Francisco Arias Cárdenas
Encyclopedia
Francisco Javier Arias Cárdenas (born on 20 November 1950 in San Cristóbal, Táchira
Táchira (state)
Táchira State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal.Táchira State covers a total surface area of 11,100 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 1,177,300....

) is a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n politician and career military officer. He participated in Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

' unsuccessful February 1992 coup attempt, being pardoned in 1994 by Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...

, along with the other conspirators. He was elected Governor of Zulia
Zulia
Zulia State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. In June 30, 2010, it had an estimated population of 3,821,068, giving it the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is located in the northwestern part of the country...

 state in 1995 for the Radical Cause
Radical Cause
The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez...

, and challenged Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

 for the presidency in 2000. He is currently Venezuelan Ambassador to the UN.

Background and military career

He graduated from the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences
Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences
The Military academy of Venezuela , founded in 1810. It is located in Caracas, Venezuela and provides a four year program of training for officer cadets...

 in Caracas, the Universidad de Los Andes
Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela)
The University of the Andes is the second-oldest university in Venezuela, whose main campus is located in the city of Mérida, Venezuela...

 in Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...

, and the Pontifical Xavierian University
Pontifical Xavierian University
The Pontificia Universidad Javeriana is a private higher education institution founded in 1623. It is one of the oldest, most traditional, and prestigious Colombian universities, directed by the Society of Jesus, with its main facilities in Bogotá and a second campus in Cali...

 in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, Colombia.

Arias joined Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

's clandestine organization, the MBR-200, in 1985, and with Chávez went on to lead a coup attempt against the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...

 on 4 February 1992. Arias was in charge of the battalion that took over the city of Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...

. Despite the success of Arias' battalion, the coup failed when Chávez surrendered to the government. Arias was detained and imprisoned until 1994, when he was pardoned by Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...

.

Political career

In 1993, Arias split with Chávez and left the MBR-200, disagreeing with the group's then-strategy of electoral abstentionism. In 1995, Arias ran for governor of Zulia State, as a candidate of Radical Cause
Radical Cause
The Radical Cause is a working class political party in Venezuela, part of the Venezuelan opposition to president Hugo Chavez...

. When preliminary results showed the candidate of Acción Democrática
Democratic Action
Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuelan political party established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period...

 winning, people rioted. Things returned to normal later the same day after a final recount of the votes showed Arias as the winner of the election. In 1998, Arias supported Chávez in his bid for the presidency, while he ran again for the governorship of Zulia. Both won their respective elections.

Over time, Arias became critical of Chávez' policies and actions. In 2000, when new presidential elections
Venezuelan presidential election, 2000
A presidential election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on July 30, 2000. This was the first election held under Venezuela's newly adopted 1999 constitution.-Results:...

 were called following the approval of a new constitution
Constitution of Venezuela
||The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that had been created by popular referendum. Adopted in December 1999, it replaced the 1961 Constitution - the longest...

, Arias contested the election against Chávez, but lost. Despite his loss, Arias remained in politics at the head of his newly formed political party, Partido Unión.

On 11 April 2002 Arias responded in a televised interview to the killings that occurred during demonstrations on 11 April 2002 prior to the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. At a time when it was widely reported that Chávez was responsible for the killings, he referred to Chávez as a "murderer," "paranoid," and "possessed," who had to be held accountable for ordering snipers to fire on protesting crowds. He repeated that Chávez could not be supported "for one more second....a murdering president stained with the blood of the Venezuelan people." After his restoration to office, Chávez accused the opposition of using the snipers to create the atmosphere needed for the coup.

On 4 February 2006, Chávez announced that Arias would be rejoining his government. On 1 May 2006, Arias was designated Venezuela's ambassador to the UN.
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