Henri Falcón
Encyclopedia
Henri Falcón Fuentes is a Venezuela
n politician. He was mayor for two consecutive terms of Barquisimeto
, Iribarren Municipality
and is the current governor of Lara State.
State 17 June 1961, Falcón began his secondary studies at Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela
until he entered in the armed forces of Venezuela in Caracas
as non-commissioned officer of the army. He left the army with the rank of Maestro Técnico de Primera (the third highest of the eight ranks of sub-officials in the Venezuelan military). In 1987 he married Marielba Díaz, with whom he had four children. In 1992 he began his graduate studies in political science at Simón Bolívar University.
shortly before the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, and through Chávez met Luis Reyes Reyes (who later would be the Governor of Lara between 2000 and 2008). Falcón was elected as a delegate to the National Constituent Assembly from Lara State.
with an overwhelming 64.33% of the vote.
He also managed to attract part of the opposition vote for the regional elections of 2008
into the Alianza Eficiente grouping, making him the governor who obtained the largest percentage of support of any in Venezuela, with 73.15% of the votes (448,536 votes), mostly contributed by the PSUV (324,814 votes, which represented 72.41% of the total of the votes received by Falcón and 53.24% of the total vote in Lara), although with the result that REF became the third largest party of Lara with 33,545 votes (7.47% of the total number of votes received by Falcón and 5.49% of the total vote in Lara).
After the elections, the Legislative Council of Lara State remained consisted of 12 legislators of the PSUV and one each from Patria Para Todos (PPT, "Fatherland for All"), the Communist Party of Venezuela
(PCV) and Accion Democratica (AD).
Nevertheless, sectors insinuated that Falcón wanted to create a divisive current, and that all who had double party membership should be submitted to investigation, there being six PSUV legislators with in the so-called "Alianza Eficiente": Omar Jiménez, Zenaida de Salas, Leída Lara, Grace Lucena, Ernesto Sepúlveda and Reina Orellana.
Falcón did not support Chávez's 2009 Venezuelan Constitutional Referendum
, which was ultimately supported by the Venezuelan electorate.
PSUV. On 21 February 2010 Governor Falcón, at the time called a "Chavista light", gave a letter to President Hugo Chávez declaring his resignation from the Government party the PSUV, to join the more independent pro-government party Patria Para Todos (PPT, "Fatherland for All"), and to become a member of the latter party's national directorate. Falcón declared that "The relation between a Head of state and the governors and mayors cannot be limited to the emission of instructions or orders without the minimum opportunity that we can confront points of view, to analyze the pros and the cons of your determined initiatives and to revise or to revoke decisions that, after their execution, turn out to be harmful or objections to the interest of the region or of the country".
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 politician. He was mayor for two consecutive terms of Barquisimeto
Barquisimeto
Barquisimeto is the capital city of the State of Lara located in west central Venezuela, halfway between Caracas and Maracaibo on the Turbio River.-Overview:...
, Iribarren Municipality
Iribarren Municipality
The Iribarren Municipality is one of the nine municipalities that makes up the Venezuelan state of Lara and, according to a 2007 population estimate by the National Institute of Statistics of Venezuela, the municipality has a population of 1,027,022...
and is the current governor of Lara State.
Background
Born in Nirgua, YaracuyYaracuy
Yaracuy State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is bordered by Falcón in the north, in the west by Lara, in the south by Portuguesa and Cojedes and in the east by Cojedes and Carabobo....
State 17 June 1961, Falcón began his secondary studies at Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela
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...
until he entered in the armed forces of Venezuela 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...
as non-commissioned officer of the army. He left the army with the rank of Maestro Técnico de Primera (the third highest of the eight ranks of sub-officials in the Venezuelan military). In 1987 he married Marielba Díaz, with whom he had four children. In 1992 he began his graduate studies in political science at Simón Bolívar University.
Career
During his studies in Caracas he met Hugo ChávezHugo 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...
shortly before the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts, and through Chávez met Luis Reyes Reyes (who later would be the Governor of Lara between 2000 and 2008). Falcón was elected as a delegate to the National Constituent Assembly from Lara State.
Mayor
In the regional elections of 2000, he was elected mayor the city of Barquisimeto, Iribarren Municipality, the third most populous city in Venezuela, earning 51.61% of the vote. He was reelected in the regional elections of 2004Venezuelan regional elections, 2004
The Venezuelan regional elections, 2004 took place on 31 October 2004.Candidates supporting Hugo Chavez won 21 out of the 23 governorships, as well as the metropolitan Caracas government. Wins included the opposition strongholds of Carabobo and Miranda. In addition, pro-government candidates won...
with an overwhelming 64.33% of the vote.
Governor of Lara State
Falcón's campaign for governor of Lara was characterized, in contrast to other the candidates of the pro-government PSUV, by his failure to use images of himself with Chávez in his banners, posters and placards, as well as by promoting the candidates of his own REF party and its allied Movimiento Revolucionario Larense (MRL, "Revolutionary Movement of Lara") and Gestión que se Siente (GES, "Management that Feels"), which together formed the Alianza Eficiente ("Efficient Alliance"). Nevertheless, all had the backing of the PSUV.He also managed to attract part of the opposition vote for the regional elections of 2008
Venezuelan regional elections, 2008
The regional elections of Venezuela were held on Sunday, 23 November 2008, to choose22 governors, 2 metropolitan mayors, 328 mayors and 251 aldermen for a four-year term . These were the first elections to be held since incumbent President Hugo Chávez founded the PSUV.In these elections, 17,308...
into the Alianza Eficiente grouping, making him the governor who obtained the largest percentage of support of any in Venezuela, with 73.15% of the votes (448,536 votes), mostly contributed by the PSUV (324,814 votes, which represented 72.41% of the total of the votes received by Falcón and 53.24% of the total vote in Lara), although with the result that REF became the third largest party of Lara with 33,545 votes (7.47% of the total number of votes received by Falcón and 5.49% of the total vote in Lara).
After the elections, the Legislative Council of Lara State remained consisted of 12 legislators of the PSUV and one each from Patria Para Todos (PPT, "Fatherland for All"), the Communist Party of Venezuela
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela...
(PCV) and Accion Democratica (AD).
Nevertheless, sectors insinuated that Falcón wanted to create a divisive current, and that all who had double party membership should be submitted to investigation, there being six PSUV legislators with in the so-called "Alianza Eficiente": Omar Jiménez, Zenaida de Salas, Leída Lara, Grace Lucena, Ernesto Sepúlveda and Reina Orellana.
Falcón did not support Chávez's 2009 Venezuelan Constitutional Referendum
Venezuelan constitutional referendum, 2009
The 2009 referendum was a vote in which the citizens of Venezuela approved Amendment No. 1 of the Constitution of Venezuela; this abolished term limits for the offices of President, state governors, mayors and National Assembly deputies.The current constitution, enacted in 1999 by referendum,...
, which was ultimately supported by the Venezuelan electorate.
Party switch
In 2007, Chávez's party Movimiento V República (MVR, "Fifth Republic Movement"), of which Falcón was a member had been transformed into the United Socialist Party of VenezuelaUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela is the name of a democratic socialist political party in Venezuela which resulted from the fusion of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivarian Revolution led by incumbent President Hugo Chávez...
PSUV. On 21 February 2010 Governor Falcón, at the time called a "Chavista light", gave a letter to President Hugo Chávez declaring his resignation from the Government party the PSUV, to join the more independent pro-government party Patria Para Todos (PPT, "Fatherland for All"), and to become a member of the latter party's national directorate. Falcón declared that "The relation between a Head of state and the governors and mayors cannot be limited to the emission of instructions or orders without the minimum opportunity that we can confront points of view, to analyze the pros and the cons of your determined initiatives and to revise or to revoke decisions that, after their execution, turn out to be harmful or objections to the interest of the region or of the country".