BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA Official name: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) Location: South America International organisations: The Andean Community, The Non-Aligned Movement, The Organisation of American States, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Brazil, Colombia, Guyana Coastline: Caribbean Sea Land area: 912,050 Km2 Population: 24,200,000

Ethnicity: Over 65% of Venezuelans are of mixed ethnic descent, either mestizo (European-Amerindian) or mulatto (European-African). About 20% of purely European (mostly Spanish) descent, while about 10% are of purely African descent. Some Amerindian communities survive in the interior.
Languages: Spanish is the official language and is almost universally understood.
Religion: Over 95% of the population are at least nominally Catholic Christians.
Form of government: Presidential democratic republic. Venezuela is divided into 23 provinces, one Federal District and one federal dependedency.

Capital: Caracas Constitution: The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela came into effect on 30 December 1999. Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a six-year term. Head of government: The President, who appoints the members of the Cabinet. Legislature: Venezuela has a unicameral legislature. The National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) has 165 members, elected for five-year terms by proportional representation from the provinces. Electoral authority: The National Election Council administers national elections. Freedom House rating: Political Rights 3, Civil Liberties 4

Political history

The territory which is now Venezuela was brought under Spanish control in the mid 16th century. From 1718 the area was part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. In 1777 Caracas became the capital of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. In 1811 the Caracas elite, led by Venezuela's greatest son, Simón Bolívar, declared the country independent, although full independence and a stable government were not achieved until 1830.

Simón Bolívar

For a century after independence Venezuela was run by a succession of caudillos (strong men), most of them agents of the Europeanised coffee-plantation owners. Between 1858 and 1863 there was a civil war between liberals and conservatives. The climax of the caudillo era was the regime of Juan Vicente Gómez, who held absolute power from 1908 to 1935. In 1945 a group of liberal officers seized power and installed Rómulo Betancourt as President. Betancourt's program of liberal reform, including universal franchise and direct elections, was interrupted by another coup in 1948. General Marcos Pérez then ruled as a brutal dictator until 1958, when a revolution reinstated civilian government and Betancourt returned to power. Since then, despite occasional military plots and attempts at Communist guerilla campaigns, Venzuela has enjoyed constitutional government.

Under liberal presidents such as Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-79 and 1989-93), Venezuela prospered, helped by booming oil revenues. But these presidents also ran up huge debts and in the 1990s Venezuela suffered a severe crash. The result was an attempted coup by radicals in the military in 1992. In 1998 the coup leader, Hugo Chávez, was elected president. Resistance to Chávez's radical policies ("the Bolivarian revolution") has been fierce and a coup attempt in 2002 nearly succeeded.

Chávez's party, The Movement for the Fifth Republic is a vehicle for his increasingly autocratic rule. Chávez is also supported by the Movement towards Socialism. His main rival is Betancourt's liberal Democratic Action party, led by Francisco Arias Cárdnas. Conservative views are represented by the Social Christian Party of Venezuela