 Simón Bolívar and South American Independence  Venezuela splits from Gran Colombia (1830)  Jose Antonio Paez & Conservative Ascendency  The Federal Wars ◦ Desire for a more democratic society ◦ Anti-clericalism ◦ Personalism ◦ Caracas vs. Interior

 Victorious “Liberals” ◦ fail to restore order ◦ Instability leads to rule of Guzmán Blanco Blanco  Liberal Enlightenment (1870 – 1888) ◦ Centralization of power in Caracas ◦ Economic development ◦ Modernization  Antonio Guzmán Blanco

Dictatorship “light” Arch of the Federation ◦ Guzmán Blanco  Hands on rule initially  Exercised power behind the scenes subsequently ◦ Holiday in Paris ( Accomplishments  Centralization of power in Caracas  Economic development  Infrastructure construction  Modernization of Caracas

 1890 Guzmán Blanco’s heirs divide into factions  1899 – clash among political factions leads to violence  Return of revolutionary chaos opens the way for Andean domination.

 Cipriano Castro and the Táchira Revolutionaries  October 22, 1899 – Victorious Andeans enter Caracas  Castro in power ◦ Four years of intermittant fighting ◦ Default on foreign debts leads to blockade (1902) ◦ U.S.: role as negotiator  Castro becomes nationalist hero by resisting demands for debt payment by North Atlantic nations  November 1908 – to Europe for an operation

 Style of governing ◦ Political unification ◦ Economic transformation ◦ Runs Venezuela like his ranch  Cattle deals used to build the state  Force and economic incentives ensure loyalty of the inner circle

 López Contraras  Medina Angarita ( ) ◦ Continuing modernization ◦ Nationalism and petroleum ◦ Politics of the aborted 1945 presidential election campaign  Revolution of October 18, 1945

 Trienio ( ) ◦ Rapid modernization of peasants ◦ AD takes control of organized labor ◦ Marxist cast of AD governments antagonizes the church ◦ Incorporation of provincial middle class ◦ Constitution of 1947  Universal suffrage  Representative democracy

 AD’s Rómulo Gallegos wins more than 2/3 of vote  Opposition parties frustrated ◦ COPEI (Christian Democrats) ◦ PCV (Communists) ◦ URD (Democratic Republican Union)

◦ AD divided & paralyzed ◦ Opposition believes they have been treated unfairly ◦ Church fears Marxist impact on Catholic education ◦ Military succumbs to pressure from opponents of the government  Provisional President Gen. Carlos Delgado Chalbaud

Loved by the U.S. business community? ◦ Andean militarism with a new twist ◦ Populism  Physical development  Reliance on petroleum income ◦ Nationalism ◦ Infrastructure development

◦ Increasing persecution of opponents ◦ Fall in oil prices ◦ Corruption ◦ All work and no play makes Marcos a dull boy

 Mid 1957 ◦ Democratic Forces - meet in New York City to coordinate efforts against the dictatorship  November 1957 ◦ Plebiscite on another term for the dictator  January Democratic Revolution ◦ Return of exiles ◦ Pact of Punto Fijo (shares power)  Much of territory remains under-populated

 National Elections: December 1958  Results (Presidential) ◦ AD: Rómulo Betancourt (49%) ◦ URD, PCV: Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal (35%) ◦ COPEI: Rafael Caldera (16%)  January 1, 1959 ◦ Punto Fijo democracy begins