Eleazar López Contreras
Encyclopedia
José Eleazar López Contreras (5 May 1883 – 2 January 1973) was President of Venezuela (1935–1941). López was a general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez
's collaborators.
Eleazar López was the only child of Col. Manuel Maria López and Catalina Contreras. At three months old, his father died of yellow fever
in Cúcuta
(Colombia
), because of the political persecution, taking care of the family his uncle Presbyter Fernando Contreras. At the age of 15 received the degree in philosophy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus College, at the town of La Grita (Táchira). Initially, the young Eleazar was going to study medicine at the University of Mérida, the current University of the Andes, but joined to the Liberal Restauradora Revolution commanded by Cipriano Castro
and Juan Vicente Gómez
.
They fight numerous battles, being Captain assistant Battalion Liberator in 1899. In the battle of Tocuyito (12 September 1899), which ensured the triumph of the revolution, Lopez was wounded in the left arm by a bullet from a gun, which obliges it to undergo medical treatment. The general Gómez ensured his junior and transferred to Caracas, in the care of a family friend.
Eleazar López was designated as President of the Republic in 1 January 1936, after the concluded period of Juan Vicente Gómez
. Soon he was designated President for the period 1936-1942.
A military man, historian and politician, he was the last Commander in Chief of Venezuela. Eleazar López was born in Queniquea, Táchira
in 5 May 1883, and was one of the group of 60 that, with Cipriano Castro
, usurped power in 1899.
Unlike other military of the time, he was a career official. In 18 December 1935 the Executive Cabinet met in Maracay
, where it finished with the death of Gómez, and ordered the Presidency to López, who arrived to Caracas
on the 20th, where he was received by “a crowd as it had never been seen in the cradle of the Liberator”. The first thing that López issued was the decree of freedom for the political prisoners. In 14 February 1936, an uncontrollable mass manifestation took place. It requested the dissolution of the Congress with gomecista majority but settled for a Constituent Assembly.
ended with his death in 1935. Immediately, General López, was provisionally in charge of the Presidency, until the “National Congress” named him constitutional president, for the period 1936-1941. In the beginning of his presidency, the people fought in the streets against injustices, demanding to finish with the “gomecista inheritance”.
Those that channelled the general displeasure were the students of the Students Federation of Venezuela, the new political parties and their leaders just left the jails or return of exile. The government of López was relatively ample, especially in his first year. Among his measures we can mention the promulgation of the new National Constitution and a modern Labor Law (1936). Also, the February Program of 1936 and the Triennial Plan (1938) for economic and social progress. Also, new institutions were established: the National Pedagogical Institute, the National Office of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Communications, the Venezuelan Child Council, the Industrial Bank, the National Office of Currency, the National Office of Export Control, and, finally, already in 1940, the Central Bank of Venezuela; also, enacted was an Act of Government that ended with the signing of the "Treaty of Limits with Colombia
", on 5 April 1941, by means of which Venezuela lost 108,000 km² in territory.
On 2 January 1973, at the age of 89, Eleazar López died in Caracas
.
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...
's collaborators.
Eleazar López was the only child of Col. Manuel Maria López and Catalina Contreras. At three months old, his father died of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in Cúcuta
Cúcuta
Cúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...
(Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
), because of the political persecution, taking care of the family his uncle Presbyter Fernando Contreras. At the age of 15 received the degree in philosophy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus College, at the town of La Grita (Táchira). Initially, the young Eleazar was going to study medicine at the University of Mérida, the current University of the Andes, but joined to the Liberal Restauradora Revolution commanded by Cipriano Castro
Cipriano Castro
José Cipriano Castro Ruiz was a high ranking member of the Venezuelan military, politician and the President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908...
and Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...
.
They fight numerous battles, being Captain assistant Battalion Liberator in 1899. In the battle of Tocuyito (12 September 1899), which ensured the triumph of the revolution, Lopez was wounded in the left arm by a bullet from a gun, which obliges it to undergo medical treatment. The general Gómez ensured his junior and transferred to Caracas, in the care of a family friend.
Eleazar López was designated as President of the Republic in 1 January 1936, after the concluded period of Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...
. Soon he was designated President for the period 1936-1942.
A military man, historian and politician, he was the last Commander in Chief of Venezuela. Eleazar López was born in Queniquea, Táchira
Táchira (state)
Táchira State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal.Táchira State covers a total surface area of 11,100 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 1,177,300....
in 5 May 1883, and was one of the group of 60 that, with Cipriano Castro
Cipriano Castro
José Cipriano Castro Ruiz was a high ranking member of the Venezuelan military, politician and the President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1908...
, usurped power in 1899.
Unlike other military of the time, he was a career official. In 18 December 1935 the Executive Cabinet met in Maracay
Maracay
Maracay is a city in north-central Venezuela, near the Caribbean coast, and is the capital and most important city of the state of Aragua. Most of it falls under the jurisdiction of the Girardot Municipality. The population as per the 2001 census was 750,000...
, where it finished with the death of Gómez, and ordered the Presidency to López, who arrived to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
on the 20th, where he was received by “a crowd as it had never been seen in the cradle of the Liberator”. The first thing that López issued was the decree of freedom for the political prisoners. In 14 February 1936, an uncontrollable mass manifestation took place. It requested the dissolution of the Congress with gomecista majority but settled for a Constituent Assembly.
General aspects of López government (1936-1941)
The dictatorship of Juan Vicente GómezJuan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón was a military general and de facto ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, and ruled as an unelected military strongman for the rest of the era.-Early years:Gómez was a barely literate cattle herder and...
ended with his death in 1935. Immediately, General López, was provisionally in charge of the Presidency, until the “National Congress” named him constitutional president, for the period 1936-1941. In the beginning of his presidency, the people fought in the streets against injustices, demanding to finish with the “gomecista inheritance”.
Those that channelled the general displeasure were the students of the Students Federation of Venezuela, the new political parties and their leaders just left the jails or return of exile. The government of López was relatively ample, especially in his first year. Among his measures we can mention the promulgation of the new National Constitution and a modern Labor Law (1936). Also, the February Program of 1936 and the Triennial Plan (1938) for economic and social progress. Also, new institutions were established: the National Pedagogical Institute, the National Office of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Communications, the Venezuelan Child Council, the Industrial Bank, the National Office of Currency, the National Office of Export Control, and, finally, already in 1940, the Central Bank of Venezuela; also, enacted was an Act of Government that ended with the signing of the "Treaty of Limits with Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
", on 5 April 1941, by means of which Venezuela lost 108,000 km² in territory.
López Contreras cabinet (1935-1941)
| Ministries | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | Eleazar López Contreras | 1935–1941 |
| Home Affairs | Pedro Tinoco | 1935–1936 |
| Diógenes Escalante | 1936 | |
| Alejandro Lara | 1936 | |
| Régulo Olivares | 1936–1937 | |
| Alfonso Mejía | 1937–1938 | |
| Luis Gerónimo Pietri | 1938–1941 | |
| Outer Relations | Pedro Itriago Chacín Pedro Itriago Chacín Pedro Itriago Chacín , was a Venezuelan lawyer, professor, politician and diplomat. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela from 1921 to 1936.... |
1935–1936 |
| Esteban Gil Borges Esteban Gil Borges Esteban Gil Borges , was a Venezuelan politician, diplomat, writer and university professor.Being born in Caracas, graduates as lawyer and doctor in political sciences at the Central University of Venezuela in 1898, after that joins the Venezuelan Foreign Service, working as lawyer for the border... |
1936–1941 | |
| Finance | Efraim González | 1935–1936 |
| Gustavo Herrera Gustavo Herrera Gustavo Herrera Grau , was a Venezuelan lawyer and diplomat. Being born in 1890, were his parents Aureliano Hernandez Irigoyen and Dolores Grau Duarte, studied primary in the German Catholic School of Caracas administrated by teachers Luis Ezpelosín and Agustin Aveledo, in 1916 graduates as Doctor... |
1936 | |
| Alejandro Lara | 1936 | |
| Alberto Adriani | 1936 | |
| Cristóbal L. Mendoza | 1937–1938 | |
| Francisco J. Parra | 1938–1941 | |
| War and Navy | Antonio Chalbaud Cardona | 1935–1936 |
| Isaías Medina Angarita Isaías Medina Angarita Isaías Medina Angarita was a Venezuelan military and political leader, president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945.... |
1936–1941 | |
| Development | Pedro París | 1936 |
| Nestor Luis Pérez | 1936–1938 | |
| Manuel R. Egaña | 1938–1941 | |
| Public Works | Antonio Díaz | 1935–1936 |
| Tomás Pacaninis | 1936–1938 | |
| Enrique Jorge Aguerrevere | 1938–1941 | |
| Public Instruction | R. González Rincones | 1935–1936 |
| José Ramón Ayala | 1936 | |
| Caracciolo Parra Pérez | 1936 | |
| 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.... |
1936 | |
| Alberto Smith | 1936–1937 | |
| Rafael Ernesto López | 1937–1938 | |
| Henrique Tejera | 1938–1939 | |
| Arturo Uslar Pietri Arturo Uslar Pietri Arturo Uslar Pietri , was a Venezuelan intellectual, lawyer, journalist, writer, television producer and politician.- Life :... |
1939–1941 | |
| Sanity and Agriculture | R. González Rincones | 1935–1936 |
| Health and Social Assistance | Henrique Tejera | 1936 |
| Santos A. Dominici | 1936–1937 | |
| Honorio Sigala | 1937–1938 | |
| Julio García Álvarez | 1938–1941 | |
| Agriculture | Alberto Adriani | 1936 |
| Alfonso Mejía | 1936–1937 | |
| Hugo Parra Pérez | 1937–1938 | |
| Amenodoro Rangel Lamus | 1938–1939 | |
| Alfonso Mejía | 1939–1941 | |
| Communications | Francisco H. Rivero | 1936 |
| Honorio Sigala | 1936 | |
| Alejandro Lara | 1936–1937 | |
| Luis Gerónimo Pietri | 1937–1938 | |
| Héctor Cuenca | 1938–1939 | |
| José Rafael Pocaterra | 1939–1941 | |
| Secretary of Presidency | Francisco Parra | 1936 |
| Diógenes Escalante | 1936–1938 | |
| Alfonso Mejía | 1938–1941 | |
On 2 January 1973, at the age of 89, Eleazar López died in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
.
See also
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , 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...
- President of Venezuela