Jaime Lusinchi
Encyclopedia
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuela
n 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 system established in 1958.
Accused of corruption after leaving office, Lusinchi was popular during his presidency, and was succeeded by a member of his party, Carlos Andrés Pérez
.
Jaime Lusinchi was born in Clarines
, Anzoátegui
, on 27 May 1924. His mother María Angelica Lusinchi, from an Italian-Corsican descent, gave him her family name, growing up without the presence of a father (who probably was an Italian immigrant). Lusinchi attended elementary school in his native Clarines and Puerto Píritu
, and high school at the Federa School of Barcelona, Anzoátegui
. In 1941 started to study Medicine at the University of the Andes in Mérida
, but soon moved to Caracas
continuing his career at the Central University of Venezuela
graduating in 1947.
From 1937, at the age of 15, Lusinchi vinculated to the National Democratic Party, organization created by Rómulo Betancourt
against the government of Eleazar López Contreras
. In 1941, Lusinchi was present at the foundation of the social democratic party Acción Democrática. The same year he married Gladys Castillo.
During his time on college, Lusinchi stood out as a political activist, was secretary of the School Medicine Council, vice president of the Venezuelan Association of Youth, and vice president of the Student Federation of Venezuela, a Radical organization with influences of Marxism, being part of the revolutionary movement of 19 October 1945, which overthrew the government of Isaías Medina Angarita
. In 1948, was elected president of the Municipal Council of Freites District and president of the Legislative Assembly of Anzoátegui, as well as regional secretary of Acción Democrática.
After the overthrow of Rómulo Gallegos
by a military coup, on 24 November 1948, Lusinchi continued carrying out political activities whilst in hiding from the authorities. He worked in a hospital belonging to the oil company Mene Grande in San Tomé (Anzoátegui state) - however he soon moved to Caracas to avoid the persecution of security forces, who arrested him several times.
In Caracas he was part of the clandestine organization of Acción Democrática, which in coordination with the leadership in exile established resistance to the dictatorship. Lusinchi acquired responsibilities in the national secretariats of organization and propaganda, and was a member of the party's Political Bureau. In 1950 he was one of the organizers of the nationwide strike of oil workers. After the 1952 election fraud, which dissolved the Civic-Military Junta and began the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
, Lusinchi was captured and imprisoned at the National Security.
A month later he was transferred to the Cárcel Modelo (Model Prison) in Caracas, and was released shortly after that, beginning an exile of five years in Argentina
, Chile
and the United States. During his stay in Buenos Aires
and Santiago de Chile, he undertook postgraduate study in Pediatrics. He resided in Santiago from 1953 and worked at Roberto del Río Hospital. In addition, he struck up friendships with prominent figures in local politics, such as the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva
and the socialist Salvador Allende
.
In 1956 moved to New York City, which was the focal point of Acción Democrática's leadership in exile, with Betancourt as principal leader. At this city, Lusinchi gets a master's degree in pediatrics, at Lincoln Hospital
and the Bellevue Hospital Center
, joining the American Academy of Pediatrics. On 23 January 1958, democracy was restored in Venezuela. After the fall of Pérez Jiménez Government, Lusinchi returns from exile, and joined the National Executive Committee of Acción Democrática as secretary for International Affairs. In the 1959 General Elections he was elected deputy for Anzoátegui for the National Congress, being re-elected in 1963, 1968 and 1973.
In 1977, Lusinchi unsuccessfully ran for the presidential candidacy of Acción Democrática at the 1978 elections, being defeated by Luis Piñerúa Ordaz (who lost against the candidate of COPEI
, Luis Herrera Campins
). After this, Lusinchi was elected senator for the 1979-1984 period. On March, 1981 he was elected General Secretary of Acción Democrática, and on 29 June 1982, he was proclaimed as a candidate for the 1983 elections.
On 4 December 1983, Lusinchi with 56% of the votes, won the presidency, and Acción Democrática obtained an absolute majority at the Congress. On 2 February 1984, he was sworn in as President of Venezuela for a five-year term.
Lusinchi started his presidency at the age of 59, promising to govern with fairness, transparency, social sensitivity and austerity in the use of public funds, presenting himself as a moderate president.
The first three years of his presidency were characterized by efforts to achieve economy stability, the paying off of the foreign debts, the reduction of public spending, the implementation of social programs benefiting the people and the promotion of industrial growth. These goals were not accomplished. However, agriculture and the iron mining industry were developed during his administration, the country achieved positive growth rates at the end of 1984, with a growth rate of 6% in GDP, but the official rate of unemployment inherited from Herrera´s
government was 20%.
During this period, the government started negotiations to restructure interest payments and amortizations of the foreign debt, which in 1985 was 36 billion dollars (of which 28 were from the public sector), contracted with the international private banking and multilateral agencies. The first positive result of this serious effort was that Venezuela regained a credit-eligibility rating. In addition, Lusinchi took initiatives to increase oil prices via OPEC
.
However, Lusinchi was not successful at crucial goals for the development of the country. The oil market was too unstable due to price fluctuations and thus unpredictable, the oil prices were low, and the Venezuelan economy was too oil-dependent. This led to a dismal situation due to an excessively high government fiscal budget, depleting financial reserves for the payment of debt, an important pledge made during Lusinchi's presidetial campaign.
1985, was characterized by a relative social peace and the absence of labor disputes and strikes, in part due to the support of the government by the largest trade union of the country, the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela, which had traditionally been closely linked to Acción Democrática. During this year, Lusinchi welcomed John Paul II, the first Pope ever to visit Venezuela. But in the second half of his presidency, the social malaise grew, and the government was pressed to change the direction of its policies. In December 1986, the government decided to devalue the official exchange of the national currency bolivar
by 93%, culminating with three years of depreciation of the national currency from February, 1983, also introduces a system of multiple currency changes. In 1987, Lusinchi finally stopped the economic program carried out from the beginning of his term in office, and gave up his attempts to pay off the external debt, control the fiscal deficit and restrain public spending.
After that, he decreed salary increases, price controls, emission of currency and compensatory bonds for subsidies. These measures tried to appease social tensions, that from 1987 appeared with more intensity. The consequences of this economic program were, more inflation and budget deficits.
The return to economic populism like previous administrations safeguarded Lusinchi's popularity, although currency devaluation, corruption, media criticism and unsatisfactory results at the Presidential Commission for State Reform (COPRE), established on 17 December 1984 and whose work encountered the same bureaucratic problems and administrative inefficiency, which it attempted to solve.
During Lusinchi's presidency some repudable incidents also occurred, such as the Yumare massacre
, in Yaracuy, on 8 May 1986 carried out by the DISIP (political police of Venezuela), executing nine members of the subversive group Punto Cero; and the massacre of El Amparo
, in Apure State, on 29 October 1988, in which 14 fishermen were mistakenly assumed to be guerrillas and killed by the army.
Lusinchi supported the former minister and political leader Octavio Lepage
in his bid to be AD's candidate for the 1988 elections, but Lepage was defeated in the internal elections of the party on October, 1987, by the former president Carlos Andrés Pérez
. Pérez was elected for a new period at the presidency in 1988. Lusinchi finished his term in office on 2 February 1989.
and Caracas
. In the place where is celebrated Pope's ceremony in Caracas, will be built years later a housing complex with the name John Paul II, which unfortunately, is tarnished by a corruption scandal.
is incursionated by the Colombian corvette Caldas, creating an extreme crisis in Colombian-Venezuelan relations, being near of an armed confrontation, those are days of military movements in both countries. The crisis was resolved by dialogue between presidents Jaime Lusinchi and Virgilio Barco.
On November, 1991, the Venezuelan Congress issued a "political and moral condemnation," without criminal referrals, against the former president, for his responsibility for economic mismanagement and administrative irregularities during his government. On 10 August 1993, while the public attention was dominated by the legal and political troubles of Carlos Andrés Pérez, the Supreme Court, after finding evidence of crime in the charges filed against Lusinchi, provided by the Attorney General's Office, started the proceedings.
On 13 August, Lusinchi was stripped of his senatorial immunity, and is prohibited by a judge from leaving of country. Lusinchi responded by, flying to Miami and then to Costa Rica
, where meets with Blanca Ibañez, who in September, 1991, became his wife in a wedding held in New York City, after obtaining the divorce from Gladys Castillo. On July, 1994 and February, 1997, were declared prescribed by a court, the trials opened against the former president for the use of funds from the Foreigns Affair Ministry and the National Institute of Hippodromes, but on October, 1999 the Supreme Court reversed both decisions. However, although the process was reopened, the corruption charges expired.
In addition, on June, 2006, the former president, seven former officials of his government and 38 retired officials of the DISIP were accused at the 6th control court of Yaracuy, by relatives of the victims of the Yumare massacre. Jaime Lusinchi lives in self-imposed exile at the city of Miami.
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 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 system established in 1958.
Accused of corruption after leaving office, Lusinchi was popular during his presidency, and was succeeded by a member of his party, 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...
.
Life and career
Clarines
Clarines is a town in Venezuela's Anzoátegui State, located from Puerto La Cruz, and . from Puerto Piritu. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual Municipality. The estimated population is 15,000 .-History:...
, Anzoátegui
Anzoátegui
Anzoátegui State , is one of the 23 component states of Venezuela, located in the northeastern region of the country. Anzoátegui is well known for its beautiful beaches that attract many visitors. Its coast consists of a single beach approximately 100 km long...
, on 27 May 1924. His mother María Angelica Lusinchi, from an Italian-Corsican descent, gave him her family name, growing up without the presence of a father (who probably was an Italian immigrant). Lusinchi attended elementary school in his native Clarines and Puerto Píritu
Puerto Píritu
Puerto Píritu is a Venezuelan city located in the north-central coast of Anzoátegui State, with a population more than 11,000. It is the capital of the Fernando de Peñalver Municipality, and located 46 km from the centre of Barcelona, the capital of the State.The current Puerto Píritu, founded...
, and high school at the Federa School of Barcelona, Anzoátegui
Barcelona, Anzoátegui
Barcelona is the capital of Anzoátegui State, Venezuela and was founded in 1671. Together with Puerto La Cruz, Lecheria and Guanta, Barcelona forms one of the most important urban areas of Venezuela with a population of approximately 950,000.-History:...
. In 1941 started to study Medicine at the University of the Andes in Mérida
Mérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
, but soon moved 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...
continuing his career at the Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
graduating in 1947.
From 1937, at the age of 15, Lusinchi vinculated to the National Democratic Party, organization created by 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...
against the government of Eleazar López Contreras
Eleazar López Contreras
José Eleazar López Contreras was President of Venezuela . 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...
. In 1941, Lusinchi was present at the foundation of the social democratic party Acción Democrática. The same year he married Gladys Castillo.
During his time on college, Lusinchi stood out as a political activist, was secretary of the School Medicine Council, vice president of the Venezuelan Association of Youth, and vice president of the Student Federation of Venezuela, a Radical organization with influences of Marxism, being part of the revolutionary movement of 19 October 1945, which overthrew the government of Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita
Isaías Medina Angarita was a Venezuelan military and political leader, president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945....
. In 1948, was elected president of the Municipal Council of Freites District and president of the Legislative Assembly of Anzoátegui, as well as regional secretary of Acción Democrática.
After the overthrow of 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....
by a military coup, on 24 November 1948, Lusinchi continued carrying out political activities whilst in hiding from the authorities. He worked in a hospital belonging to the oil company Mene Grande in San Tomé (Anzoátegui state) - however he soon moved to Caracas to avoid the persecution of security forces, who arrested him several times.
In Caracas he was part of the clandestine organization of Acción Democrática, which in coordination with the leadership in exile established resistance to the dictatorship. Lusinchi acquired responsibilities in the national secretariats of organization and propaganda, and was a member of the party's Political Bureau. In 1950 he was one of the organizers of the nationwide strike of oil workers. After the 1952 election fraud, which dissolved the Civic-Military Junta and began 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...
, Lusinchi was captured and imprisoned at the National Security.
A month later he was transferred to the Cárcel Modelo (Model Prison) in Caracas, and was released shortly after that, beginning an exile of five years in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and the United States. During his stay in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
and Santiago de Chile, he undertook postgraduate study in Pediatrics. He resided in Santiago from 1953 and worked at Roberto del Río Hospital. In addition, he struck up friendships with prominent figures in local politics, such as the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader of world stature. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and president of Chile from 1964 to 1970...
and the socialist Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
.
In 1956 moved to New York City, which was the focal point of Acción Democrática's leadership in exile, with Betancourt as principal leader. At this city, Lusinchi gets a master's degree in pediatrics, at Lincoln Hospital
Lincoln Hospital
Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, founded in 1839, is in the South Bronx region of New York City, aggressively tackling issues such as asthma, obesity, cancer, diabetes and tuberculosis. It is known for innovative programs addressing the specific needs of the community it serves...
and the Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital Center
Bellevue Hospital Center, most often referred to as "Bellevue", was founded on March 31, 1736 and is the oldest public hospital in the United States. Located on First Avenue in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, Bellevue is famous from many literary, film and television...
, joining the American Academy of Pediatrics. On 23 January 1958, democracy was restored in Venezuela. After the fall of Pérez Jiménez Government, Lusinchi returns from exile, and joined the National Executive Committee of Acción Democrática as secretary for International Affairs. In the 1959 General Elections he was elected deputy for Anzoátegui for the National Congress, being re-elected in 1963, 1968 and 1973.
In 1977, Lusinchi unsuccessfully ran for the presidential candidacy of Acción Democrática at the 1978 elections, being defeated by Luis Piñerúa Ordaz (who lost against the candidate of 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...
, Luis Herrera Campins
Luis Herrera Campins
Luis Antonio Herrera Campins was President of Venezuela from 1979 to 1984. He was elected to one five-year term in 1978. He was a member of the COPEI party.- Early Life and career:...
). After this, Lusinchi was elected senator for the 1979-1984 period. On March, 1981 he was elected General Secretary of Acción Democrática, and on 29 June 1982, he was proclaimed as a candidate for the 1983 elections.
On 4 December 1983, Lusinchi with 56% of the votes, won the presidency, and Acción Democrática obtained an absolute majority at the Congress. On 2 February 1984, he was sworn in as President of Venezuela for a five-year term.
Presidency
The first three years of his presidency were characterized by efforts to achieve economy stability, the paying off of the foreign debts, the reduction of public spending, the implementation of social programs benefiting the people and the promotion of industrial growth. These goals were not accomplished. However, agriculture and the iron mining industry were developed during his administration, the country achieved positive growth rates at the end of 1984, with a growth rate of 6% in GDP, but the official rate of unemployment inherited from Herrera´s
Luis Herrera Campins
Luis Antonio Herrera Campins was President of Venezuela from 1979 to 1984. He was elected to one five-year term in 1978. He was a member of the COPEI party.- Early Life and career:...
government was 20%.
During this period, the government started negotiations to restructure interest payments and amortizations of the foreign debt, which in 1985 was 36 billion dollars (of which 28 were from the public sector), contracted with the international private banking and multilateral agencies. The first positive result of this serious effort was that Venezuela regained a credit-eligibility rating. In addition, Lusinchi took initiatives to increase oil prices via OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
.
| Venezuelan Presidential election 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Results http://www.cne.gov.ve/estadisticas/e006.pdf | |||||||||||||||||||||
EWLINE
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However, Lusinchi was not successful at crucial goals for the development of the country. The oil market was too unstable due to price fluctuations and thus unpredictable, the oil prices were low, and the Venezuelan economy was too oil-dependent. This led to a dismal situation due to an excessively high government fiscal budget, depleting financial reserves for the payment of debt, an important pledge made during Lusinchi's presidetial campaign.
1985, was characterized by a relative social peace and the absence of labor disputes and strikes, in part due to the support of the government by the largest trade union of the country, the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela, which had traditionally been closely linked to Acción Democrática. During this year, Lusinchi welcomed John Paul II, the first Pope ever to visit Venezuela. But in the second half of his presidency, the social malaise grew, and the government was pressed to change the direction of its policies. In December 1986, the government decided to devalue the official exchange of the national currency bolivar
Venezuelan bolívar
The bolívar fuerte is the currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos and replaced the bolívar at the rate of Bs.F. 1 = Bs...
by 93%, culminating with three years of depreciation of the national currency from February, 1983, also introduces a system of multiple currency changes. In 1987, Lusinchi finally stopped the economic program carried out from the beginning of his term in office, and gave up his attempts to pay off the external debt, control the fiscal deficit and restrain public spending.
The return to economic populism like previous administrations safeguarded Lusinchi's popularity, although currency devaluation, corruption, media criticism and unsatisfactory results at the Presidential Commission for State Reform (COPRE), established on 17 December 1984 and whose work encountered the same bureaucratic problems and administrative inefficiency, which it attempted to solve.
During Lusinchi's presidency some repudable incidents also occurred, such as the Yumare massacre
Yumare Massacre
The Yumare Massacre was an incident in which the DISIP executed nine unarmed members of the subversive group Punto Cero. It took place on 8 May 1986 in Yaracuy state, Venezuela...
, in Yaracuy, on 8 May 1986 carried out by the DISIP (political police of Venezuela), executing nine members of the subversive group Punto Cero; and the massacre of El Amparo
Massacre of El Amparo
The Massacre of El Amparo was a massacre of 14 fishermen which took place near the village of El Amparo, in Venezuela's western state of Apure, on 29 October 1988...
, in Apure State, on 29 October 1988, in which 14 fishermen were mistakenly assumed to be guerrillas and killed by the army.
Lusinchi supported the former minister and political leader Octavio Lepage
Octavio Lepage
Octavio Lepage Barreto, was Acting President of Venezuela from 21 May 1993 to 5 June 1993....
in his bid to be AD's candidate for the 1988 elections, but Lepage was defeated in the internal elections of the party on October, 1987, by the former 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...
. Pérez was elected for a new period at the presidency in 1988. Lusinchi finished his term in office on 2 February 1989.
Lusinchi's cabinet (1984-1989)
| Ministries | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | Jaime Lusinchi | 1984–1989 |
| Home Affairs | Octavio Lepage Octavio Lepage Octavio Lepage Barreto, was Acting President of Venezuela from 21 May 1993 to 5 June 1993.... |
1984–1986 |
| José Ángel Ciliberto | 1986–1988 | |
| Simón Alberto Consalvi Simón Alberto Consalvi Simón Alberto Consalvi , is a Venezuelan politician, journalist, diplomat and historian. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela on two occasions , Minister of Interior and Justice , Secretary of the Presidency , and also held several Ambassadorships... |
1988–1989 | |
| Outer Relations | Isidro Morales Paúl | 1984–1985 |
| Simón Alberto Consalvi | 1985–1986 | |
| Germán Nava Carrillo | 1986–1989 | |
| Finance | Manuel Azpúrua Arreaza | 1984–1987 |
| Héctor Hurtado | 1987–1989 | |
| Defense | Humberto Alcalde Álvarez | 1984 |
| Andrés Brito Martínez | 1984–1986 | |
| José Cardozo Grimaldi | 1986–1987 | |
| Heliodoro Guerrero | 1987–1988 | |
| Italo del Valle Alliegro | 1988–1989 | |
| Development | Héctor Hurtado | 1984–1986 |
| José Ángel Ciliberto | 1986 | |
| Gustavo Mirabal Bustillos | 1986–1987 | |
| Héctor Meneses | 1987–1989 | |
| Transport and communications | Juan Pedro del Moral | 1984–1988 |
| Vicente Pérez Cayena | 1988–1989 | |
| Education | Ruth Lerner de Almea | 1984–1985 |
| Luis Manuel Carbonell | 1985–1987 | |
| Pedro Cabello Poleo | 1987–1988 | |
| Laura Castillo de Gourfinkel | 1988–1989 | |
| Justice | José Manzo González | 1984–1988 |
| Pedro Torres Agudo | 1988–1989 | |
| Mines and Hydrocarbons | Arturo Hernández Grisanti | 1984–1988 |
| Julio César Gil | 1988–1989 | |
| Environment | Orlando Castejón | 1984 |
| Juan Francisco Otaola Paván | 1984–1986 | |
| Guillermo Colmenares Finol | 1986–1989 | |
| José Arnaldo Puigbó Motales | 1988–1989 | |
| Agriculture | Felipe Gómez Álvarez | 1984–1988 |
| Wenceslao Mantilla | 1988–1989 | |
| Labor | Simón Antonio Paván | 1984–1988 |
| José Arnaldo Puigbó Morales | 1988–1989 | |
| Health and Social Assistance | Luis Maniel Manzanilla | 1984–1985 |
| Otto Hernández Pieretti | 1985–1987 | |
| Francisco Montbrum | 1987–1989 | |
| Urban Development | Rafael Martín Guédez | 1984–1986 |
| César Quintana Romero | 1986–1989 | |
| Youth | Milena Sardi de Selle | 1984–1987 |
| Virginia Olivo de Celli | 1987–1989 | |
| Secretary of Presidency | Simón Alberto Consalvi | 1984–1985 |
| Carmelo Lauría Lesseur | 1985–1988 | |
| Carlos Croes | 1988–1989 | |
| Office of Coordination and Planification | Luis Raúl Matos Azócar | 1984–1986 |
| Leopoldo Carnevali | 1986–1988 | |
| Modesto Freites | 1988–1989 | |
| CVG Corporación Venezolana de Guayana The Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana is a decentralized state-owned Venezuelan conglomerate, located in the Guayana Region in the southeast of the country. Its subsidiaries include the aluminium producer Alcasa.... |
Leopoldo Sucre Figarella Leopoldo Sucre Figarella Leopoldo Sucre Figarella , was a Venezuelan politician and engineer. A member of the Sucre family Sucre Figarella served as Governor, Minister and Senator during his long and eventful political career. He was nicknamed "The Builder" and "The Czar of Guayana".-Early career:He was born in Tumeremo in... |
1984–1989 |
John Paul II visits Venezuela
Pope John Paul II visited Venezuela in January, 1986, being the first visit of a Roman pontiff to the country. This special event, mobilizes thousands of people and conducts cultural and religious programs in several cities including MéridaMérida, Mérida
Santiago de los Caballeros de Mérida, Venezuela, is the capital of the municipality of Libertador and the state of Mérida, and is one of the principal cities of the Venezuelan Andes...
and 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...
. In the place where is celebrated Pope's ceremony in Caracas, will be built years later a housing complex with the name John Paul II, which unfortunately, is tarnished by a corruption scandal.
Caldas incident
On 13 August 1987, the Gulf of VenezuelaGulf of Venezuela
The Gulf of Venezuela is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and by Guajira Department, Colombia...
is incursionated by the Colombian corvette Caldas, creating an extreme crisis in Colombian-Venezuelan relations, being near of an armed confrontation, those are days of military movements in both countries. The crisis was resolved by dialogue between presidents Jaime Lusinchi and Virgilio Barco.
Later career
After the end of his presidency Lusinchi was appointed as Senator for life, as permitted by the 1961 constitution. From 27 March 1990 Lusinchi was subject of a parliamentary inquiry, by a corruption scandal of huge proportions during his government. Accused for the use of influences at the currency exchange, through the financial Regime of Preferential Currency Change (RECADI), the management of funds of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, for the purchase of 65 jeeps used at the 1988 Campaign of Acción Democrática, the use of some funds of the National Institute of Hippodromes, and for being, in August, 1993, behind the campaign of mail bombs, sent by anonymous persons to the Supreme Court with the purpose of intimidation.On November, 1991, the Venezuelan Congress issued a "political and moral condemnation," without criminal referrals, against the former president, for his responsibility for economic mismanagement and administrative irregularities during his government. On 10 August 1993, while the public attention was dominated by the legal and political troubles of Carlos Andrés Pérez, the Supreme Court, after finding evidence of crime in the charges filed against Lusinchi, provided by the Attorney General's Office, started the proceedings.
On 13 August, Lusinchi was stripped of his senatorial immunity, and is prohibited by a judge from leaving of country. Lusinchi responded by, flying to Miami and then to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, where meets with Blanca Ibañez, who in September, 1991, became his wife in a wedding held in New York City, after obtaining the divorce from Gladys Castillo. On July, 1994 and February, 1997, were declared prescribed by a court, the trials opened against the former president for the use of funds from the Foreigns Affair Ministry and the National Institute of Hippodromes, but on October, 1999 the Supreme Court reversed both decisions. However, although the process was reopened, the corruption charges expired.
In addition, on June, 2006, the former president, seven former officials of his government and 38 retired officials of the DISIP were accused at the 6th control court of Yaracuy, by relatives of the victims of the Yumare massacre. Jaime Lusinchi lives in self-imposed exile at the city of Miami.