United States of Venezuela

Venezuela, 1864–1953. Draft, not yet reviewed

The United States of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela, adopted in its 1864 constitution under the Juan Crisóstomo Falcón government. This remained the official name until 1953, when the constitution of that year renamed it the Republic of Venezuela. The 1864 constitution established the borders of the United States of Venezuela to be the same of those of the 1810 Captaincy General of Venezuela. Because of a long-running territorial dispute between the United States of Venezuela and the United Kingdom over the Essequibo region, several countries called for an international court of justice to settle the matter, which was held in Paris in 1899, and ruled in the UK's favour.

Seat of power: Caracas

Rulers

Juan Crisóstomo Falcón

President of Venezuela, 1863–1868

In 1863, under the presidency of Juan Crisóstomo Falcon Zavarce, Venezuela became the first country to abolish capital punishment for all crimes, including serious offenses against the state. He served as the recognized president of Venezuela from 1863 to 1868, when the conservative Blue Revolution headed by General José Tadeo Monagas ended his term as president.

Portrait of Juan Crisóstomo Falcón: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file

Guillermo Tell Villegas

President of Venezuela, 1868–1870

In 1868 he spent eight months as interim president of Venezuela, during which time he reinstated the Federal Constitution from 1864. In 1870 he was interim president a third time while Monagas fought the Liberal Revolution.

Portrait of Guillermo Tell Villegas: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Antonio Guzmán Blanco

President of Venezuela, 1870–1877

In 1870 he became provisional president with extraordinary powers, ruling the country for seven years as a dictator. The Palacio Federal Legislativo, also known as the Capitolio, was built in 1872 by Guzman to a design by the architect Luciano Urdaneta Vargas.

Portrait of Antonio Guzmán Blanco: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), restored version, Public domain, file

Joaquín Crespo

President of Venezuela, 1884–1886

He became president for the first time in 1884, and in 1886 Guzmán Blanco returned as president.

Portrait of Joaquín Crespo: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file

Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl

President of Venezuela, 1888–1890

He was the first civilian president who was elected by constitutional procedures in 50 years, and the only one who could finish his term properly, until 74 years later. Breaking with Guzmán's anti-clerical policy, Rojas brought French nuns to the country, helped the establishment of congregations, also built and remodeled many religious buildings.

Portrait of Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl: Cristóbal Rojas, Public domain, file

Joaquín Crespo

President of Venezuela, 1892–1898

During the second Joaquín Crespo regime, which began in 1892, a new constitution increased the presidential term. In 1897, Crespo did not campaign for a third presidential term but supported Ignacio Andrade against key opponent Jose Manuel Hernandez.

Portrait of Joaquín Crespo: Martín Tovar y Tovar (1827 - 1902), Public domain, file

Cipriano Castro

President of Venezuela, 1899–1908

In October 1899 he marched on Caracas in an event called the Restorative Liberal Revolution, and seized power, installing himself as the supreme military commander. His nine years of despotic and dissolute rule are best known for having provoked numerous foreign interventions, including blockades and bombardments by Dutch, British, German, and Italian naval units seeking to enforce the claims of their citizens against Castro's government.

Portrait of Cipriano Castro: Nicola Perscheid, Public domain, file

Juan Vicente Gómez

President of Venezuela, 1908–1913

Gómez seized power from Castro in a coup d'état on 19 December 1908, while Castro was in Europe for medical treatment. As president, Gómez managed to deflate Venezuela's staggering debt by granting concessions to foreign oil companies after the discovery of petroleum in Lake Maracaibo in 1914.

Portrait of Juan Vicente Gómez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Restored version by User:Wilfredor, Public domain, file

Juan Vicente Gómez

President of Venezuela, 1922–1929

He returned to office in 1922, ruling until 22 April 1929. It was generally understood, however, that Gómez continued to hold the real power; he ruled the country from his home in Maracay.

Portrait of Juan Vicente Gómez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Restored version by User:Wilfredor, Public domain, file

Juan Bautista Pérez

President of Venezuela, 1929–1931

He was a puppet president, as Juan Vicente Gómez was the de facto ruler of Venezuela during Pérez's presidency. His period in office saw several attempts to overthrow Juan Vicente Gómez (who remained the country's ultimate authority) including one by Román Delgado Chalbaud and another by Rafael Simón Urbina, both in 1929.

Portrait of Juan Bautista Pérez: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Juan Vicente Gómez

President of Venezuela, 1931–1935

On 13 June 1931, Congress forced Pérez to resign, and elected Gómez president again. Under his presidency, there was discovery of large oil fields in Venezuela.

Portrait of Juan Vicente Gómez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Restored version by User:Wilfredor, Public domain, file

Eleazar López Contreras

President of Venezuela, 1935–1941

López announced on 2 January 1936, that La Rotunda the main political prison in Venezuela, would be demolished. In February 1936, López announced the February Program which would promote labor rights, education, better management of public funds, the modernization of agriculture, and economic development. The large fortune that Gómez acquired during his dictatorship was nationalized by López in July 1936.

Portrait of Eleazar López Contreras: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Isaías Medina Angarita

President of Venezuela, 1941–1945

In 1943, he founded the Venezuelan Democratic Party and allowed other political parties to operate in Venezuela, including the Communist Party. He took a firmer stance against oil companies, implementing higher exploitation taxes and higher royalties. He was overthrown in the 1945 Venezuelan coup d'état.

Portrait of Isaías Medina Angarita: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Rómulo Betancourt

President of Venezuela, 1945–1948

Betancourt became president in 1945 by means of a military coup d'état. During his time as president, a wide range of progressive reforms were carried out in areas such as health, education, and housing. Betancourt presided over the country's first free elections, in 1947, which were won by the AD's Rómulo Gallegos.

Portrait of Rómulo Betancourt: Presidencia de la República de Venezuela, Public domain, file

Carlos Delgado Chalbaud

President of Venezuela, 1948–1950

He served as president of Venezuela from 1948 to 1950 as leader of a military junta. In 1948, as a Minister of Defense, he led another military coup and ruled as President until his assassination in Caracas.

Portrait of Carlos Delgado Chalbaud: Router1 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, file

Culture

In 1941, President Eleazar López Contreras and the Colombian President signed the Venezuela–Colombia Boundary Treaty of 1941, the border treaty between the two countries, which ceded 108,000 square kilometres (42,000 square miles) of territory to Colombia.
In 1932, Juan Vicente Gómez agreed a point on the summit of Mount Roraima as the three-way boundary between Brazil, British Guiana and Venezuela.
In 1911, the national administration acquired the property from General Félix Galavis at a cost of five hundred thousand bolívares, and Miraflores Palace became the official presidential residence and office.

Picture

Construction of the Miraflores Palace, now the official office of the president of Venezuela, started on 27 April 1884.

Image: Government of Venezuela, Public domain, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.