Venezuelan Law & Government

Government & Politics

The Venezuelan president is elected by a 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.

There 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, Movement for Socialism (Venezuela) and others. Following the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958, Venezuelan politics was dominated by the center-right Christian democratic COPEI and the center-left social democratic Democratic Action (AD) parties; this 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. Most of the political opposition boycotted the 2005 parliamentary election. Consequently, the MVR-led bloc secured all 167 seats in the National Assembly. Then, 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. This is a power frequently granted to the executive in Venezuela, and was a characteristic of previous administrations as well.

Foreign Relations

Venezuela's declared priorities in the international arena are:

• Respect for human rights;
• The right of all people to self-determination;
• Nonintervention in the internal affairs of other nations;
• Peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, including border disputes;
• The right of all people to peace and security; and
• Support for democracy. 

Hemispheric cooperation and integration are two pillars of president Hugo Chávez's foreign policy. Venezuela worked closely with its neighbors following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas--particularly energy integration--and championed the OAS decision to adopt an Anti-Corruption Convention. Venezuela also participates in the UN Friends groups for Haiti. It is pursuing efforts to join the MERCOSUR trade bloc to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. The Venezuelan government advocates an end to Cuba's isolation and a "multi-polar" world based on ties among Third World countries.

Since Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela, the long-standing close diplomatic relationship between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened. During Venezuela's presidency of OPEC in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries, in the process becoming the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial at home and in the United States, although Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq (he drove from Iran, his previous stop).

Chávez's stance as an OPEC price hawk has raised the price of oil for the United States. His public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and Fidel Castro has undermined the U.S. foreign policy of isolating Cuba. Long-running ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were severed on Chávez's initiative. Chávez has been intensely critical of U.S. economic and foreign policy: in Iraq, Haiti, regarding the Free Trade Area of the Americas and in numerous other areas.

After Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez resumed his presidency in April 2002, he claimed that a plane with U.S. registration numbers had visited and been berthed at Venezuela's Orchila Island airbase, where Chávez had been held captive. On May 14, 2002, Chávez alleged that he had definitive proof of U.S. military involvement in April's coup. He claimed that during the coup Venezuelan radar images had indicated the presence of U.S. naval vessels and aircraft in Venezuelan waters and airspace. The Guardian published a claim by Wayne Madsen – a writer (at the time) for left-wing publications, former U.S. naval analyst, and critic of the George W. Bush administration – alleging U.S. naval involvement. U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, requested an investigation of concerns that Washington appeared to condone the removal of Chavez, which subsequently found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president", nor did they provide any naval logistical support.

According to Democracy Now!, CIA documents indicate that the Bush administration knew about a plot weeks before the April military coup. They cite a document dated 6 April 2002, which says: "dissident military factions...are stepping up efforts to organize a coup against President Chavez, possibly as early as this month." According to William Brownfield, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, the U.S. embassy in Venezuela warned Chávez about a coup plot in April 2002. Further, the U.S. Department of State and the investigation by the U.S. Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that "U.S. assistance programs in Venezuela, including those funded by the [U.S.] National Endowment for Democracy (NED), were inconsistent with U.S. law or policy" or ". . . directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to the coup d'état."

Venezuelan President Chávez also claimed, during the coup's immediate aftermath, that the U.S. was still seeking his overthrow. On October 6, 2002, he stated that he had foiled a new coup plot, and on October 20, 2002, he stated that he had barely escaped an assassination attempt while returning from a trip to Europe. During that period, the US ambassador to Venezuela warned the Chávez administration of two potential assassination plots.

Venezuelan President Chávez's anti-U.S. rhetoric has sometimes touched the personal. In response to the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, Chávez called U.S. President George W. Bush a pendejo ("dumbass"). In a later speech, he made personal remarks regarding United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The U.S. has called Chávez a "negative force" in the region, and requested support from Venezuela's neighbors in isolating Chávez. In 2006, when addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Chávez called Bush "the devil."

The United States has opposed and lobbied against numerous Venezuelan arms purchases, including a purchase of 100,000 rifles from Russia, which United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld implied would be passed on to FARC, and the purchase of aircraft from Brazil. The United States has also warned Israel to not carry through on a deal to upgrade Venezuela's aging fleet of F-16s, and has similarly pressured Spain.

At the 2005 meeting of the Organization of American States, a United States resolution to add a mechanism to monitor the nature of democracies was widely seen as a move to isolate Venezuela. The failure of the resolution was seen as politically significant, expressing Latin American support for Chávez.

Venezuela and Canada have had diplomatic relations since January of 1953 based on mutual commercial interests. The Canadian embassy in Caracas is currently actively present in pursuing and protecting the Canadian foreign and trade interests as well as arts and cultural. The biggest contribution is the connection of aboriginals in Venezuela with Canadians specifically closely follows the various social programs that the Chavez government has implemented the project called Indigenous to Indigenous (i2i). Canada. Venezuela is considered to be a democracy by most standards. See discussion of Chavez for further look at his government. “Canada continues to support civil society organizations that are working in the areas of democracy and human rights in Venezuela.” Venezuela and Canada are part of many multilateral organzations such as Organization of American States (OAS). Refer to this website for further information.

Economic -?³history of immigration A recent happening in the economic relationship has been the Venezuelans oil workers going to Alberta to work for the booming oil industry there since Chavez has wrested control from the private companies of Petreoleos de Venezeula (PdVSA). However, along with them, the Venezuelans have brought with them their culture, food and music. The tighter control occurred when Chavez took over and his oil minister, Ali Rodriguez Araque, started to assert control over natural resources and fiscal policies. PdVSA has been called “a state within a state” and has been very powerful since nationalization in 1976. After the April 2002 failed coup, Araque served as the president of PdVSA till 2004 and the current president is Rafael Ramirez. Further information can be found under Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.