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Venezuela is a South American country. Located at the
northern tip of the continent, it covers an area of
912 050 km2. Bathed by the Caribbean Sea in
the north and the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast, it
borders Guyana in the east, Brazil in the south and
Colombia in the west. The main cities are Caracas, the
capital, with 1 719 600 inhabitants (2004), Maracaíbo (1
910 200 inhab.), Valencia (1 575 800 inhab.),
Barquisimeto (979 200 inhab.) and Ciudad Guayana (856
100 inhab.). The country is crossed, in the northwest
part, by the Merida mountain range, which has a
northeast-southwest direction. The terminal (flat)
section of the Orinoco develops in the central
area. Southeast Venezuela is occupied by the Guyana
massif. Climate
The climate is humid tropical, although it varies
according to the altitude.
Economy
Venezuela has an economy that is based mainly on oil
exploration, with the country being among the ten
largest world producers. Oil and natural gas are the
country's largest source of revenue. There are also
important coal deposits. Agriculture accounts for only
about 4% of GDP, which reflects the country's need to
import various agricultural products. The dominant crops
are sugar cane, bananas, corn, rice, sorghum, cassava,
coffee and cocoa. The extractive industry essentially
covers iron, bauxite, aluminum, diamonds and
gold. Industrial products are base metals, foodstuffs,
beverages, chemicals, textiles, paper products and
tobacco. Venezuela's main trading partners are the
United States of America and Brazil.
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide
emissions, per capita (metric tons, 1999), is
5.3.
Population
The population was, in 2006, 25 730 435 inhabitants,
which corresponds to a density of approximately 27.82
inhab./km2. The birth and death rates are,
respectively, 18.71% and 4.92%. Average life expectancy
is 74.54 years. The value of the Human Development Index
(HDI) is 0.755 and the value of the Gender-adjusted
Development Index (IDG) is 0.767 (2001). It is estimated
that, in 2025, the population will be 32 061 000
inhabitants. The dominant ethnic groups are mestizo
(67%), white (21%), black (10%) and India (2%). The most
expressive religion is Catholic (935). The official
language is Castilian.
History
Christopher Columbus arrived in Venezuela in 1498 and,
in 1520, the Spanish settled permanently in the
territory. In 1811, Simón Bolívar led a rebellion
against Spain and, in 1830, the country gained
independence. After a long period of dictatorship, the
country adopted a new constitution in 1961 and, three
years later, Rómulo Betancourt became the first
president to fully serve a presidential term. In 1964 he
was succeeded by Raul Leoni and, in 1969, by Rafael
Caldera. The latter president brought political and
economic stability to the country, although kidnappings
and murders continued to grow. In 1974, Carlos Andrés
Pérez, of the Democratic Action Party (AD), came to
power and increased national stability. He was succeeded
in 1979 by the leader of the Christian Social Party
(COPEI), Luis Herrera.
With Venezuela's increasing economic instability, the
1984 general elections were contested by all parties and
the thirteen presidential candidates. Jaime Lusinchi,
leader of the AD, was elected and carried out an austere
and unpopular economic policy. He tried to make a social
pact between the Government and trade associations and
negotiated bank credits with the aim of reducing public
debt. But in 1988, Venezuela suspended the payment of
the foreign debt, which had been increasing since the
fall of oil prices in the 1970s. In February 1989 Carlos
Andrés Pérez came to power again, who immediately
instituted the growing increase prices and other radical
measures, with the aim of meeting the requirements of
the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In response to
these measures, the population caused serious
disturbances that caused the death of about three
hundred people. That same year, in December, there were
new elections, but they were boycotted by opposition
parties.
Throughout 1990 and 1991, social dissatisfaction grew
and resulted in more violent confrontations. In February
1992, a group of military officers tried to carry out a
coup d'état, but troops loyal to President Andrés Pérez
quickly neutralized him. The following November, a new
coup was canceled. In May 1993, Andrés Pérez saw his
term suspended, after the Supreme Court announced that
the president could be involved in corruption. The
suspicions were confirmed and, in May 1994, Pérez was
arrested. José Velasquez was appointed transitional
president and, in December 1993, the presidential
elections put Rafael Caldera in power.
In 1995 Venezuela went through a serious financial
crisis, but in 1996, a rigorous plan triggered a
turnaround in this country that had the highest income
per inhabitant in Latin America, and was overtaken by
Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil.
Three years later, in February, Hugo Chávez, leader
of the country's second party, took office as President
of the Republic, after winning the elections held in
December of the previous year. It introduced a series of
political changes, namely in the Constitution. The
economic and social crisis that had, however, been
installed in the country led to a coup d'état in 2002
that removed him from office. However, even that year,
with the support of the people, he would retake power.
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