Venezuelan Political History: Key Figures and Events
Features of Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl’s Government
In his government, Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl promoted construction materials such as the Hospital Vargas, abolished military delegations, concentrated weapons in national parks, and replaced some military commanders and state presidents with his own people or unconditional friends. He stepped down on May 18, resulting in a political crisis.
Features of Raimundo Andueza Palacio’s Government
Raimundo Andueza Palacio excluded Guzmán’s supporters from the government and tried to reform the constitution to end continuity. However, he was fond of socializing with ladies, drinking, and gambling. Given such, his governmental action was nil.
Features of Cipriano Castro’s Government
Cipriano Castro modernized the army’s weaponry, introducing repeating rifles and German Mauser-type Krupp quick-firing guns. The use of these weapons was the deciding factor in settling the warlords and the revolutions of the country. His political and military successes were also due in large part to the energy he showed at critical moments and the courage with which he was able to overcome his enemies. This led his followers to create an aura of heroism around him, and the adulation of Castro became one of the main activities of the country, with men competing in all social sectors.
On this basis, Castro established a tyrannical government characterized, like others in Venezuelan history, by the suppression of liberties, terror, administrative disorder, embezzlement, and political immorality. Like other dictators, he reformed the constitution and extended the presidential term. Congress appointed him first as provisional president, and then as constitutional president in 1904 for the period from 1905 to 1911. From mid-1903, when he was free of conflicts, there had been an orgiastic Venezuela. The tyrant did not shrink from sybaritic pleasures, and the dissolute society around him burst to provide them. These excesses undermined Castro’s health until he was removed from power. In April 1906, he was separated from command for health reasons and soon after announced his “total retirement” from public life, stating that this would contribute to the unity and brotherhood of Venezuelans. This served as a starting point for a national movement of acclamation for Castro, who soon agreed to return to command. However, in August of the same year, he had to retire again, this time seriously ill.
Proceedings of Ignacio Andrade’s Presidency
During the course of hostilities that began on February 23, 1898, and lasted until June 12 of that year, there was an unexpected event negatively affecting the balance of forces surrounding Ignacio Andrade: the death of Joaquín Crespo. Indeed, following Crespo’s disappearance from the political scene after his death in Mata Carmelera on April 16, 1898, a large number of warlords saw a clear path to power, including General Ramon Guerra, who, in his position as Minister of War, had captured “Mocho” Hernández, and then rose against the government of Ignacio Andrade. Apart from the movements that Andrade had to confront during his administration, economic difficulties were experienced, along with distrust from certain political circles and a smallpox epidemic. Finally, Andrade was overthrown on October 19, 1899, by Cipriano Castro and the Restoring Revolution, which triumphed without the government forces doing much to stop them. Once out of power, Ignacio Andrade went to Puerto Rico.
Problems in Joaquín Crespo’s Government
The political situation in the country was intolerable then. The government, preceded by Dr. Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido, was unable to resolve the situation and resolve serious problems. The chief of the executive decided to surrender to the rebels, which took place on October 6 and 7. Crespo triumphantly entered Caracas with his soldiers and took possession of the head of state a few days later. General Crespo left the government on grounds of health and the need for rest, leaving it to the Federal Council President, General Manuel Álvarez, to administer the Federal State.
In this short interim period, two important determinations were made:
- General amnesty decree.
- The convening of a constituent assembly.
The first provision was supplemented with absolute freedom of speech, which opened the doors to all political groups.
The second met with the initiation of regular sessions of the constitutional assembly, which gave effect to the fundamental charter of 1884, in which the following were devoted:
- The exercise of universal and secret suffrage.
- The increase of the presidential term from 2 to 4 years.
- The reorganization of the Federal Council, composed of one representative from each state.
- The vice presidency would be in the hands of the Federal Council President.
President Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Antonio Guzmán Blanco was undoubtedly the leader with the most prominent profile to emerge from the Federal War. He held the government, directly and indirectly, for 22 years, and his influence extended for a further period. His government was conducted in three stages or periods. The first, of seven years, from 1870 to 1877, is called “the seven-year term” and is considered “one of the most prolific and progressive periods in Venezuelan history.”
Upon completion of this period, Guzmán Blanco elected one of his most devoted lieutenants, General Francisco Linares Alcántara, to succeed him in office, and went to Europe invested with a senior diplomatic role. However, Linares Alcántara, who had pledged to continue Guzmán Blanco’s policy, decided to break with his guard and led the government with an anti-Guzmán stance. Decrees were repealed by Congress on honors to Guzmán Blanco, and the statues that the same Congress had ordered to be erected in Caracas were demolished. This movement against Guzmán Blanco, absent in Europe, triggered the rise of one of his supporters, General Gregorio Cedeño, who, as head of the “Revolution of Claims,” entered Caracas in February 1879. A few days later, Guzmán Blanco returned and took command as Supreme Director.
International Relations Under Guzmán Blanco
During his administration, Guzmán Blanco faced several international conflicts due to unfair and burdensome claims from foreign governments against the Republic. In all these cases, Guzmán Blanco’s attitude was strong and patriotic.
- In 1869, the U.S. government made the Venezuelan government sign an agreement promising to pay one and a half million dollars in compensation for alleged damage to property of U.S. citizens in the country. The damages in question amounted to less than 5,000 pesos. Guzmán Blanco challenged the agreement and refused to pay the money, considering it a “diplomatic theft.” He stated: “Bring your guns and start shooting against Venezuela, because it wants to be stealing more diplomatically.” This aggressive stance, maintained for many years, led to the U.S. Senate approving a new treaty under consideration in 1886.
- In 1875, diplomatic relations with Holland were broken off because of the hostility shown by the Dutch authorities of Curaçao and the support they gave to Guzmán Blanco’s political enemies, who were refugees on the island.
Guzmán Blanco suspended debt payments to the Netherlands, and a Dutch warship appeared at La Guaira and forcibly removed a Curaçao boat detained by Venezuelan authorities. Two measures favored by Guzmán Blanco’s government against the Dutch colonial authorities resulted from the dispute. The first was the creation of the Antillean differential tax, a 30% surcharge on customs duties on goods imported from Cuba. The second was the idea presented to Congress in 1877 that Venezuela should one day buy the islands of Curaçao and Trinidad as an important measure of “homeland security and South American politics.”
- On the border issue with Colombia, Guzmán Blanco maintained the rights of western Venezuela on the Orinoco, which had always belonged to the Province of Guayana. However, in 1882, he agreed to refer the border issue with Colombia to arbitration by the King of Spain.
The limits with British Guiana were the cause of a more serious problem with England. The British gradually occupied increasing amounts of Venezuelan territory, and the British flag was planted on the Amacuro and the Barima. The Venezuelan government’s protest was not heard, and in 1887, diplomatic relations were broken. On the other hand, the British government threatened with a warship to force the Venezuelan government to pay damages to British merchant vessels. Guzmán Blanco’s government stood firm in this case. However, the boundary problem on this border was not resolved then, even in 1899 during the administration of Cipriano Castro, as England, using its great power status, continued to occupy Venezuelan territory, giving rise to a complex territorial issue that still remains. Finally, during Guzmán Blanco’s government, in 1879, limits were set with Brazil.
Public Education Under Guzmán Blanco
On June 27, 1870, Guzmán Blanco issued the Decree on Public Education, making it free and compulsory. Given the importance and transcendence that this step has had in the development of Venezuelan education, its assumptions and objectives of the utmost importance should be noted.
The decree divided public instruction into two stages: primary or universal, which the Act requires all Venezuelans to receive and Public Authorities are on duty to provide for free, and voluntary instruction, which includes free or other knowledge that Venezuelans want to acquire in other branches of human knowledge. The Nation, States, and Municipalities have an obligation to promote, by all means at their disposal, primary education, creating and protecting free schools in villages and fields so that the required knowledge is affordable for everyone. Mandatory knowledge is defined as: “General principles of morality, literacy in the native language, practical arithmetic, the metric system, and the compendium of the Federal Constitution.”
Antonio Guzmán Blanco’s Policies
Guzmán Blanco decided to break with his guard and led the government with an anti-Guzmán stance. Decrees were repealed by Congress on honors to Guzmán Blanco, and the statues that the same Congress had ordered to be erected in Caracas were demolished. This movement against Guzmán Blanco, absent in Europe, triggered the rise of one of his supporters, General Gregorio Cedeño, who, as head of the “Revolution of Claims,” entered Caracas in February 1879. A few days later, Guzmán Blanco returned and took command as Supreme Director.