Republic of Venezuela

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Republic of Venezuela República de Venezuela (Spanish)
1953–1999
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: " constitutional initially under a military dictatorship (1953–1958)
President
• 1953–1958	Marcos Pérez Jiménez
• 1959–1964	Rómulo Betancourt[1]
• 1964–1969	Raúl Leoni
• 1969–1974	Rafael Caldera
• 1974–1979	Carlos Andrés Pérez
• 1979–1984	Luis Herrera Campins
• 1984–1989	Jaime Lusinchi
• 1989–1993	Carlos Andrés Pérez
• 1993–1994	Ramón José Velásquez
• 1994–1999	Rafael Caldera
• 1999	Hugo Chávez
Legislature	Bicameral Congress
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Deputies
History
• Established	11 April 1953
• Constitution adopted	16 January 1961
• Bolivarian Republic established	2 February 1999
Bolívar
ISO 3166 code	VE
Preceded by Succeeded by United States of Venezuela Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Part of a series on the
History of Venezuela
Chronology
Pre-Columbian period 1522–1821 1821–30 1830–1908 1908–58 1948–58 1953–99 1999–present
Topics
New Spain Province of Venezuela Viceroyalty of New Granada Captaincy General American Confederation of Venezuela War of Independence First Republic Second Republic Third Republic Caudillismo Revolution of the Reforms 1848–1849 civil war March Revolution Federal War Blue Revolution April Revolution Revindicating Revolution Legalist Revolution Andean Hegemony Restorative Liberal Revolution Liberating Revolution 1902–03 blockade 1908 coup Oil industry history Generation of 1928 El Trienio Adeco Democratic period 1958 coup Punto Fijo Pact Carupanazo Porteñazo Caracazo February 1992 coup attempt November 1992 coup attempt Bolivarian Revolution Vargas tragedy 2002 coup attempt 2002–03 general strike 2004 recall referendum 2007 RCTV protests Death and state funeral of Hugo Chávez Crisis in Venezuela
Venezuela portal
v t e

The Republic of Venezuela was a democratic republic first established in 1953, and replaced in 1999 by the

This period was characterised by the alternation of political power established in the Punto Fijo Pact; by the nationalisation of the oil industry in 1976 and the creation of PDVSA, the national oil and gas company; and by the rise of new social elites. Internationally, Venezuela became a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The 1980s in particular were characterised by the flowering of art and culture and by the artistic development of the nation, especially in television. Pioneering media like RCTV made Venezuela famous with soap operas such as Kassandra.

History

Betancourt administration (1959–1964)

After a military coup d'état on 23 January 1958 sent General

The new order had its opponents. On 24 June 1960, Betancourt was injured in

In 1963, Raúl Leoni was elected to succeed Betancourt as president. Leoni's government became known for public works and cultural development, but was confronted with continuous guerrilla warfare.

Carlos Andrés Pérez took office in 1974, amid an oil crisis that had begun the previous year and had increased the global price of oil from $3 per barrel to nearly $12 per barrel. Venezuela nationalised its iron industry in 1975 and its oil industry the following year.

Herrera Campins and Lusinchi administrations (1979–1989)

Luis Herrera Campins was elected to the presidency in 1979, with the country in deep debt and bound by International Monetary Fund demands. In 1983, the Venezuelan currency, the bolívar, was devalued on what became known as Black Friday, unleashing an economic crisis.^[5] The subsequent government of Jaime Lusinchi did little to counter the crisis. Corruption increased, and the Caldas Corvettes crisis in 1987, sparked by a sovereignty dispute in the Gulf of Venezuela, generated one of the biggest moments of tension between Venezuela and Colombia.^[6]

Second Carlos Andrés Pérez term (1989–1993)

Pérez was elected again in 1988 and, looking to solve the recession, adopted economic measures that set off major protests, the biggest of which was the Caracazo wave of 1989. The same year, Venezuela held its first direct elections of governors and regional mayors.

In February and November 1992, Hugo Chávez led two coup d'état attempts, and in 1993, Congress ousted Pérez. Octavio Lepage served as acting president for about two weeks, at which point the historian and parliamentarian Ramón José Velásquez took over the interim role.

Despite initially rejecting liberalization policies,

Rafael Caldera campaigned for the presidency and brand-new political movement, called Convergencia. The adecos chose the pardo Claudio Fermín. Petkoff had seen the futility of trying again and backed Caldera. Caldera resulted winner . Abstentions reached a record of 40%.^{[citation needed]}

Caldera assumed the presidency for the second time in 1994