fijo democracy begins

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CARACAS (1960s)