Venezuela is further subdivided into 335 municipalities (municipios); these are subdivided into over one thousand parishes (parroquias). No. [318], According to an autosomal DNA genetic study conducted in 2008 by the University of Brasília (UNB), the composition of Venezuela's population is 60.60% of European contribution, 23% of indigenous contribution, and 16.30% of African contribution. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing. Dennis[163] which has been digitized and the records made available on-line as part of the Cybertruffle Robigalia database. Margarita Island is one of the top tourist destinations for enjoyment and relaxation. [53] Between one-quarter and one-third of Venezuela's population was lost during these two decades of warfare (including perhaps one-half of the white population),[54] which by 1830, was estimated at about 800,000. [367] According to Claudio Bifano, president of the Venezuelan Academy of Physical, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, more than half of all medical graduates had left Venezuela in 2013. [136][137][138][139] Other countries including Cuba, China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran continued to recognize Maduro as president,[140][141] although China, facing financial pressure over its position, reportedly began hedging its position by decreasing loans given, cancelling joint ventures, and signaling willingness to work with all parties. [254], Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados), a capital district (distrito capital) corresponding to the city of Caracas, and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales, a special territory). The Struggle Between the Military and the Non–Military", "The rise and fall and rise of populism in Venezuela", "El mercado de hoteles se mueve a pesar de la recesión", "El Ministerio de Obras Públicas en la Construcción de la Infraestructura para el Desarrollo (1874–1976)", "Venezuela 1984–1999: 15 años de historia (La Comisión Presidencial para la Reforma del Estado (COPRE) como mecanismo de innovación política)", "Hugo Chávez and the Future of Venezuela", "Minister: 2002–2003 strike cost PDVSA US$12.8bn – BNamericas", "Venezuela devalues currency against US dollar", "CARDENAS: Hugo Chavez's legacy of economic chaos", "The bill for years of mismanagement is coming due", "How Venezuela Got No Dollars From $65 Billion Bond Sales", "Chávez Dies, Leaving Sharp Divisions in Venezuela", "Venezuelans' Quality of Life Improved in UN Index Under Chavez", "FACTBOX – Chavez's chosen successor Nicolas Maduro", "Nicolás Maduro narrowly wins Venezuelan presidential election", "Venezuela audit confirms Nicolas Maduro electoral victory", "Venezuelan opposition challenges Nicolás Maduro's legitimacy", TSJ sobre Art.233: Nicolás Maduro es presidente encargado con todas las atribuciones, Asamblea Nacional tomó Juramento a Nicolás Maduro como Presidente Encargado (+Video), "Venezuela's Maduro decried as 'dictator' after Congress annulled", "Venezuela's crumbling façade of democracy", "It's official: Venezuela is a full-blown dictatorship", "Why The United States Has Done Nothing About Venezuela", "Protesters in Venezuela Press Government", "Venezuelans protest en masse in rival rallies", "Venezuela's Maduro says 2013 annual inflation was 56.2 pct", "Venezuela Inflation Hits 16-Year High as Shortages Rise", "Venezuela's Lopez says ready for arrest at Tuesday march", "Venezuela HRF Declares Leopoldo Lopez a Prisoner of Conscience and Calls for his Immediate Release", "Mayor Antonio Ledezma arrested and dragged out of office 'like a dog' by police in Venezuela", "Sebin detuvo al alcalde Metropolitano Antonio Ledezma", "Sebin se lleva detenido al alcalde Antonio Ledezma", "Venezuela: Human rights groups reject condemnation of jailed Leopoldo Lopez as 'baseless, "Venezuela Seen Handing Congress to Opposition in Sunday Vote", "Venezuela Devalues Its Currency – WSJ.com", "Venezuela food shortages: 'No one can explain why a rich country has no food, "Let them eat Chavismo The UN honours Venezuela for curbing hunger—which is actually getting worse", "Once a Cash Cow, Venezuela's Oil Company Now Verges on Collapse", "Workers Flee and Thieves Loot Venezuela's Reeling Oil Giant", "Under military rule, Venezuela oil workers quit in a stampede", "Maduro Wrecked Venezuela's Oil Industry", "Recession-hit Venezuela vows New Year reforms, foes scoff", "Looking Into the Black Box of Venezuela's Economy", "With executive order, Trump imposes new round of Venezuela sanctions", "Dollars Are Out, Euros Are In as U.S. Sanctions Sting Venezuela", "U.S. sanctions Venezuela officials, Trump slams Maduro", "Venezuela's economic nightmare takes an ugly turn", "Venezuelan Oil Dynamics: Why The Protests Matter", "Venezuela crisis: Former UN rapporteur says US sanctions are killing citizens", "Venezuela decrees 'economic emergency,' reveals depth of crisis", "Thousands Of Venezuelans Cross Into Colombia In Search Of Food And Medicine", "Hambre en Venezuela: El 15,7% de los venezolanos se ha alimentado de residuos", "Man claims son was eaten by fellow inmates during riot in Venezuelan prison", "Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro bans opposition parties from election", "Colombia desconocerá resultado de elecciones en Venezuela, dice Santos - LaPatilla.com", "Opponents slam Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's election victory as a sham", "EU countries recognise Juan Guaidó as interim Venezuelan leader", "Mexico stays neutral in Venezuela political crisis", "Russia and key allies vow to stand by Maduro in Venezuela crisis", "Russia, Turkey, China denounce US interference in Venezuela", "Self-declared leader of Venezuela Juan Guaido extends olive branch to China, wants 'productive and mutually beneficial relationship, "China Counts the Costs of Its Big Bet on Venezuela", "Russia Starts to Worry Maduro's Grip Is Slipping in Venezuela", "China's Venezuela Policy Is Losing Popularity – in China", "From oil to infrastructure, why China has plenty to lose from political turmoil in Venezuela", "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on February 13, 2019", "OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for peace, security, and development", "Maduro Government Recognized as the Only Representative of Venezuela at the UN | Orinoco Tribune", "Venezuela wins seat on U.N. rights council despite U.S. opposition", "Trump announces total economic embargo against Venezuela", "Nicolás Maduro Moros and 14 Current and Former Venezuelan Officials Charged with Narco-Terrorism, Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Criminal Charges", "A Knock, Then Gone: Venezuela Secretly Detains Hundreds to Silence Critics", "Enforced Disappearance Tool Political Repression Venezuela", "South America Banks on Regional Strategy to Safeguard Quarter of Earth's Biodiversity", "State of Venezuela's forests: A case study of the Guayana Region", "Cybertruffle's Robigalia – Observations of fungi and their associated organisms", "Georgia Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments" 2013, "Fungi of Venezuela – potential endemics", "Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems", "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material", "The Annotated Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance: Venezuela", "Biodiversity and Protected Areas—Venezuela", Carbon Markets Are Making a Slow, But Steady, Comeback, "The Water Balance of the Lake Maracaibo Basin", "Organic Geochemistry of the Orinoco Delta, Venezuela", "Dos mil 719 candidatos se disputarán los curules de la Asamblea Nacional", "Luisa Estela Morales afirma que la división de poderes debilita al Estado", "Venezuela protests are sign that US wants our oil, says Nicolás Maduro", "Protestas aumentan 278% en primer semestre 2014", "Nicolás Maduro: 'Impediré por las buenas o por las malas que la oposición llegue al poder, "La designación de magistrados del TSJ por la AN. [190], President Maduro acknowledged PSUV defeat, but attributed the opposition's victory to an intensification of an economic war. The size of this basin - similar to that of the Danube - makes it the third largest in South America, and it gives rise to a flow of some 33,000 m³/s, making the Orinoco the third largest in the world, and also one of the most valuable from the point of view of renewable natural resources. [192][193][194][195][196] From these events, Maduro effectively controls all three branches of government. El secuestro se había producido el día sábado 27 de marzo. For the 2011–2016 period the number of seats is 165. [376] It was originally dominated by Spanish influences. Venezuela is entirely located in the tropics over the Equator to around 12° N. Its climate varies from humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high as 35 °C (95.0 °F), to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly temperature of 8 °C (46.4 °F). [50], The end of the French invasion of homeland Spain in 1814 allowed the preparation of a large expeditionary force to the American provinces under general Pablo Morillo, with the goal to regain the lost territory in Venezuela and New Granada. [238][239] The United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all travel to Venezuela. [266] The sustainability of the Bolivarian Missions has been questioned due to the Bolivarian state's overspending on public works and because the Chávez government did not save funds for future economic hardships like other OPEC nations; with economic issues and poverty rising as a result of their policies in the 2010s. Venezuela has a road network of nearly 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi) in length, placing the country around 45th in the world;[313] around a third of roads are paved. [197], Venezuela is especially dangerous for foreign travelers and investors who are visiting. Venezuela seeks alternative hemispheric integration via such proposals as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas trade proposal and the newly launched Latin American television network teleSUR. [22] The 2013 Venezuelan presidential election was widely disputed leading to widespread protest, which triggered another nationwide crisis that continues to this day.[23]. ", "Patuá in Paria: The Status of French-lexicon Creole in Venezuela (pre-published version)", More Venezuelans Immigrate to Lebanon As Crisis Escalates, "Tariq Alaiseme [reportedly to be] vice-president of Venezuela". Other Venezuelan rivers that empty into the Atlantic are the waters of the San Juan and Cuyuní basins. The Venezuelan government maintains a claim against Guyana to Guayana Esequiba. The United States Department of State and the Government of Canada have warned foreign visitors that they may be subjected to robbery, kidnapping for a ransom or sale to terrorist organizations[237] and murder, and that their own diplomatic travelers are required to travel in armored vehicles. Venezuela is located in the north of South America; geologically, its mainland rests on the South American Plate. The government populist social welfare policies were bolstered by soaring oil prices,[16] temporarily increasing social spending,[17] and reducing economic inequality and poverty in the early years of the regime. Dan Beeton and Joe Sammut (6 December 2013). [296][291][297][298][299] By early 2017, priests began telling Venezuelans to label their garbage so needy individuals could feed on their refuse. [354][355], Infant mortality in Venezuela was 19 deaths per 1,000 births for 2014 which was lower than the South American average (To compare: The U.S. figure was 6 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013 and the Canadian figure was 4.5 deaths per 1,000 live births). During the period, 724 enforced disappearances of political detainees were reported. Other notable architectural works include the Capitolio, the Baralt Theatre, the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, and the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge. The State was the great capitalist in the Venezuela of Pérez Jiménez and was the largest national shareholder of major hotel chains such as Sheraton.[66]. In response, federal protections for critical habitat were implemented; for example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected. [373] Notable Venezuelan artists include Arturo Michelena, Cristóbal Rojas, Armando Reverón, Manuel Cabré; the kinetic artists Jesús Soto, Gego and Carlos Cruz-Diez;[373] and contemporary artists such as Marisol and Yucef Merhi.[374][375]. Lorem Ipsum ha sido el texto de relleno estándar de las industrias desde el año 1500, cuando un impresor (N. del T. persona que se dedica a la imprenta) desconocido usó una galería de textos y los mezcló de tal manera que logró hacer un libro de textos especimen. The corpulent volumes of mountain ranges and mountain ranges predominate, as well as intramontane valleys (located within the mountains). El fútbol fue el primer deporte que tuvo una evolución considerable en el país. [231] The country's body count of the previous decade mimics that of the Iraq War and in some instances had more civilian deaths even though the country is at peacetime. In 1966 the British and Venezuelan governments signed the Geneva Agreement to resolve the conflict peacefully. Agriculture in Venezuela accounts for approximately 3% of GDP, 10% of the labor force, and at least a quarter of Venezuela's land area. [347], Venezuela has a national universal health care system. Most observers describe Venezuela in terms of four fairly well defined topographical regions: the Maracaibo lowlands in the northwest, the northern mountains extending in a broad east–west arc from the Colombian border along the northern Caribbean coast, the wide plains in central Venezuela, and the Guiana Highlands in the southeast. “No hemos tenido ataque a ningún puesto policial ni militar”, dijo . The northern mountains are the extreme northeastern extensions of South America's Andes mountain range. Almost 3% of the population follow another religion (1% of these people practice Santería).[2]. [369][370] Nationwide, about 93% of schools do not meet the minimum requirements to operate and 77% do not have utilities such as food, water or electricity.[370]. List. These constitute a unique biological environment, also presenting great geological interest. A minimum drains to the Lake Valencia basin. Retrieved 17 January 2017. The report stated that Venezuelan security forces subjected victims, who had been disappeared, to illegal interrogation processes accompanied by torture and cruel or inhuman treatment. The Buddhist community is made up mainly of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people. [372][373] Modernism took over in the 20th century. “De relleno de las imprentas y archivos de texto. Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America;[14][15] the vast majority of Venezuelans live in the cities of the north, especially in the capital Caracas, which is also the largest city. The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Colombia, Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana. [41] They left behind works of art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. En 1926, se creó la Federación de Venezolana de Fútbol para participar en competencias internacionales. [390] At the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, he claimed his first pole and victory, and became the first and only Venezuelan to have done so in Formula 1 history. 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. The gomecista dictatorship (1935–1945) system largely continued under Eleazar López Contreras, but from 1941, under Isaías Medina Angarita, was relaxed. In the south and east the Amazon rainforest region has limited cross-border transport; in the west, there is a mountainous border of over 2,213 kilometres (1,375 mi) shared with Colombia. In 1895, a longstanding dispute with Great Britain about the territory of Guayana Esequiba, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory, erupted into the Venezuela Crisis of 1895. Slavery in Venezuela was abolished in 1854. The immense popularity of baseball in the country makes Venezuela a rarity among its South American neighbors—association football is the dominant sport in the continent. Venezuela is among the top 20 countries in terms of endemism. [383] In the early 20th century, North American immigrants who came to Venezuela to work in the nation's oil industry helped to popularize the sport in Venezuela. [131] In July 2016, Colombian border crossings were temporarily opened to allow Venezuelans to purchase food and basic household and health items in Colombia. [326] During the 20th century, Venezuela, along with the rest of Latin America, received millions of immigrants from Europe. About 65% of the park is occupied by rock plateaus called tepuis. Another characteristic of the climate is this variation throughout the country by the existence of a mountain range called "Cordillera de la Costa" which crosses the country from east to west. Venezuela hosts a total of 1,417 bird species, 48 of which are endemic. The town of Caracas, founded in the central coastal region in 1567, was well-placed to become a key location, being near the coastal port of La Guaira whilst itself being located in a valley in a mountain range, providing defensive strength against pirates and a more fertile and healthy climate. [51], Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, went on to liberate Ecuador and later become the second president of Bolivia. The highest temperature recorded was 42 °C (108 °F) in Machiques,[157] and the lowest temperature recorded was −11 °C (12 °F), it has been reported from an uninhabited high altitude at Páramo de Piedras Blancas (Mérida state),[158] even though no official reports exist, lower temperatures in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida are known. [82][83][84][85][86] These devaluations have done little to improve the situation of the Venezuelan people who rely on imported products or locally produced products that depend on imported inputs while dollar-denominated oil sales account for the vast majority of Venezuela's exports. Later, during and after the war, new waves of immigrants from other parts of Europe, the Middle East, and China began; many were encouraged by government-established immigration programs and lenient immigration policies. ", "Designaciones de magistrados son un fraude a la Constitución", "Designación de magistrados obvió fase de impugnación", "Por qué importan tanto los magistrados que designó el chavismo en Venezuela", "Designación de magistrados del TSJ en Vzla es un "flagrante fraude" a la Constitución", "El Supremo suspende la proclamación de tres diputados opositores y uno chavista", "Maduro pide al TSJ declarar "inconstitucional" la Ley de Amnistía", "Decreto de emergencia económica no puede pasar del 12 de mayo", "Nicolás Maduro decreta un nuevo Estado de Excepción y de Emergencia Económica en Venezuela", "Prorroga del Decreto Emergencia Económica es inconstitucional", "La dictadura venezolana invitó al podemita que irá a la cárcel por pegar a un socialista", "La dictadura venezolana reafirma su naturaleza", "Expresidentes denuncian ruptura del orden constitucional y democrático en Venezuela", "Opositores denuncian "ruptura del orden constitucional" en Venezuela", "Venezuela es una dictadura que no representa la división de poderes", "Jefe de la OEA estudia invocar Carta Democrática por Venezuela", "Venezuela 'coup': Alarm grows as court takes power", "Venezuela: Supreme court backtracks on powers bid", "U.S. declares Venezuela a national security threat, sanctions top officials", "Latin American Herald Tribune – US Announces New Executive Order Sanctions on Venezuela – Declares "National Emergency, "Amid deteriorating relations, Washington turns screws on Venezuela", "Venezuela to withdraw from OAS as deadly protests continue", "Venezuela says it will quit Organization of American States", "The GeGaLo index: Geopolitical gains and losses after energy transition", "Global homicide rates drop, but nearly 500,000 murdered in 2012", "SeguridadPúblicayPrivada VenezuelayBolivia", "Venezuela: Gravísima Crisis de Seguridad Pública by Lexys Rendon", "Según el Cicpc el 2011 cerró con 1.150 secuestros en todo el país – Sucesos", "Beauty queen's killers nabbed, Venezuela says", "Miss Venezuela's Murder Is the Price of Politics", "Venezuela's decline fuelled by plunging oil prices", "Venezuela, More Deadly Than Iraq, Wonders Why", "Crime threatens Chavez vote in Venezuela slums | Reuters", "14 Killed in Caracas anti-crime operation", "FCO travel advice mapped: the world according to Britain's diplomats", "Venezuelan Soap Star Monica Spear Slain with Ex-Husband", "German tourist, 76, shot dead on Venezuelan island", "20 killed in Venezuelan prison violence", "World Report 2017: Rights Trends in Venezuela", World Drug Report 2010 Statistical Annex: Drug seizures, "Venezuela: Where The Mafia And The Military Come Together", "Is socialism to blame for Venezuela's never-ending crisis? Former Miss Venezuela 2004 winner Mónica Spear and her ex-husband were murdered and their 5-year-old daughter was shot while vacationing in Venezuela, and an elderly German tourist was murdered only a few weeks later. [74], In the 1980s, the Presidential Commission for State Reform (COPRE) emerged as a mechanism of political innovation. [173][174] Many terrestrial ecosystems are considered endangered, specially the dry forest in the northern regions of the country and the coral reefs in the Caribbean coast. The Chavez Regime: Fostering Anti-Semitism and Supporting Radical Islam. The majority of the population lives in these mountains.[153]. In 1975 the iron industry was nationalized and the following year the oil industry, creating Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). It will take two years for the country to formally leave. [187], The legal system of Venezuela belongs to the Continental Law tradition. In January 2016, President Maduro decreed an "economic emergency", revealing the extent of the crisis and expanding his powers. [citation needed], The country can be further divided into ten geographical areas, some corresponding to climatic and biogeographical regions. The malaise over the debts of Venezuela reached the barracks and the national business. Previously, the country was an underdeveloped exporter of agricultural commodities such as coffee and cocoa, but oil quickly came to dominate exports and government revenues. [55] Much of Venezuela's 19th-century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule, including the Independence leader José Antonio Páez, who gained the presidency three times and served a total of 11 years between 1830 and 1863. In March 2017, opposition leaders branded President Nicolas Maduro a dictator after the Maduro-aligned Supreme Tribunal, which had been overturning most National Assembly decisions since the opposition took control of the body, took over the functions of the assembly, pushing a lengthy political standoff to new heights. [377] Venezuela has always been a melting pot of cultures and this can be seen in the richness and variety of its musical styles and dances: calipso, bambuco, fulía, cantos de pilado de maíz, cantos de lavanderas, sebucán, and maremare. Angarita granted a range of reforms, including the legalization of all political parties. Los Roques Archipelago is made up of a set of islands and keys that constitute one of the main tourist attractions in the country. For example, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki declared in 2015 that Venezuela was his country's "most important ally".[215]. The main roles of the armed forces are to defend the sovereign national territory of Venezuela, airspace, and islands, fight against drug trafficking, to search and rescue and, in the case of a natural disaster, civil protection. In addition to Spanish, the Constitution recognizes more than thirty indigenous languages, including Wayuu, Warao, Pemón, and many others for the official use of the indigenous peoples, mostly with few speakers – less than 1% of the total population. [294] A multi-university study found that, in 2016 alone, about 75% of Venezuelans lost weight due to hunger, with the average losing about 8.6 kg (19 lbs) due to the lack of food. The most powerful man in the military junta (1948–1958) was Pérez Jiménez (though Chalbaud was its titular president) and was suspected of being behind the death in office of Chalbaud, who died in a bungled kidnapping in 1950. In 1895, after years of diplomatic attempts to solve the border dispute, the dispute over the Essequibo River border flared up. Since the discovery of oil in the early 20th century, Venezuela has been one of the world's leading exporters of oil, and it is a founding member of OPEC. [31] By 2017, Venezuela was declared to be in default regarding debt payments by credit rating agencies. However, he was never sworn in for his third period, due to medical complications. [232] The capital Caracas has one of the greatest homicide rates of any large city in the world, with 122 homicides per 100,000 residents. Venezuela may suffer a deterioration of its power in international affairs if the global transition to renewable energy is completed. The collapse in confidence in the existing parties saw the 1998 Venezuelan presidential election, the catalyst for the Bolivarian Revolution, which began with a 1999 Constituent Assembly, where a new Constitution of Venezuela was imposed. It was an antecedent of the populist and paternalistic economic regime of the later democratic regimes.