Democratic Action
Encyclopedia
Democratic Action is a centrist Venezuela
n political party
established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period (1945 - 1948). After an intervening decade of dictatorship (1948 - 1958) saw AD excluded from power, four presidents came from Acción Democrática from the 1960s to the 1990s. By the end of the 1990s, however, the party's credibility was almost nonexistent, mostly because of the corruption and poverty that Venezuelans experienced during the last two full-term administrations of the party's time in power, namely, those of Jaime Lusinchi
(1984 - 1989) and Carlos Andrés Pérez
(1989 - 1993). The latter president was impeached for corruption in 1993, and spent several years in prison as a result. Since the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez
, a range of newer parties (such as A New Era
and Justice First
) have been more prominent in opposition to Chávez.
and other exile Venezuelans. In 1936 this became the Movimiento de Organización Venezolana (ORVE), which was then dissolved into the Partido Democrático Nacional (PDN). Finally, in 1941, after Isaías Medina Angarita
legalized all political parties, Acción Democrática was founded by Betancourt and others. These included Rómulo Gallegos
, Andrés Eloy Blanco
, Luis Beltrán Prieto
, Juan Oropeza
, Luis Lander, Raúl Ramos, Medardo Medina, Enrique H. Marín, Rafael Padrón, Fernando Peñalver
, Luis Augusto Dubuc, César Hernández, José V. Hernández and Ricardo Montilla. Gallegos was a highly prestigious writer, the author of the iconic novel, Doña Bárbara
(1929), among several others, while Andrés Eloy Blanco was a celebrated Venezuelan poet and a witty humoristic writer.
After the October 1945 revolution, Betancourt was President for a time, until Rómulo Gallegos
won the Venezuelan presidential election, 1947
(generally believed to be the first free and fair elections in Venezuela). Gallegos governed until overthrown by Marcos Pérez Jiménez
in the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état
. The 1945 - 48 period is known as the trienio. Many of its founders and early members went into exile during the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
, and returned for the restoration of democracy in 1958.
comfortably, and AD joined the 1958 Punto Fijo Pact
. The 1963 election
saw a solid victory for Raúl Leoni
, and AD also won in 1973
(Carlos Andrés Pérez
), in 1983
(Jaime Lusinchi
), and in 1988
(Carlos Andrés Pérez again). From 1958 to 1993 only two presidential elections were lost (to COPEI
, in 1978
and in 1968
) and one of those was only lost due to a major split in AD.
The Punto Fijo Pact collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of the AD president Carlos Andrés Pérez
for corruption, and the election in 1993
of former COPEI leader Rafael Caldera
on a National Convergence
electoral coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the 1998 election
of Hugo Chávez
.
was shaped by the split of Acción Democrática, with a substantial faction breaking away to form the Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo (MEP). The split happened after Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa
won the 1967 AD primary election
, only to see his nomination overturned by the Rómulo Betancourt
faction, in favour of Gonzalo Barrios
, considering Prieto too far left. Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate
as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters. The result was that the 1968 election was the first time AD lost power through an election, when COPEI
's Rafael Caldera
won with less than 30% of the vote, just ahead of AD's Barrios. Prieto Figueroa attained nearly 20%, attaining fourth place behind the Unión Republicana Democrática's Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas
.
An earlier split, in 1960, saw the Revolutionary Left Movement
break away from AD. Its engagement in armed struggle against the AD government meant the split posed rather less of an electoral problem than the later MEP split.
At the 2000 elections
for the new National Assembly of Venezuela
, the party won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-Copei
alliance. At the 2005 legislative elections
Democratic Action staged an electoral boycott
and consequently did not win any seats. the party is deeply fragmented but is trying to regain the trust of society and fight the government of Hugo Chávez Frías
.
The trade union
confederation CTV
is closely linked to AD.
Acción Democrática's current Secretary General is Henry Ramos.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
established in 1941. The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, and led the government during Venezuela's first democratic period (1945 - 1948). After an intervening decade of dictatorship (1948 - 1958) saw AD excluded from power, four presidents came from Acción Democrática from the 1960s to the 1990s. By the end of the 1990s, however, the party's credibility was almost nonexistent, mostly because of the corruption and poverty that Venezuelans experienced during the last two full-term administrations of the party's time in power, namely, those of Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...
(1984 - 1989) and Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
(1989 - 1993). The latter president was impeached for corruption in 1993, and spent several years in prison as a result. Since the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, a range of newer parties (such as A New Era
A New Era
A New Era is a centrist political party of Venezuela arising from the Third Way tradition. It is the largest party in Venezuela's fractured opposition, earning 11% of the vote in the 2008 gubernatorial elections...
and Justice First
Justice First
Justice First Movement is a centrist political party in Venezuela.-History:Primero Justicia was created in 1992 as a Civil Association by a group of university students who were concerned about what they saw as a deterioration of judicial power in the country and joined their efforts to...
) have been more prominent in opposition to Chávez.
Early years
The party and its antecedents played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy. The Agrupación Revolucionaria de Izquierda (ARDI) was founded in 1931 in Colombia by Rómulo BetancourtRómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...
and other exile Venezuelans. In 1936 this became the Movimiento de Organización Venezolana (ORVE), which was then dissolved into the Partido Democrático Nacional (PDN). Finally, in 1941, after Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita was a Venezuelan military and political leader, president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945....
legalized all political parties, Acción Democrática was founded by Betancourt and others. These included Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history....
, Andrés Eloy Blanco
Andrés Eloy Blanco
Andrés Eloy Blanco Meaño was an important Venezuelan poet, politician, member of the Generación del 28, and one of the founders of Acción Democrática ....
, Luis Beltrán Prieto
Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa
Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa , was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and Minister of Education in its first government , he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958...
, Juan Oropeza
Juan Oropeza
Juan Oropeza Riera was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, writer, educator and political science expert. He was born in Carora in the state of Lara, and was the younger brother of pediatrics pioneer, Pastor Oropeza Riera....
, Luis Lander, Raúl Ramos, Medardo Medina, Enrique H. Marín, Rafael Padrón, Fernando Peñalver
Fernando Peñalver
Fernando Peñalver , was a Venezuelan independence leader and hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence. He was the first governor of the Province of Carabobo . He is buried in the National Pantheon of Venezuela.- See also :...
, Luis Augusto Dubuc, César Hernández, José V. Hernández and Ricardo Montilla. Gallegos was a highly prestigious writer, the author of the iconic novel, Doña Bárbara
Doña Bárbara
Doña Bárbara is a novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, first published in 1929. It was described in 1974 as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel"....
(1929), among several others, while Andrés Eloy Blanco was a celebrated Venezuelan poet and a witty humoristic writer.
After the October 1945 revolution, Betancourt was President for a time, until Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history....
won the Venezuelan presidential election, 1947
Venezuelan presidential election, 1947
General elections were held in Venezuela on 14 December 1947. The presidential elections were won by Rómulo Gallegos of Democratic Action, who received 74.3% of the vote, whilst his party won 83 of the 110 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 38 of the 46 seats in the Senate. It was the first...
(generally believed to be the first free and fair elections in Venezuela). Gallegos governed until overthrown by Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
in the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état
1948 Venezuelan coup d'état
The 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état took place on 27 November 1948, when Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, Marcos Pérez Jiménez and Luis Felipe Llovera Páez overthrew the elected president Rómulo Gallegos. Gallegos had been elected in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1947 and taken office in February 1948...
. The 1945 - 48 period is known as the trienio. Many of its founders and early members went into exile during the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
, and returned for the restoration of democracy in 1958.
1958 - 1993
After the restoration of democracy, Betancourt won the Venezuelan presidential election, 1958Venezuelan presidential election, 1958
General elections were held in Venezuela on 7 December 1958. The presidential elections were won by Rómulo Betancourt of Democratic Action, who received 49.2% of the vote, whilst his party won 73 of the 132 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 32 of the 51 seats in the Senate...
comfortably, and AD joined the 1958 Punto Fijo Pact
Punto Fijo Pact
Punto Fijo Pact was a formal arrangement arrived at between representatives of Venezuela's three main political parties in 1958: Acción Democrática, COPEI and Unión Republicana Democrática, for the acceptance of the 1958 presidential elections, and the preservation of the rising democratic regime.-...
. The 1963 election
Venezuelan presidential election, 1963
General elections were held in Venezuela on 1 December 1963. The presidential elections were won by Raúl Leoni of Democratic Action, who received 32.8% of the vote, whilst his party won 66 of the 179 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 22 of the 47 seats in the Senate...
saw a solid victory for Raúl Leoni
Raúl Leoni
Raúl Leoni Otero was President of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He fought against the dictators Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and was a charter member of the Acción Democrática party....
, and AD also won in 1973
Venezuelan presidential election, 1973
General elections were held in Venezuela on 9 December 1973. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Andrés Pérez of Democratic Action, who received 48.7% of the vote, whilst his party won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Voter turnout was 96.5%.-President:-Congress:...
(Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
), in 1983
Venezuelan presidential election, 1983
General elections were held in Venezuela on 4 December 1983. The presidential elections were won by Jaime Lusinchi of Democratic Action, who received 58.4% of the vote, whilst his party won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate. Voter turnout was 87.3%.-President:-Congress:...
(Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...
), and in 1988
Venezuelan presidential election, 1988
General elections were held in Venezuela on 4 December 1988. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Andrés Pérez of Democratic Action, who received 52.9% of the vote, whilst his party won the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate...
(Carlos Andrés Pérez again). From 1958 to 1993 only two presidential elections were lost (to COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
, in 1978
Venezuelan presidential election, 1978
General elections were held in Venezuela on 3 December 1978. The presidential elections were won by Luis Herrera Campins of Copei, who received 46.6% of the vote. Although Copei received more votes, Democratic Action won the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies, whilst the two parties won 21 seats...
and in 1968
Venezuelan presidential election, 1968
General elections were held in Venezuela on 1 December 1968. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera of Copei, who received 29.1% of the vote, whilst Democratic Action remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate...
) and one of those was only lost due to a major split in AD.
The Punto Fijo Pact collapsed in the early 1990s in the face of a severe economic and political crisis, culminating in the impeachment of the AD president Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
for corruption, and the election in 1993
Venezuelan presidential election, 1993
General elections were held in Venezuela on 5 December 1993. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera of National Convergence, who received 30.5% of the vote. Democratic Action remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, which were elected on separate ballots for...
of former COPEI leader Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
on a National Convergence
National Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
electoral coalition platform. Caldera's failure to resolve the economic crisis created the political environment for the 1998 election
Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
In the Venezuelan presidential election of 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with the largest percentage of the popular vote in four decades...
of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
.
Splits
The 1969 presidential electionVenezuelan presidential election, 1968
General elections were held in Venezuela on 1 December 1968. The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera of Copei, who received 29.1% of the vote, whilst Democratic Action remained the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies and Senate...
was shaped by the split of Acción Democrática, with a substantial faction breaking away to form the Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo (MEP). The split happened after Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa
Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa
Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa , was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and Minister of Education in its first government , he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958...
won the 1967 AD primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, only to see his nomination overturned by the Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...
faction, in favour of Gonzalo Barrios
Gonzalo Barrios
Gonzalo Barrios Bustillos , was a Venezuelan politician. Founding member of party Acción Democrática , and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first AD government . Later Minister of Interior and Justice under Raúl Leoni ....
, considering Prieto too far left. Prieto Figueroa, at the time President of the Venezuelan Senate
Venezuelan Senate
The Venezuelan Senate was the upper house of Venezuela's legislative under its 1961 constitution. Under the 1999 constitution, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral National Assembly of Venezuela....
as well as President of AD, split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters. The result was that the 1968 election was the first time AD lost power through an election, when COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
's Rafael Caldera
Rafael Caldera
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
won with less than 30% of the vote, just ahead of AD's Barrios. Prieto Figueroa attained nearly 20%, attaining fourth place behind the Unión Republicana Democrática's Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas
Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas
Miguel Ángel Burelli Rivas , was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat and politician, presidential candidate in 1968, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, between 1994 until 1999....
.
An earlier split, in 1960, saw the Revolutionary Left Movement
Revolutionary Left Movement (Venezuela)
The Revolutionary Left Movement , was a left-wing Marxist political party in Venezuela...
break away from AD. Its engagement in armed struggle against the AD government meant the split posed rather less of an electoral problem than the later MEP split.
Recent history
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2000
A parliamentary election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 30 July 2000, having been postponed from the original date of 28 May for technical reasons. This was the first election held under Venezuela's newly adopted 1999 constitution...
for the new National Assembly of Venezuela
National Assembly of Venezuela
The National Assembly is the legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote partly by direct election in state-based voting districts, and partly on a state-based...
, the party won 29 out of 165 seats; four additional seats were won by an AD-Copei
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
alliance. At the 2005 legislative elections
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2005
The 2005 Venezuela parliamentary election took place on 4 December 2005. The election sent 167 deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela, 12 deputies to the Latin American Parliament and 5 deputies to the Andean Parliament...
Democratic Action staged an electoral boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
and consequently did not win any seats. the party is deeply fragmented but is trying to regain the trust of society and fight the government of Hugo Chávez Frías
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
.
The trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
confederation CTV
Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela
The Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela is a federation of labor unions in Venezuela. It has close links to the Democratic Action party....
is closely linked to AD.
Acción Democrática's current Secretary General is Henry Ramos.
Venezuelan Presidents from AD
| President | Dates in office | Form of entry | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century... |
1945–1948 | Coup d'état | Politician | |
| |Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history.... |
1948-1948 | Direct elections | Writer / Novelist | |
| Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century... |
1959–1964 | Direct elections | Politician | |
| |Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero was President of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He fought against the dictators Juan Vicente Gómez and Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and was a charter member of the Acción Democrática party.... |
1964–1969 | Direct elections | Lawyer | |
| |Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to... |
1974–1979 | Direct elections | Politician | |
| Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political... |
1984–1989 | Direct elections | Physician | |
| |Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to... |
1989–1993 | Direct elections | Politician | |
| Ramón José Velásquez Ramón José Velásquez Ramón José Velásquez Mujica is a Venezuelan political figure. He served as Acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994. He is known as a historian, journalist, lawyer, politician and entertainer of companies for his knowledge of the "national life".Velásquez was born in Táchira,Venezuela... |
1993–1994 | Interim president | Historian |