Second Presidency of Rafael Caldera
Encyclopedia
The Second Presidency of Rafael Caldera took place from 1994 to 1999. He had previously been President from 1969 to 1974
.
at the Ministry of the Central Office of Coordination and Planning, and Pompeyo Márquez
at the Border Ministry, as well as some independents in other ministries. In any case the support of the MAS and other parties were fundamental to approve some laws in the National Congress in his first years of government, due to his own party having few seats in Congress. On 18 December 1994 he inaugurated the Plaza Venezuela – El Valle section of the Caracas Metro
which had been initiated by previous governments. In 1996, he received Pope John Paul II on his second visit to Venezuela, when he blessed the prisoners of the Catia Prison, on the west side of Caracas (After this visit, the building was demolished). On 12 October 1997 he received U.S. President Bill Clinton
, in November of the same year Margarita Island
hosted the Seventh Ibero-American Conference. In June 1998, the Inaugural meeting of the XXVIII General Assembly of the Organization of American States
was held in Caracas.
In the first year of his second presidency, Caldera was faced with a major financial crisis (Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
) that began with the failure of Banco Latino
during the acting presidency of Ramón José Velásquez
, continued with the failure of more than ten banks, and culminated with the loss of deposits. Money given by the government to the banks curtailed government spending in other areas, affecting thousands of people and creating a serious imbalance in the Venezuelan economy.
The confidence and credibility of Venezuelans and foreigners at the financial institutions were affected seriously. More than seventy thousand medium and small companies went bankrupt, fundamentally due to the exchange rate regime imposed by the government, which made it difficult to obtain the currency to acquire intermediate goods. The prices of food, clothes and transport rose without control, impoverishing a greater number of Venezuelans.
Caldera also had to handle a vertiginous inflationary spiral and a parallel reduction of the Forex reserves, employees generously for the support of the bolívar
in front of the U.S. dollar
. On 27 June, he announced the temporary suspension of some constitutional guarantees, fundamentally related to the private property and the free economic activity, to allow control of the exchange market, the banking system and prices by the State. The financial organizations bankrupted by the draining of deposits and those affected by speculative practices went to be adjusted by the State. In fact, the Central Bank of Venezuela announced the suspension of all its transaction in dollars. These economic measures were tolerated by the mass media and the international community
, but not by the Venezuelan people.
Although Caldera promised during his campaign never to accept the help of the International Monetary Fund
, his government had to rescind the vow, due to the economic crisis and bad management. The effect of the interventionist practice on the economy of Venezuela caused Caldera to announce the Agenda Venezuela (Venezuela Agenda) programme, which promised to restore the macroeconomic balance and to beat inflation. He applied measures labeled by his opponents as neoliberal, in agreement with the recommendations of the IMF, that he had previously resisted. The bolívar was devalued by 70%, the exchange rate regime was imposed, fuel prices were increased by 800%, rates of interest were liberalized, and the process of privatization was continued. His program was welcomed by the IMF, but not by the country. Demonstrations and disturbances among the population were frequent.
In 1997, a tripartite commission, consisting of representatives of industrialists, workers and the Government, assumed the reform of the regime of social benefits, and the deep revision of the labor law. The tripartite commission created a system of social benefits that anticipated, among other things, the annual payment and the cease of the labor performance, at the same time, five subsystems of social security with the purpose of improving the Government's activity, at the resolution of the basic problems of the Venezuelan workers.
Also during the second Caldera presidency, the process of Apertura Petrolera began with the purpose of increasing the involvement of the private sector, national and international, in the operation, exploration and refinement of petroleum and natural gas. The worldwide oil market crisis negatively influenced this process.
Due to differences with his coalition partners such as MAS, Caldera looked for the support of AD in Congress. Some AD members entered the Ministerial cabinet.
, under the leadership of Hugo Chávez
, who ultimately, after several years in the political wilderness, won the 1998 presidential elections
. That election saw the comprehensive defeat of Acción Democrática and COPEI
, which had alternated in government for 35 years (from 1959 to 1994), and which now lost their influence on the Venezuela
n political scene.
First Presidency of Rafael Caldera
The First Presidency of Rafael Caldera took place from 1969 to 1974. He was elected again in 1993 .- Presidency :...
.
Presidency
In his second presidency, Caldera included politicians from other political backgrounds who supported his candidacy in his cabinet, like some representatives of MAS party, Teodoro PetkoffTeodoro Petkoff
Teodoro Petkoff Malec is a Venezuelan politician, ex-guerrilla, journalist and economist. One of the most prominent politicians on the left in Venezuela, Petkoff began as a communist but gravitated towards liberalism in the 1990s. As Minister of Planning he oversaw President Rafael Caldera's...
at the Ministry of the Central Office of Coordination and Planning, and Pompeyo Márquez
Pompeyo Márquez
Pompeyo Ezequiel Márquez Millán is a Venezuelan politician and former marxist guerrilla member in the 1960s. Was one of the founders of Movimiento al Socialismo , and currently, part of the opposition to the current Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.-References:...
at the Border Ministry, as well as some independents in other ministries. In any case the support of the MAS and other parties were fundamental to approve some laws in the National Congress in his first years of government, due to his own party having few seats in Congress. On 18 December 1994 he inaugurated the Plaza Venezuela – El Valle section of the Caracas Metro
Caracas Metro
The Caracas Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning...
which had been initiated by previous governments. In 1996, he received Pope John Paul II on his second visit to Venezuela, when he blessed the prisoners of the Catia Prison, on the west side of Caracas (After this visit, the building was demolished). On 12 October 1997 he received U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, in November of the same year Margarita Island
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
hosted the Seventh Ibero-American Conference. In June 1998, the Inaugural meeting of the XXVIII General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
was held in Caracas.
Economic crisis
| Candidates | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Caldera | 1,710,722 | 30.46% |
| Claudio Fermín | 1,325,287 | 23.60% |
| Oswaldo Alvarez Paz | 1,276,506 | 22.73% |
| Andrés Velásquez | 1,232,653 | 21.95% |
| Abstention: | 3,859,579 | 39.84% |
| Total votes: | 5,829,216 |
In the first year of his second presidency, Caldera was faced with a major financial crisis (Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
The 1994 banking crisis occurred in Venezuela when a number of the banks of Venezuela had to be taken over by the government. The first to fail, in January 1994, was Banco Latino, the country's second-largest bank. Later, two banks accounting for 18% of total deposits also failed...
) that began with the failure of Banco Latino
Banco Latino
Banco Latino was a Venezuelan bank based in Caracas, and at the time of its 1994 failure was the country's second largest. It had a good relationship with the government, such that ministries moved their accounts to the bank, and the army and the state-owned oil company PDVSA entrusted their...
during the acting presidency of Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez Mujica is a Venezuelan political figure. He served as Acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994. He is known as a historian, journalist, lawyer, politician and entertainer of companies for his knowledge of the "national life".Velásquez was born in Táchira,Venezuela...
, continued with the failure of more than ten banks, and culminated with the loss of deposits. Money given by the government to the banks curtailed government spending in other areas, affecting thousands of people and creating a serious imbalance in the Venezuelan economy.
The confidence and credibility of Venezuelans and foreigners at the financial institutions were affected seriously. More than seventy thousand medium and small companies went bankrupt, fundamentally due to the exchange rate regime imposed by the government, which made it difficult to obtain the currency to acquire intermediate goods. The prices of food, clothes and transport rose without control, impoverishing a greater number of Venezuelans.
Venezuelan bolívar
The bolívar fuerte is the currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos and replaced the bolívar at the rate of Bs.F. 1 = Bs...
in front of the U.S. dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. On 27 June, he announced the temporary suspension of some constitutional guarantees, fundamentally related to the private property and the free economic activity, to allow control of the exchange market, the banking system and prices by the State. The financial organizations bankrupted by the draining of deposits and those affected by speculative practices went to be adjusted by the State. In fact, the Central Bank of Venezuela announced the suspension of all its transaction in dollars. These economic measures were tolerated by the mass media and the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
, but not by the Venezuelan people.
Although Caldera promised during his campaign never to accept the help of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, his government had to rescind the vow, due to the economic crisis and bad management. The effect of the interventionist practice on the economy of Venezuela caused Caldera to announce the Agenda Venezuela (Venezuela Agenda) programme, which promised to restore the macroeconomic balance and to beat inflation. He applied measures labeled by his opponents as neoliberal, in agreement with the recommendations of the IMF, that he had previously resisted. The bolívar was devalued by 70%, the exchange rate regime was imposed, fuel prices were increased by 800%, rates of interest were liberalized, and the process of privatization was continued. His program was welcomed by the IMF, but not by the country. Demonstrations and disturbances among the population were frequent.
In 1997, a tripartite commission, consisting of representatives of industrialists, workers and the Government, assumed the reform of the regime of social benefits, and the deep revision of the labor law. The tripartite commission created a system of social benefits that anticipated, among other things, the annual payment and the cease of the labor performance, at the same time, five subsystems of social security with the purpose of improving the Government's activity, at the resolution of the basic problems of the Venezuelan workers.
Also during the second Caldera presidency, the process of Apertura Petrolera began with the purpose of increasing the involvement of the private sector, national and international, in the operation, exploration and refinement of petroleum and natural gas. The worldwide oil market crisis negatively influenced this process.
Due to differences with his coalition partners such as MAS, Caldera looked for the support of AD in Congress. Some AD members entered the Ministerial cabinet.
Amnesty to the 1992 coup participants
In 1994 Caldera fulfilled a promise made during the presidential campaign and pardoned the military figures involved in the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts. Many of these, once liberated, grouped in the political party MVRFifth Republic Movement
The Fifth Republic Movement was a left-wing, Socialist political party in Venezuela. It was founded in July 1997, following a national congress of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, to support the candidacy of Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, in the Venezuelan presidential...
, under the leadership of 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...
, who ultimately, after several years in the political wilderness, won the 1998 presidential elections
Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
In the Venezuelan presidential election of 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with the largest percentage of the popular vote in four decades...
. That election saw the comprehensive defeat of Acción Democrática and COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
, which had alternated in government for 35 years (from 1959 to 1994), and which now lost their influence on the 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 political scene.
Cabinet (1994-1999)
| Ministries | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | Rafael Caldera | 1994–1999 |
| Home Affairs | Ramón Escovar Salom | 1994–1996 |
| José Guillermo Andueza | 1996–1998 | |
| Asdrúbal Aguiar | 1998–1999 | |
| Outer Relations | Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas , was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat and politician, presidential candidate in 1968, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, between 1994 until 1999.... |
1994–1999 |
| Finance | Julio Sosa Rodríguez | 1994–1995 |
| Luis Ramón Matos Azócar | 1995–1998 | |
| Freddy Rojas Parra | 1998 | |
| Maritza Izaguirre | 1998–1999 | |
| Defense | Rafael Montero Revette | 1994–1995 |
| Moisés Orozco Graterol | 1995–1996 | |
| Pedro Valencia Vivas | 1996–1997 | |
| Tito Manlio Rincón Bravo | 1997–1999 | |
| Development | Luis Carlos Palacios | 1994 |
| Alberto Poletto | 1994–1995 | |
| Werner Corrales | 1995–1996 | |
| Freddy Rojas Parra | 1996–1999 | |
| Transport and communications | César Quintín Rosales | 1994 |
| Ciro Zaa Álvarez | 1994–1996 | |
| Moisés Orozco Graterol | 1996–1998 | |
| Julio César Martí Espina | 1998–1999 | |
| Education | Antonio Cárdenas Colmenter | 1994–1999 |
| Justice | Rubén Creixens Savignon | 1994–1996 |
| Enrique Meier Echeverría | 1996–1997 | |
| Hilarión Cardozo Esteva | 1997–1999 | |
| Mines and Hydrocarbons | Edwin Arrieta Valera | 1994–1999 |
| Labor | Juan Nepomuceno Garrido | 1994–1997 |
| María Bernardoni de Govea | 1997–1999 | |
| Environment | Roberto Pérez Lecuna | 1994–1997 |
| Rafael Martínez Monró | 1997–1999 | |
| Agriculture | Ciro Añez Fonseca | 1994–1995 |
| Raúl Alegrett Ruiz | 1995–1998 | |
| Ramón Ramírez López | 1998–1999 | |
| Health and Social Assistance | Vicente Pérez Dávila | 1994 |
| Carlos Walter Valecillos | 1994–1995 | |
| Pedro Rincón Gutiérrez | 1995–1997 | |
| José Félix Oletta | 1997–1999 | |
| Urban Development | Ciro Zaa Álvarez | 1994 |
| Francisco González | 1994–1997 | |
| Julio César Martí Espina | 1997–1998 | |
| Luis Granados | 1998–1999 | |
| Family and Youth | Mercedes Pulido de Briceño | 1994–1996 |
| Carlos Altimari Gásperi | 1996–1999 | |
| Industry and Commerce | Freddy Rojas Parra | 1997–1998 |
| Héctor Maldonado Lira | 1998–1999 | |
| Secretary of Presidency | Andrés Caldera Pietri | 1994–1996 |
| Asdrúbal Aguiar | 1996–1998 | |
| José Guillermo Andueza | 1998–1999 | |
| Office of Coordination and Planification | Enzo Del Búffalo | 1994 |
| Luis Carlos Palacios | 1994 | |
| Werner Corrales | 1994–1995 | |
| Edgar Paredes Pisani | 1995–1996 | |
| Teodoro Petkoff Teodoro Petkoff Teodoro Petkoff Malec is a Venezuelan politician, ex-guerrilla, journalist and economist. One of the most prominent politicians on the left in Venezuela, Petkoff began as a communist but gravitated towards liberalism in the 1990s. As Minister of Planning he oversaw President Rafael Caldera's... |
1996–1999 | |
| CVG Corporación Venezolana de Guayana The Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana is a decentralized state-owned Venezuelan conglomerate, located in the Guayana Region in the southeast of the country. Its subsidiaries include the aluminium producer Alcasa.... |
Alfredo Grúber | 1994 |
| Elías Innaty | 1994–1999 | |
See also
- Rafael CalderaRafael CalderaRafael 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...
- First Presidency of Rafael CalderaFirst Presidency of Rafael CalderaThe First Presidency of Rafael Caldera took place from 1969 to 1974. He was elected again in 1993 .- Presidency :...
- Presidents of Venezuela