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South America and South Atlantic Islands
Venezuela |
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Last reviewed: 6 November 2009 |
Country information
VENEZUELA TODAY
Country Facts
Full country name: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Area: 916,445 sq km
Population: 28.2 million (2008 estimate)
Capital City: Caracas (greater Caracas population 5 million)
People: Mestizo/Mixed (67%), Caucasian (21%), Black (10%), Indigenous (2%). Colombians form the largest expatriate community (1.6 million)
Language: Spanish
Religion(s): Roman Catholic
Currency: Bolivar Fuerte
Major political parties: Hugo Chávez's Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) is a broad based pro-Government unity party comprising his previous party, Movimiento Quinta República (MVR), and some representatives from Patria Para Todos (Fatherland For All - PPT), and other smaller parties. The main opposition parties are Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Time – UNT), Primero Justicia (Justice First), Acción Democrática (AD), Christian Social Democrats (COPEI), Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Towards Socialism -MAS) and Proyecto Venezuela. The opposition parties withdrew from the last elections for the National Assembly so are not represented in parliament.
Government: Federal Republic comprising 23 States, one capital District and 72 islands which are Federal Dependencies. The executive dominates the four branches of government: the legislature, the Consejo Moral Republicano (CMR, Moral Republican Council), the judiciary and the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE, the National Electoral Council).
Legislature: The 1999 Constitution established a unicameral legislature. The National Assembly consists of 167 deputies.
Head of State: President Hugo Chávez-Frías
Foreign Minister: Nicolas Maduro
Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, OPEC, ALADI (the Latin American Integration Association), IMF, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organisation of American States, Mercosur (in process of becoming a full member), Association of Caribbean States, South American Community of Nations (SACN), Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), G77, WTO, WHO, WIPO, ICC.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Longest river is Orinoco (2,574km) Largest lake in South America: Maracaibo in Zulia State
- Highest waterfall in the world: Angel Falls (978m)
HEALTH
Under the 1999 constitution, the Chávez Government guaranteed a publicly funded health service. The Government has since invested large sums of money in social programmes to provide health services to local communities through Misión Barrio Adentro. Cuba has provided a large number of doctors and nurses for these programmes. Residents of some of the poorest areas of Venezuela now have access to basic free health care where before there was nothing.
Basic Health Facts
Life Expectancy: 73 years
Infant Mortality Rate: 16 per 1,000 births (2004)
Percentage of the population living in poverty: 28.5% (2007)
Hospital Beds: 1.5 per 1,000 people (1999)
Access to safe water: 79 (% of population)
Environment
Venezuela is classified in the top 10 of the world's most ecologically diverse countries. Venezuela has subscribed to the following UN pacts: the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the World Conservation Union's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 313.36 billion (2008)
GDP per head: US$ 11,700 (2008)
Annual GDP Growth: 18.3% (2004), 10.3% (2005), 9.9% (2006), 8.2% (2007), 4.8% (2008)
Inflation: 17.7% (2004); 13.5% (2005), 15.8% (2006), 20.5% (2007), 28% (2008)
Major Industries: Oil, Gas, Telecoms, Consumer Goods, Mining, Agriculture
Major trading partners: United States, Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, Japan, China
Venezuela's natural resources make it a country of vast economic potential. The petroleum sector dominates, accounting for 50% of central government revenue and over 90% of exports. It has the world's largest conventional oil reserves outside the Middle East and also one of the largest natural gas reserves. The economy experienced twenty-two consecutive quarters of sustained high growth up until March 2009, fuelled by high oil prices and historically low interest rates. With the global economic crisis and down turn in oil prices, the country’s income was substantially reduced. Sustained growth came to an end during the second quarter of 2009, when the economy contracted by 2.4%. Venezuela's current account is still in surplus ($4bn in Jul 09). International reserves at the Central Bank totalled US$33bn in October 2009. Debt is around 20.4% of GDP. On 1 January 2008 the national currency was revalued at a rate of 1 to 1,000 and is now called the Bolivar Fuerte (strong bolivar). It is pegged to the US Dollar and was adjusted at the time of revaluation to be worth the same value. Price controls are in place for many key items.
HISTORY
1498 Christopher Columbus lands on Paria Peninsula
1681 Spanish crown takes over control of the colonies
1739 Political and military unification of Venezuela
1811 Venezuela proclaims independence from Spain
1812 Simón Bolívar establishes the Second Republic; is proclaimed Liberator
1823 Spanish are defeated in Battle of Carabobo
1830 Dissolution of Gran Colombia (Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela)
1845 Spain recognises independence of Venezuela with Treaty of Madrid
1922 Venezuela discovers oil transforming agrarian economy
1958 Overthrow of dictatorship of Perez Jimenez; beginning of democratic era
1960 OPEC created through Venezuelan initiative
1989 Numerous protests and riots in Caracas and surrounding area. Led to state of emergency
1992 Two unsuccessful coup attempts including one by Lt Col Hugo Chávez Frias
1998 Lt Col Hugo Chávez Frias wins Presidential elections
1999 Referendum approves new constitution. Establishment of the Fifth Republic. The official name of the country is changed to: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
2000 Presidential elections: won by Hugo Chávez Frias
2002 President Chávez temporarily ousted by coup; returns to power two days later
2002 Two month long general strike begins in December. Paralyses the economy and in particular the oil industry.
2004 President Chávez survives recall referendum and remains in power
2005 Pro Chávez coalition wins all seats in elections for National Assembly as opposition withdraws.
2006 President Chávez wins a second term in Presidential elections.
2007 Government’s Constitutional Reform proposals narrowly rejected in a referendum.
2009 Government’s Constitutional Reform proposals to allow elected officials to stand indefinitely approved in a referendum
Recent History
Following independence from Spain, military rule persisted until the trienio (a democratic experiment) in 1945-48. Military control was resumed in 1948 after a coup against the Acción Democrática AD) Government. Oppression under the military regime led to AD and their rival political party, the Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente (COPEI), joining forces to remove the military government in 1958.
President Rómulo Betancourt (1958 to 1964) is said to be responsible for establishing democracy as the norm for Venezuelan Government. Between 1958 and1988 the country was politically stable with AD and COPEI dominating national elections. Sharp fluctuations in oil prices from 1973-83 were partially to blame for Venezuela's period of recession in the 1980s. In response to the economic crisis of 1989, the Government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez started to implement a programme of free market reforms. The stabilisation and economic structural adjustment measures were deeply unpopular with a significant sector of the population. The situation reached breaking point on 27 February 1989 when there were widespread protests and severe civil unrest, now known as the Caracazco. The Government responded with force and introduced an extended state of emergency.
The ultimate result was a political crisis that undermined the Government and created the conditions for the attempted coup of 1992 led by Lt Col Hugo Chávez. The coup failed, but Chávez emerged on to the political scene. He appeared on national television to instruct his co-conspirators to stand down and said he had failed 'por ahora' (for now). Chávez's supporters grasped this phrase as a sign that his time would come, and waited for his return from prison.
In 1998, 6 years after the attempted military coup, Chávez won Presidential elections. Voters approved a new constitution in 1999 that launched the 'Fifth Republic' and a process of reform. Chávez consolidated power in the presidential elections of 2000. He survived a coup attempt in April 2002 that removed him from power for two days. Chávez's opponents then focused on collecting a sufficient number of signatures to stage a recall referendum. They did so, but in August 2004 Chávez won the vote and is therefore still in power.
Chávez was re-elected for a second 6-year term in December 2006. After this victory the President asked his allies to merge into a single party: the Venezuelan United Socialist Party (PSUV), which had its Foundational Congress in early 2008. In December 2007, voters rejected a constitutional reform project drafted by the Government (by a narrow margin – 51% against, with 49% in favour).
On 15 February 2009 Venezuelans voted by 54.9% to 45.1% in a referendum to accept a constitutional amendment to allow elected officials to stand for an unlimited number of terms. Chavez has stated his intention to stand for re-election in 2012.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Relations with Neighbours
Venezuela has no history of armed conflict with its neighbours, but low-key territorial disputes with Guyana and Colombia persist. A bilateral commission with Colombia and a UN Good Offices process, in the case of Guyana, are addressing these issues. Venezuela was invited to join Mercosur in late 2005 and duly accepted in 2006. It is now going through the long process of adaptation and cohesion to the norms and requirements of Mercosur and waiting for the parliaments of existing member states to ratify its membership. As of November 2009, the countries still to ratify Venezuela’s membership are Brazil and Paraguay.
Chávez and President Uribe of Colombia exchanged harsh words in late 2007, following Uribe's decision to end Chávez's formal mediation role to encourage the release of hostages by the Colombian narco-terrorist group the FARC. Relations deteriorated in the first months of 2008. President Chavez ordered military battalions to the border with Colombia in response to a Colombian military incursion into Ecuadorian territory. Following an OAS meeting that situation subsided and diplomatic relations improved. In July 2008, following the success of a Colombian military operation to rescue 15 FARC hostages (including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt), Presidents Chavez and Uribe met in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, with the aim of normalising relations.
Tensions subsequently resumed in July 2009 when it was announced that US military personnel would be permitted use of Colombian bases. In the dispute that followed, Colombia accused the Venezuelan Government of providing arms to the rebel FARC group in Colombia. President Chavez denied the allegations and recalled his Ambassador. He later announced the cessation of economic ties and signed various deals with Argentina to replace Colombian imports. A UNASUR summit held in Argentina in September focussed on the issue. The Venezuelan Ambassador has since returned to Colombia and but tensions remain.
Relations with the International Community
Venezuela is a founder member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In this context, Venezuela is influential on global energy issues. President Chávez is actively pursuing stronger relations with Latin American and Caribbean nations (through initiatives such as Petrocaribe) and major emerging markets such as China, Russia and India.
Relations with the UK
Venezuela and the UK have strong historical links. These date back principally to British involvement in Venezuela's independence struggle and support for both Francisco de Miranda and Simon Bolivar, the 'Liberator', both of whom spent time in London. President Chávez visited the UK as a guest of the British Government in October 2001 and on a private working visit in May 2006.
Venezuela and the UK enjoy a cordial and constructive relationship. An informal UK-Venezuela bilateral action plan was signed by Lord Triesman and Europe Minister Rodrigo Chaves in June 2007, which laid out a framework of cooperation in areas such as Trade and Investment, Drugs and Organised Crime, Security Reform, Energy, Health, Agriculture, Human Rights, Education and Culture and Environment and Climate Change. A further agreement on Counter Narcotics was signed in October 2009 between Latin America Minister Chris Bryant and Head of the Anti-Narcotics Office Colonel Reverol. The UK also has important consular responsibilities to British nationals visiting and resident in Venezuela. The Embassy receives visa applications for Venezuelan and other nationals wishing to visit, study or work in the UK.
The Embassy runs a programme of co-operation projects with the Venezuelan Government and civil society, to further cooperation outlined in the informal bilateral action plan.
Cultural Relations with the UK
The British Council's work in Venezuela covers the arts, English language teaching and education, and administration of the Chevening scholarship programme, which provides funding for Venezuelan students to undertake postgraduate level studies. Since the scheme began in the mid 1980s, more than 300 scholarships have been awarded.
Recent Inward Visits
President Chávez visited the UK in October 2001 accompanied by his Foreign, Health, Energy, and Planning Ministers. The Venezuelan Minister for Energy and Mines visited the UK in 2004.
The President visited the UK again in May 2006 with a full Ministerial team, this time for a private working visit which included meetings with members of parliament and the Mayor of London. A delegation from the Venezuelan National Assembly visited the UK in October 2006 on a visit organised by the British group of the Inter Parliamentary Union.
Europe Minister Rodrigo Chaves visited the UK in June 2007, during which he signed the informal UK-Venezuela bilateral action plan with Lord Triesman. Mr Chaves also visited a number of UK commercial companies in Scotland, with focus on the Scotch Whisky industry, and oil & gas.
Europe Minister Alejandro Fleming visited the UK in October 2009 and met with Foreign & Commonwealth Minister Chris Bryant.
Recent Outward Visits
Chris Bryant, Foreign Office Minister visited Venezuela in October 2009. David Lammy, then Minister for Culture visited Venezuela in May 2007 and Dr Howells, Foreign Office Minister visited Venezuela in October 2006. The then Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell visited Venezuela in December 2004. Lord Levy, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Latin America, visited in 2003. A delegation organised by the British Group of the Inter Parliamentary Union paid a visit in June 2002.
GEOGRAPHY
Venezuela has 4 well-defined regions - Maracaibo lowlands in the northwest, Northern mountains stretching from the Colombian border along the Caribbean Sea, the Central Orinoco plains (llanos), and the Guyana highlands in the southeast. The climate varies from tropical humid to alpine depending on elevation, topography and prevailing winds. The rainy season for most regions runs from May through to November.
TRADE AND INVESTMENT
Trade and Investment with the UK
The UK has important trade interests with Venezuela, with the UK being the fifth largest investor in Venezuela. UK exports to Venezuela were worth £250m in 2007, an increase of 5.93% on 2006. Chief UK exports are chemicals, beverages and medicinal and pharmaceutical products. In 2007 Venezuela was the UK’s third largest export market in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico), UK imports from Venezuela totalled £488.5m worth of goods and were mainly petroleum derivatives. At the end of October 2008 UK exports stood at % 224.9m. The main UK investors are BP, Shell, Wood Group, Anglo-American Mining, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Diageo, The Vestey Group, Unilever and BAT.
UK Trade & Investment Country Profile: Venezuela
POLITICS
Political Background
President Chávez's pre-election campaign in 1998 promised radical political reform and an economic 'third way'. On assuming the Presidency, Chávez, as promised, pushed through an ambitious programme of political reform.
His first 18 months in power brought the new 'Bolivarian' Constitution and new unicameral National Assembly. The Constitution strengthened the executive in a number of ways, introducing a six-year Presidential term with the possibility of re-election, an executive Vice President to reduce the administrative burden on the President, the power to dissolve Congress and strengthened Presidential authority over promotions within the Armed Forces. The Constitution established checks on the executive in the form of a Public Ombudsman, a strengthened Judiciary and guarantees on human rights. These aspects have since been subject to significant criticism from opponents of Chávez for failing to be sufficiently independent or function effectively.
In September 2000, President Chávez announced a programme of social-welfare schemes; housing, school building and other public works aimed at 'creating equality, solidarity and justice' in Venezuela. Investment in these 'Social Misiónes' increased substantially in 2003 and 2004 prior to the recall referendum of August 2004, and in 2006 prior to the Presidential elections. Amongst others, there are social programmes to eradicate adult illiteracy, educate the youth who have left the traditional school system, and a large-scale project to set up community health centres (Misión Barrio Adentro).
Recent Political Developments
Despite opposition allegations of fraud, President Chávez survived the recall referendum of August 2004 with close to 60% of votes in his favour. The disparate opposition movement struggled to recover from that setback, withdrawing their candidates from the December 2005 Parliamentary elections in protest against the voting system. Pro-Chávez parties therefore stood unopposed and won 100% of the seats in the Assembly, albeit with a turnout of approximately 25%. The opposition did, however, manage to unite around a single candidate, Manuel Rosales, who stood unsuccessfully against Chávez in the December 2006 Presidential elections, winning 37% of the vote to Chávez's 63%.
Following his election victory President Chávez spoke of pushing forward with his reform programme. Chávez created a new single governing party - Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) - to be made up of the existing parties that support the President. The President suffered a significant setback at the end of 2007 when the electorate narrowly voted against the Government’s planned reforms of the Constitution in a referendum. Therefore proposals to explicitly make Venezuela a socialist state, end the independence of the Central Bank, allow indefinite Presidential re-election, and change the division of power and responsibility throughout the country, were not incorporated into the Constitution.
Following defeat President Chávez committed his movement to a year of to re-launching and re-examining the course of the Bolivarian revolution. That has involved high levels of public spending, in particular on the Misiónes and the programme of seizing land/buildings deemed to be lying idle. And the Government has continued to speak about empowering the people and pushing power down to a local level, through ideas such as community councils (local decision making bodies with budgetary powers).
On 15 February 2009 Venezuelans voted on a constitutional amendment to allow elected officials to stand for an unlimited number of terms. Venezuela voted by 54.4% to 45.6% to accept the constitutional amendment, thereby enabling Chavez to stand for re-election in 2012. Accepting victory, President Chavez spoke of addressing inefficiency and corruption, and of ‘consolidating the revolution’.
Since February 2009, President Chavez has pursued his programme of changes which have included several new laws such as the Education Law and the Urban Land Law. It remains to be seen what the effect of these laws will be.
Elections
The executive is elected for a six-year term by direct vote and can be re-elected indefinitely following an electorally approved change to the constitution. The current presidential term will end in December 2012. National Assembly elections were held in December 2005 and will not be held again until 2010.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Venezuela is party to the following international human rights treaties:
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- First and Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
