Venezuela Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela

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VenezuelaRepublica Bolivariana de Venezuela

• By Liz Cote

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General Information

• Total area 912,050 sq km
• Natural resources minerals
• -natural gas
• -diamonds
• Exports petroleum
• - steel
• - agricultural products
• Terrain - Andes mountains
• - Maracaibo lowlands
• - Central plains

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People

• Population 26,023,528
• Life expectancy 73.28 yrs
• Religion 96 Roman Catholic
• Literacy 93
• Unemployment rate 8.9
• Population below poverty line 37.9

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History and Founding Documents

• Founded in 1567
• Won independence from Spain in 1821
• Joined Republic of Greater Colombia
• Became a republic in 1830
• Constitution drafted in 1946
• Rewritten in 1961 July 1999

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Past Structure/Distribution of Power

• Early years defined by a time of unstable
  dictatorships and other structures
• - caudillos ruled early Venezuela
• - Guzman Blanco (1870-1888)
• - Joaquin Crespo (1892-1899)
• - Cipriano Castro (1899-1908)
• - Juan Vicente Gomez (1908-1935)

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Past Structure/Distribution of Power

• Even after constitution drafted, Venezuela
  struggled (and still does) with dictatorships and
  anti-democratic sentiment
• Marcos Perez Jimenez (1952-1958)
• Partido Comunista de Venezuela
• Partido Unido Socialista de Venezuela

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Changes to Constitution

• Constitution rewritten in 1999 upon election of
  Chavez
• Specific changes in constitution
• -gender inclusion
• -state of law and justice
• -right to information
• -Social, educational, cultural, and economic
  rights
• -5 power system
• -6 year presidential term

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Todays Venezuelan Government

• Federal republic
• Five branches of government
• - executive
• - legislative
• - judiciary
• - citizens
• -electoral
• Elections- party lists are created with more
  prominent members at the top
• Candidates elected on a proportional basis
• Supervised and directed by the Supreme
  Electoral Council (Consejo Supremo Electoral-CSE)

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Current Issues

• Many fear Chavezs rule becoming too much like a
  dictatorship
• Protests by business and labor organizations
• Ousted for two days
• Recall referendum pursued
• Clearly desires socialist state Socialism or
  death inauguration 2007

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Current Issues

• Weakening democracy
• Drugs/drug related violence
• Overdependence on petroleum
• Irresponsible operations endangering environment
• -pollution of Lago de Valencia, Lago de Maracaibo
• -urban/industrial pollution
• -hazardous waste
• -destruction of wetlands and tropical forests

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Sources

• http//venezuelanalysis.com/basicfacts
• http//countrystudies.us/venezuela/44.htm
• http//venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/70
• https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world
  -factbook/geos/ve.html
• http//www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108140.html