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VENEZUELA - GENERAL INFORMATION

Original name: República Bolivariana de Venezuela

National flag:

Briefly:

Official language	Spanish
Capital	Caracas
President	Hugo Chávez
Area -Total -% water	912,050 sq km 0.3%
Population -Total (2007)	26,023,528
GDP	$186.3 billion
Independence -Declared -Recognised	From Spain July 5, 1811 1821
Currency	Venezuelan Bolivar
Time zone	GMT -4

Geography

Venezuala is located in northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana. The country has a 4,993km border with Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana, as well as a 2,800km coastline. It is a combination of rocky terrain thanks to the Andes Mountain range and vast plains of the Guiana Highlands of the southwest.

Land boundaries:
total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline: 2,800 km

Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Demographics

Venezuela is a nation of around 27 million people. The Venezuelan people comprise a rich combination of heritages. The historically present Amerindians, Spanish colonists and Africans were joined by Italians, Portuguese, Arabs, Germans, and others from neighboring countries in South America during waves of immigration in the 20th century. About 85% of the population lives in urban areas in the northern portion of the country. While the national and official language is Spanish, an additional 31 indigenous languages are spoken. 96% of the population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.

Population: 26,023,528 (July 2007 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.6% (male 4,169,979/female 4,046,170)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 8,120,661/female 8,369,065)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 586,863/female 730,790)
(2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.486% (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%

Economy

Oil revenues from the petroleum sector fuel Venezuela’s economy. The state owned Petroleos de Venezuela and its CITGO subsidiaries in the United States represent the backbone of the nation’s economy. As of 2007, Venezuela’s economy boasted a GDP of about $176.4 billion, (per capita: $8,900). Unemployment in the 12.5 million-person labor force was 8.4% and 37% of Venezuelans live below the poverty line.

GDP
Total GDP decreased 18.5% during the first semester of 2003 compared with the same period in 2002.
purchasing power parity : $182.8 billion (1999 est.)
real growth rate of GDP : -7.2% (1999 est.)

GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) : $8,000 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture : 4%
industry : 63%
services : 33% (1997 est.)

Poverty
Population below poverty line : 67% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10% : 1.5%
highest 10% : 35.6% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) : 20% (1999)

Unemployment rate : 18% (1999 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $26.4 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

History

The first permanent Spanish settlement in South America , Nueva Cadiz was established in Venezuela in 1522. The provinces which constitute today's Venezuela were under the central authority of the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru . In the 18th century, the province of Venezuela was under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (created in 1717), since 1777 as Captaincy General of Venezuela . The Venezuelans began to grow restive under colonial control toward the end of that century.

Venezuelan achieved home rule after a coup on April 19, 1810, and later declared independence from Spain on July 5, 1811. The country achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of its most famous son, Simon Bolivar.

Venezuela, along with what are now Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, was part of the Republic of Gran Colombia until 1830, when Venezuela separated and became a sovereign country.

Much of Venezuela's 19th century history was characterized by periods of political instability, dictatorial rule, and revolutionary turbulence. The first half of the 20th century was marked by periods of authoritarianism -including dictatorships from 1908-35 and from 1950-58. Since the overthrow of Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958 and the military's withdrawal from direct involvement in national politics, Venezuela has enjoyed an unbroken tradition of civilian democratic rule, of which Rómulo Betancourt, president from 1958-1964, laid the foundation. Until the 1998 elections, the Social Democratic "Acción Democrática" (AD) and the Christian Democratic "Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente" (COPEI) parties dominated the political environment at both the state and federal level. Hugo Chavez was elected President in December 1998.

Recent Political Turmoil

Recent political instability, for the most part, has been the result of an increasing reliance upon the international oil market. More recently however, suspicion of political fraud has lead to widespread alienation of the country’s citizens and the rise of a leader who many in the international community view as a destabilizing force with dictator-like characteristics.

Current president Hugo Chávez maintains popularity and “folk-hero” status from his involvement in the 1992 coup attempt to overthrow of then president Carlos Andrés Pérez. Pérez’s economic “shock” policies, which he adopted in the late eighties as he strived to ameliorate the nation’s persistent fiscal problems, had led to horrific riots leaving hundreds of dead. These riots, called the Caracazco, brutally exemplified the nation’s complete anger towards politics, forcing President Pérez to attempt the institution of drastic political reforms. The resulting political instability eventually led to an uprising in 1992 by a group of low-ranking military officers, Chávez included, who were subsequently defeated and sent to prison. Ultimately, the Venezuelan congress voted to impeach Pérez, and later presidents pardoned Chávez. The episode as a whole left the country distrustful of and uninterested in the political process -- distrust that still bears relevance today.

The election of Hugo Chávez in 1999 was characterized by extremely high abstention. By championing anti-establishment anger and winning over huge support from Venezuela’s vast poor population, Chávez earned 56% of the vote nationwide. Immediately after his election, Chávez proposed the rewriting of the country’s constitution. After approval by a statewide referendum, the congress, majority supporters of the new president, met and successfully reconstructed the country’s government. The process was completed with four elections the following year in which Chávez himself was re-elected to a new six-year term, and his party took majority control in the congress.

Hugo Chávez, by altering the Venezuelan constitution, has given his political party, Movimiento Quinta República, and thus himself, near unilateral political and economic control of the country. Chávez did not take long to expend his political capital, proposing a package of 49 economic reforms that were eventually passed in November of 2001. The reforms mainly served to increase the authority of the state in economic matters and limit the freedom of private economic investors. The result: suspicion from the international community and increased skepticism as to the commitment to democracy in Venezuela, leading to massive and consistent foreign capital flight.

Opposition to Chavez

The major, party driven opposition to President Chavez has been severely diminished in recent years. Chavez’s ability to increase funding for social welfare programs around election time, coupled with a plethora of constitutional reforms in recent years, has secured his dominance over the Venezuelan government. His political party controls every seat in the country’s parliament.

While major political opposition has quickly and constantly been vanishing, a newer student-lead campaign may be picking up steam. In response to Chavez’s decision not to renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television, Venezuela’s most popular television station and major critic of his regime, students from various Universities in Caracas have taken to the street in defense of free speech.

Students paint the palms of their hands white as a symbol of non-violent protest and walk the streets chanting in defense of freedom and various other principles. This newer movement is strategically avoiding collaboration with the country’s major political opposition parties. Many students actually hold a favorable view of President Chavez and his social programs, yet are concerned about his tightening of individual rights and his increased control over the government. For that, they protest.

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez Frías (born July 28, 1954) is President of Venezuela. He is a controversial figure because he has been governing Venezuela following the principles of a progressive social movement, which he calls Bolivarianism, in honor of the Venezulan-born South American independence hero Simón Bolívar.

The son of Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez, Chávez has four children of his own: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, Hugo Rafael, and Rosinés. He was married twice and is currently separated from his second wife.

He graduated from the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences on July 5, 1975, after being awarded master's degrees in military sciences and engineering. He continued his education by following a master's degree in political sciences at the Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, which he did not finish according to his university tutor and the head of the Political Science school. An ex-paratrooper, Chávez came to prominence after heading a failed military coup in 1992. After spending two years in prison, he was pardoned by former President Rafael Caldera, and emerged as a politician, organizing a new political party called the Movement for the Fifth Republic.

Chávez won the presidential election on February 4, 1998, and again in 2000, by the largest majority in four decades, running on an anti-corruption and anti-poverty platform, and condemning the two major parties that had dominated Venezuelan politics since 1958. (His current term of office runs until 2006.)