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Venezuela, known since 1999 as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a petroleum-rich country on the northern coast of South America. Beginning in the 1970s, the oil wealth's penetration throughout society grew increasingly limited. The current president is Hugo Chavez Frias, elected in 1998 and has since then governed the state. The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, It borders Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, and the Leeward Antilles lie just north, off the Venezuelan coast. Falling within the tropics, Venezuela sits close to the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere.
Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America;[1][2] the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the largest metropolis, Caracas. Other major cities include Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Valencia, Maracay, and Ciudad Guayana. Although living standards are generally rising, Venezuela continues to battle high levels of poverty and environmental degradation. A pluralistic, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic nation, Venezuela is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats.
EtymologyImage:Palafito.jpg A palafito, similar to those seen by Amerigo Vespucci. 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's Gulf of Venezuela. On reaching the Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed the distinctive stilt villages (palafitos) that the indigenous Añu people had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of Venice (Italian: Venezia), so he named the region "Venezuola".[3] According to another theory, the fact that, in Spanish, the suffix -zuela usually resulted in a diminutive term (e.g., mujerzuela, cazuela); thus, the term's original sense would have been that of a "little Venice".[4] Alternatively, the Spanish geographer Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of Vespucci and de Ojeda's crew, states in his work Summa de Geografía that the indigenous population they found were called "Veneciuela", suggesting that the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from a native word.[5] The Vespucci story, however, remains the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country's name. In English, the word Venezuela is pronounced as /ˌvɛnɪˈzweɪlə/. The Venezuelan Spanish word Venezuela is pronounced as /βeneˈswela/. HistoryImage:BatallaCarabobo02.JPG Detail of Martín Tovar y Tovar's La Batalla de Carabobo
Venezuela was first colonized by Europeans in 1522, when it hosted the Spanish Empire's first permanent South American settlement[citation needed] in what is now Cumaná. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, most of Venezuela eventually became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada; portions of eastern Venezuela were incorporated into New Andalusia. After a series of unsuccessful uprisings, Venezuela—under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan marshal involved in the French Revolution—declared independence on 5 July 1811. However, a devastating earthquake that struck Caracas in 1812, together with the rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros, helped bring down the first Venezuelan republic.[9] A second Venezuelan republic, proclaimed on 7 August 1813, lasted several months before being crushed as well. Sovereignty was only attained after Simón Bolívar, known as El Libertador ("The Liberator") and aided by José Antonio Páez and Antonio José de Sucre, won the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821. José Prudencio Padilla's victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo on 24 July 1823 helped seal Venezuelan independence. New Granada's congress gave Bolívar control of the Granadian army; leading it, he liberated several countries and founded Gran Colombia. Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, succeeded him as leader after his death. Venezuela remained part of Gran Colombia until 1830, when a rebellion led by Páez allowed the proclamation of a new Republic of Venezuela; Páez became its first president. Much of Venezuela's nineteenth century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule.[10] During the first half of the 20th century, caudillos (military strongmen) continued to dominate, though they generally allowed for social reforms and promoted economic growth. Following the death of Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 and the demise of caudillismo (authoritarian rule), pro-democracy movements eventually forced the military to withdraw from direct involvement in national politics in 1958. Since that year, Venezuela has had a series of democratically elected governments.[11] The discovery of massive oil deposits, totaling some 400 million barrels,[citation needed] during World War I prompted an economic boom that lasted into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela's per capita GDP was Latin America's highest,[12] and globalization and heavy immigration from Southern Europe and poorer Latin American countries markedly diversified Venezuelan society. The collapse of oil prices in the 1980s crippled the Venezuelan economy; together with rising poverty and worsening social indicators, this led to increasing political instability,[13][opinion needs balancing] resulting in three major coup attempts, two in 1992 and another in 2002. The tenure of current president Hugo Chávez attracted no less controversy, as it accompanied a period of heightened polarization and radicalization in Venezuela that continues to persist. Venezuela continues to enact a program of wide-ranging socialist reforms while placing more emphasis on the nation's future as a part of a more integrated Latin America.[citation needed] GovernmentImage:National Assembly, Caracas, Venezuela.jpg The National Assembly, Caracas 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 people, 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 twelve-year term. The National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral, or CNE) is in charge of electoral processes; it is formed by five main directors elected by the National Assembly. PoliticsThere are currently two major blocs of political parties: the leftist Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) and its major allies For Social Democracy (PODEMOS), Fatherland for All (PPT), and the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV); and A New Era (UNT) together with its allied parties Project Venezuela, Justice First, and others. Independent parties include the Movement for Socialism (Venezuela), while Venezuela's major civil political NGO organization is Súmate. Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Venezuelan politics was dominated by the center-right Christian democratic COPEI and the center-left social democratic Democratic Action (AD) parties; this stable and democratic two-party system was formalized by the puntofijismo arrangement. However, this system has been sidelined following the initial 1998 election of current president Hugo Chávez. The voting age in Venezuela is 18 and older. Voting is not compulsory.[14] Chávez's political opposition, alleging electoral fraud, withdrew from and boycotted the 2005 parliamentary election; consequently, the MVR-led bloc secured all 167 seats in the National Assembly. Furthermore, the MVR voted to dissolve itself in favor of joining the proposed United Socialist Party of Venezuela, while Chávez requested that MVR-allied parties merge themselves into it as well. The National Assembly has twice voted to grant Chávez the ability rule by decree in several broadly defined areas, once in 2000 and again in 2007.[15][16] Foreign relationsThroughout most of the 20th century, Venezuela maintained friendly relations with most Latin American and Western nations. Since 1998, however, relations between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened, resulting in the latter imposing military sanctions. Correspondingly, ties to various leftist-led Latin American and anti-U.S. Middle-Eastern countries have strengthened. Venezuela stresses hemispheric integration via such proposals as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas trade proposal and the newly launched pan-Latin American television network teleSUR. Venezuela was a prime mover behind the OAS's decision to adopt its Anti-Corruption Convention, and is actively working in the Mercosur trade bloc to push increased trade and energy integration. Globally, it seeks a "multi-polar" world based on strengthened ties among Third World countries. Venezuela's national armed forces include roughly 87,500 personnel spread through four service branches: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), the Air Force, and the Armed Forces of Cooperation (FAC), commonly known as the National Guard. As of 2005, a further 100,000 soldiers were incorporated into a new fifth branch, known as the Armed Reserve; these troops bear more semblance to a militia than the older branches. The President of Venezuela is the commander-in-chief of the national armed forces. SubdivisionsVenezuela is divided into twenty-three states (estados), a capital district (distrito capital) corresponding to the city of Caracas, the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales, a special territory), and Guayana Esequiba (claimed in a border dispute with Guyana). Venezuela is further subdivided into 335 municipalities (municipios); these are subdivided into over one thousand parishes (parroquias). The states are grouped into nine administrative regions (regiones administrativas), which were established by presidential decree. Historically, Venezuela has also claimed all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River; this 159,500 square kilometres (Template:Convert/sqmi) tract was dubbed Guayana Esequiba or the Zona en Reclamación (the "zone to be reclaimed").
GeographyImage:Mt Roraima in Venezuela 001.JPG Monte Roraima, a tepui in Canaima National Park in southeastern Venezuela. The park lies atop the Guiana Shield; its Precambrian geological formations rank among the world's oldest. Venezuela's mainland rests on the South American Plate; With 2,800 kilometres (1,740 mi) of coastline, Venezuela is home to a wide variety of landscapes. The extreme northeastern extensions of the Andes reach into Venezuela's northwest and continue along the northern Caribbean coast. Pico Bolívar, the nation's highest point at Template:Convert/m, lies in this region. The country's center is characterized by the llanos, extensive plains that stretch from the Colombian border in the far west to the Orinoco River delta in the east. To the south, the dissected Guiana Highlands is home to the northern fringes of the Amazon Basin and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall. The Orinoco, with its rich alluvial soils, binds the largest and most important river system of the country; it originates in one of the largest watersheds in Latin America. The Caroní and the Apure are other major rivers. Image:Bolívar usgs.jpg Pico Bolívar in the northernwestern state of Mérida. The country can be further divided into ten geographical areas, some corresponding to climatic and biogeographical regions. In the north are the Venezuelan Andes and the Coro region, a mountainous tract in the northwest, is home to several sierras and valleys. East of it are lowlands abutting Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The Central Range runs parallel to the coast and includes the hills surrounding Caracas; the Eastern Range, separated from the Central Range by the Gulf of Cariaco, covers all of Sucre and northern Monagas. The Llanos region comprises a third of the country's area north of the Orinoco River. South of it lies the Guiana Shield, a massive two billion year old Precambrian geological formation featuring tepuis, mysterious table-like mountains. The Insular Region includes all of Venezuela's island possessions: Nueva Esparta and the various Federal Dependencies. The Deltaic System, which forms a triangle covering Delta Amacuro, projects northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. Though Venezuela is entirely situated in the tropics, its climate varies substantially; it varies from that of humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high as Template:Convert/°C, to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly temperature of Template:Convert/°C. Annual rainfall varies between Template:Convert/mm in the semiarid portions of the northwest to Template:Convert/mm in the Orinoco Delta of the far east. Most precipitation falls between May and November (the rainy season or "winter"); the drier and hotter remainder of the year is known as "summer", though temperature variation throughout the year is not as pronounced as at temperate latitudes.[10] Flora and faunaImage:Araguaney (Tabebuia chrysantha), Venezuela.jpg The iconic araguaney (Tabebuia chrysantha), Venezuela's national tree. Venezuela lies within the Neotropic ecozone; large portions of the country were originally covered by moist broadleaf forests. One of seventeen megadiverse countries and among the top twenty countries in terms of endemism, some 38% of the over 21,000 plant species are unique to the country; 23% of reptilian and 50% of amphibian species are also endemic.[17] Venezuela hosts significant biodiversity across habitats ranging from xeric scrublands in the extreme northwest to coastal mangrove forests in the northeast.[10] Its cloud forests and lowland rainforests are particularly rich, for example hosting over 25,000 species of orchids, the national flower. These include the flor de mayo orchid (Cattleya mossiae), the national flower. Image:Tejedora (Caracas, Venezuela).jpg The golden silk orb-weaver is among the more common of Venezuela's arthropods. Venezuela's national tree is the araguaney, whose characteristic lushness after the rainy season led novelist Rómulo Gallegos to name it «[l]a primavera de oro de los araguaneyes» ("the golden spring of the araguaneyes"). Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazonian forests south of the Orinoco.[18] Manatees, Boto river dolphins, and Orinoco crocodiles, which reach up to Template:Convert/m in length, are notable aquatic species. Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers, and the yellow-orange turpial, the national bird. In recent decades, logging, mining, shifting cultivation, development, and other human activities have posed a major threat to Venezuela's wildlife; between 1990 and 2000, 0.40% of forest cover was cleared annually.[17] In response, federal protections for critical habitat were implemented; for example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected.[18] Venezuela is currently home to a biosphere reserve that is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves; five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.[19] In 2003, 70% of the nation's land was under conservation management in over 200 protected areas, including 43 national parks.[20] EconomyImage:Billete 50000 bolívares anverso.jpg The Venezuelan 50,000 bolívar banknote. The petroleum sector dominates Venezuela's mixed economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of exports, and more than half of government revenues. The country's main petroleum deposits are located around and beneath Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. The oil sector operates through the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), whose subsidiaries include the distributor CITGO. Other major exports are bauxite and aluminum, steel, petrochemicals, and agricultural produce. Venezuela's principal trading partners are the United States, Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.[21] Venezuela is also highly dependent on its 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 1970s, 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 1% of the world's coffee, most of it consumed by the domestic market. However, Venezuelan coffees are again entering the North American specialty markets. Venezuela's cocoa industry has decayed since the days of Spanish colonialism, when African slaves worked on cocoa estates. The focus of cocoa cultivation has long since moved to tropical West Africa. In recent years, there has been an attempt to resuscitate this industry, as its rare variety of cacao, known as Chuao, is considered the finest and most aromatic in the world and is used in certain single-origin chocolates. The largest Venezuelan fine chocolate producer is El Rey, though some companies such as Savoy (Nestlé) also manufacture chocolate from Venezuelan cacao and export it to Europe. Venezuela is one of the five founding members of OPEC, which was the initiative of Venezuelan politician Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo; it was proposed in 1960 as a response to low domestic and international oil prices. Since 2005, Venezuela has also been a member of Mercosur, joining Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; it has yet to gain voting rights. Venezuela is also a member of the South American Community of Nations (SACN). As of 2007, unemployment in the 12.5 million-strong labor force was 8.4%; 37% of Venezuelans live in poverty.[21] Demographics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
