Encyclopedia
Venezuela is a country on the northern
tropical Caribbean coast of
South America. Venezuela borders
Brazil to the south,
Guyana to the east, and
Colombia to the west. North of the Venezuelan coast lie the islands of
Aruba, the
Netherlands Antilles, and
Trinidad and Tobago.
A former
Spanish colony, Venezuela is a
federal republic. Historically, Venezuela has had territorial disputes with
Guyana, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela. Today, Venezuela is known widely for its
petroleum industry, the
environmental diversity of its territory, and its sheer natural beauty.
Christopher Columbus was so enthralled by Venezuela's landscape, when arriving to its coast in 1498, that he referred to the land as
Tierra de Gracia , which has become the country’s nickname.
Origin of name
The name
Venezuela is believed to have originated from the cartographer
Amerigo Vespucci who, together with Alonso de Ojeda, led a 1499 naval expedition along the northwestern coast . On reaching the
Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed the distinctive stilt villages that the indigenous Ańu people had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of
Venice and as a result the region was named
Veneziela; some argue this meant
Little Venice and later evolved to "Venezuela". Other historians , noted that the suffix
-zuela usually has a pejorative meaning in the Spanish language and sustain the thesis that the name implied more the notion of a second-rate Venice.
On the other hand, the Spanish geographer Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the same crew, says in his work
Summa de Geografía that the aforementioned population was called
Veneciuela, and that it was built on a large, plain rock. According to this theory, the name
Venezuela could be a native word. Nevertheless, the first account remains by far the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country's name.
History of colonization
Venezuela was
colonized by
Spain in 1522. In what is now the city of Cumaná,
Spain established their first permanent
South American settlement, and most of the territory eventually became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. Parts of what is now eastern Venezuela became New Andalusia. After several unsuccessful uprisings, the country declared independence from Spain on July 5th 1811 under the leadership of
Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan who was a marshal in the French Revolution. Nevertheless, full control over Venezuelan territory was achieved after Simón Bolívar, El Libertador, with the help of General
José Antonio Páez and especially the then General Grand Marshall
Antonio José de Sucre, whose battle plan Bolívar chose to follow, won the
Battle of Carabobo on June 24th 1821, and after José Prudencio Padilla won the Naval Battle of Lake Maracaibo on July 24th 1823.
New Granada's congress gave Bolívar control of the Granadian army, he then led several countries to freedom and created a new republic called Colombia consisting of what are now
Colombia,
Panama,
Ecuador and Venezuela. He then led the army towards the south, liberating
Peru and founding
Bolivia from the Spaniards.
Antonio José de Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, was to become his natural successor, until he was murdered in Berruecos. Venezuela became, after the war of independence, along with Colombia and Ecuador, part of the
Republic of Gran Colombia until 1830, when the country separated through a rebellion led by
José Antonio Páez and declared itself a sovereign
republic. Páez became the first president of Venezuela.
Much of Venezuela's
19th- and early
20th-century history was characterized by political instability, political struggle and dictatorial rule. Following the death of
Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 and the temporary demise of
caudillismo , democratic struggles eventually forced the military to withdraw from direct involvement in national politics in 1958. Since that year, Venezuela has enjoyed an unbroken tradition of democratic civilian rule, though even this has not been without conflict.
Venezuela is member of the
South American Community of Nations .
See also: Discoverer of the Americas,
List of Presidents of VenezuelaGovernment and politics
The
Venezuelan president is elected by vote, with direct and universal suffrage, and functions as both
head of state and head of government. The term of office is six years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The president appoints the vice-president and decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the legislature. The president can ask the legislature to reconsider portions of laws he finds objectionable, but a simple parliamentary majority can override these objections.
The
unicameral Venezuelan
parliament is the National Assembly or
Asamblea Nacional. Its 167 deputies, of which three are reserved for indigenous peoples, serve five-year terms and may be re-elected for a maximum of two additional terms. They are elected by popular vote through a combination of party lists and single member constituencies. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Tribunal of Justice or
Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, whose magistrates are elected by parliament for a single 12-year term. The National Electoral Council is in charge of electoral processes; it is formed by five main directors elected by the National Assembly.
Venezuela abolished the
death penalty in 1863, making it the country where this practice has been outlawed the longest.
New flag and new coat of arms
Recent political change has resulted in the
flag of Venezuela being changed by the addition of an eighth star, symbolizing Guayana's contributions to the independence of the nation. The
coat of arms has been changed, with the horse facing to the left, characterizing the
Hugo Chavez administration. It is believed to symbolize Venezuela's current left-wing stance, or the horse facing towards America away from the European empire.
Administrative divisions
States
Venezuela is divided into 23 states , a capital district correspondent to the city of
Caracas, the federal dependencies and Guayana Esequiba . Venezuela is further subdivided into 335 municipalities , and further subdivided into 1,084 parishes .
The
states include:
- Amazonas
- Anzoátegui
- Apure
- Aragua
- Barinas
- Bolívar
- Carabobo
- Cojedes
- Delta Amacuro
- Falcón
- Guárico
- Lara
|
- Mérida
- Miranda
- Monagas
- Nueva Esparta
- Portuguesa
- Sucre
- Táchira
- Trujillo
- Yaracuy
- Vargas
- Zulia
- Federal Dependencies
|
Note: The Venezuelan Federal Dependencies are not a real state, but a special territorial subdivision.Regions
The
states are grouped into nine administrative regions , which were established by presidential decree. The
regions are listed below along with the states:
Andean - Barinas, Mérida, Táchira, Trujillo; Páez Municipality of Apure.
Capital - Miranda, Vargas, Capital District .
Central - Aragua, Carabobo, Cojedes.
Central-Western -
Falcón, Lara, Portuguesa, Yaracuy.
Guayana - Bolívar, Amazonas, Delta Amacuro.
Insular - Nueva Esparta, Federal Dependencies.
Llanos - Apure , Guárico.
North-Eastern - Anzoátegui, Monagas,
Sucre.
Zulian - Zulia.
Geography
At 352,121 mi˛ , Venezuela is the world's 33rd-largest country . It is comparable in size to
Namibia, and is about half the size of the US state of
Alaska.
Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes, such as the north-easternmost extensions of the
Andes mountains in the northwest and along the northern
Caribbean coast, of which the highest point is the Pico Bolívar at 4,981 metres .
The center of the country is characterized by extensive plains known as the
llanos that stretch from the Colombian border to the
river delta of the
Orinoco east. To the south are found the dissected
Guiana Highlands, home to
Angel Falls, the world's highest
waterfall, and the northern edge of
Amazonia.
The country can also be divided into nine geographical areas, some corresponding to the natural regions, one being the
Andes Range. The
Lake Maracaibo region comprises the lowlands near the Gulf of Venezuela. The Coro System, a mountainous block in the northern occidental territory, is the fount of several sierras and valleys. The Central Range is tied up with the coast and the hills surrounding
Caracas, while the Eastern Range, separated from the Central by the
Gulf of Cariaco, covers all of Sucre State and northern Monagas. The Llanos Region involves a third part of the country's area, above the
Orinoco River. Under it, is the South Orinoco Region . The Insular Region is formed by Nueva Esparta and the Federal Dependencies. The last geographical region is the Deltaic System which forms a pantanous triangle, covering Delta Amacuro, with the Atlantic platform branching off the coast.
The
Orinoco River is the largest and most important river of the country, originating one of the biggest
watersheds in Latin America. Other important rivers are the Caroní and the Apure.
The local
climate is tropical and generally hot and humid, though more moderate in the highlands. The capital,
Caracas is also the country's largest city. Other major cities include
Maracaibo,
Barquisimeto,
Valencia, Maracay, and
Ciudad Guayana.
Venezuela is one of the seventeen
megadiverse countries, for the great number of animal and vegetable species that habitate there. It also has one of the most endangered environments.
Economy
The petroleum sector dominates the economy, accounting for roughly a third of Venezuela's
GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government revenues. The oil sector operates through the government-owned
Petroleos de Venezuela , which among other things owns the US-based distributor
CITGO, with more than 14,000 retail gasoline outlets in the United States under its brand.
Venezuela also depends highly on the agricultural sector. Sectors with major potential for export-led growth are production of both
coffee and
cocoa crops. At one time, Venezuela ranked close to Colombia in coffee production, but in the
1960s and
70s, as petroleum temporarily turned Venezuela into the richest country in South America, coffee was relegated to the economic back burner. Today, Venezuela produces less than one percent of the world's coffee and most of it is drunk by the Venezuelans themselves. However, some interesting Venezuelan coffees are again entering the North American specialty market. Venezuela's cocoa industry has decayed since the days of Spanish colonialism, when African slaves toiled in these sweltering, snake-infested estates. The focus of cocoa cultivation has long since moved to tropical West Africa and Venezuela now grows under one per cent of the world crop. However, in recent years there has been an attempt to resuscitate this industry, as its rare variety of
cacao is considered the finest and most aromatic in the world and is used in certain single origin chocolates. The largest company of fine chocolate in Venezuela is El Rey, though such companies as Chocovic also sell chocolate with Venezuelan cacao.
Venezuela is one of the five founding members of
OPEC. The idea itself was the initiative of Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, who proposed it as a response to low domestic and international oil prices in August 1960. Since December 2005, Venezuela has been a member of
Mercosur, joining with
Brazil,
Argentina,
Paraguay and
Uruguay, although it has yet to finalize policy changes in order to gain voting rights.
Demographics
A recent study on racial groups showed that 60% of the population are mestizo , 29% caucasian, 8% black, 1% native indian and 2% asian .
The Venezuelan people comprise a combination of heritages. The historically present
Amerindians,
Spanish colonists and imported
African slaves were joined by
Italians,
Portuguese, Arabs,
Germans, and others from neighbouring countries in
South America during waves of immigration in the 20th century. There are also various communities from eastern Europe such as Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary. There are also communties from China and Vietnam. About 85% of the population live in urban areas in the northern portion of the country. While almost half of Venezuela's land area lies south of the
Orinoco river, this region contains only 5% of the population.
The national and official language is
Spanish, but about 31 other indigenous languages also exist , as do languages introduced by immigrants. 96% of the population is at least nominally
Roman Catholic. Around 4% of the population adheres to other faiths.
Public health
Infant mortality in Venezuela stands at over 22 deaths per 1000 births, a rate that places Venezuela behind Mexico, Panama, Colombia and many other countries of its region; for comparision the infant death rate is about eight times as high as
Sweden. Child
malnutrition stands at about 17 percent of the population classified as stunted or wasted, which are the official
United Nations categories for malnutrition. Areas more affected by the stunting and wasting include some of the poorest areas: Amacuro Delta and Amazonas .
According to the
United Nations, the fraction of population without adequate sanitation is 32 percent, with a majority of people in many rural areas lacking in this basic commodity. Travellers to Venezuela are advised to obtain vaccinations for a variety of diseases including typhoid,
yellow fever,
cholera,
hepatitis A,
hepatitis B and hepatitis D. In a cholera epidemic of contemporary times in the
Orinoco Delta, Venezuela's political leaders were accused of racial profiling of their own indigeneous people to deflect blame from the country's institutions, thereby aggravating the epicemic. Visitors to Venezuela are advised to drink only bottled water, due to the prevalence of cross contamination of
drinking water with untreated sewage. There are approximately 5,000,000 people in Venezuela living without access to safe
drinking water, resulting in a percentage of population ranking of Venezuela among the poorest in
South America. As of the year 1999 there were an estimated 110,000 people in Venezuela living with
HIV.
Military
Culture & heritage
Venezuela's heritage,
art and cultural importance is primarily found within the collective identity of its people. In a larger context, the key elements of Venezuelan society have also been shaped and impacted by the historical evolutions of its
Latin American counterparts. Venezuela's heritage may be defined in its inherited circumstances and benefits. Venezuelan heritage extends to its historic buildings, architecture and art, its landscape, boundaries and place within Latin America, and finally its monuments and items considered worthy of preservation. Hence, Venezuelan heritage is naturally connected and related to its culture, as culture defines a nation's intellectual and artistic endeavors. Through the collective customs, beliefs, practices and expressions of its people, a cultural identity is achieved. Together, Venezuelan heritage, art and
culture represent the historic and contemporary elements of its society.
Venezuelan culture comes from a variety of heritages, mainly of the
indigenous populations,
Spanish and
African provenance, dating from the
Colonial Period. Before this period, indigenous cultural manifestations were expressed in art , crafts, architecture and social organization. Aboriginal culture was subsequently assimilated by
Spaniards; over the years, the
hybrid culture had diversified by region.
Venezuelan art is gaining attention within and outside the country. First dominated by religious motives, in the late
19th century it changed to historical and heroic representations, led by
Martín Tovar y Tovar. Modernism took over in the
20th century. Some remarkable Venezuelan artists include Arturo Michelena,
Cristóbal Rojas,
Armando Reverón, Manuel Cabré, Jesús-Rafael Soto,
Carlos Cruz-Diez and
Yucef Merhi.
Venezuelan literature began developing soon after the
Spanish conquest, and it was dominated by
Spanish culture and thinking. Following the rise of political literature during the Independence War, then came
Romanticism, the first important genre in the region, whose great exponent was Juan Vicente González. Although mainly focused on narrative, poets also figure with great importance,
Andrés Eloy Blanco being the most famous of them, and also Fermín Toro. Major writers and novelists are
Rómulo Gallegos,
Teresa de la Parra,
Arturo Uslar Pietri, Adriano González León,
Miguel Otero Silva and
Mariano Picón Salas. Another great poet and humanist was
Andrés Bello, besides being an educator and an intellectual.
Other philosophers and intellectuals, like Laureano Vallenilla Lanz and José Gil Fortoul, along with many other writers, sustained the theory of Venezuelan positivism.
The great architect of the Venezuelan Modern era was
Carlos Raúl Villanueva, who designed and built the
Universidad Central de Venezuela, and its
Aula Magna. Venezuelan architectural examples are the Capitol, the Baralt Theatre, the
Teresa Carreńo Cultural Complex, and the
General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge.
Indigenous musical styles are sort of a crucible of Venezuelan cultural inheritances, most exemplified by groups like Un Solo Pueblo and Serenata Guayanesa. The national musical instrument is the cuatro. The typical or representative musical styles are mainly from the llanos area and its surroundings, such as
Alma Llanera ,
Florentino y el Diablo ,
Concierto en la llanura by
Juan Vicente Torrealba, and
Caballo Viejo . The Gaita is also a popular style, played generally during Christmas, typical of the Zulian region. The national dance is the
joropo.
Teresa Carreńo was a world famous piano
virtuosa during the late
19th century 
