United Socialist Party of Venezuela
Encyclopedia
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
. It is the current de facto ruling party
of the country and the largest left-wing party in Latin America
and the Western Hemisphere. It has an approximate membership of 5.7 million people as of 2007. They held primaries on 2 May 2010 for candidates to the National Assembly election in September
, with 2,568,090 members voting.
coalition was initiated by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez after he won the Venezuelan presidential election of 2006
. The process was led by Chávez' own party, the Fifth Republic Movement
, and was supported by a range of smaller parties such as the People's Electoral Movement (MEP)
, Venezuelan Popular Unity (UPV), the Tupamaro Movement
, the Socialist League
and others which all together added up 45.99% of the votes received by Chávez during the 2006 election. Other pro-Bolivarian parties like the Communist Party of Venezuela
(PCV), Fatherland for All (PPT) and For Social Democracy
(PODEMOS), who added 14.60% of the votes from the mentioned election, decided not to join the proposed party.
On 7 March 2007, Chávez presented a phased plan for founding the new party until November 2007. PODEMOS (For Social Democracy
), Patria Para Todos (Fatherland for All) and Partido Comunista de Venezuela (Communist Party of Venezuela
) initially stated they would wait until PSUV had been founded and decide their membership in the new party based on its program. On 18 March 2007, Chávez declared in his programme Aló Presidente
that he had "opened the doors for Podemos, Patria Para Todos, and the Communist Party of Venezuela if they want to go away from Chávez´s alliance, they may do so and leave us in peace". In his opinion those parties are near to be on the opposition and they had to choose wisely the way to go off, "in silence, hugging us or throwing stones". Patria Para Todos decided at its annual congress from 10 April to 11 April 2007 not to dissolve, while re-affirming its support for Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution.
It is also of note that many elements of the revolutionary left have entered into the PSUV and take a enthusiastic and vigorous participation in its struggles. Most notable are the Trotskyist groups Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria, Lucha de Classes (IMT
), and Socialismo Revolucionario
(CWI
).
The party held its founding congress in early 2008, from 12 January to 2 March, with 1681 delegates participating. Hugo Chávez was proclaimed President of the new party on 14 March.
With the creation of PSUV, relationships with former coalition parties choosing not to merge soured greatly. By the 2008 regional election
campaign in October, Chávez was declaring that "Patria Para Todos and the Communist Party of Venezuela will disappear from the political map because they are liars and manipulators."
In April 2010 an Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV resulted in the endorsement of a range of "general principles", including among others socialism
, Marxism
, and Bolivarianism; humanism
, internationalism
, and patriotism
; and the defense of participatory democracy
and use of internal party democracy. It also defined the party as the "political vanguard of the revolutionary process".
), vice-president (Cilia Flores
), and a 29-member board of directors:
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...
which resulted from the fusion of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivarian Revolution
Bolivarian Revolution
The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement...
led by incumbent President 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...
. It is the current de facto ruling party
Ruling party
The ruling party or governing party in a parliamentary system is the political party or coalition of the majority in parliament. Within a parliamentary system, the majority in the legislature also controls the executive branch of government, thus leaving no possibility of dueling parties...
of the country and the largest left-wing party in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Western Hemisphere. It has an approximate membership of 5.7 million people as of 2007. They held primaries on 2 May 2010 for candidates to the National Assembly election in September
Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2010
The 2010 parliamentary election in Venezuela took place on 26 September 2010 to elect the 165 deputies to the National Assembly. Venezuelan opposition parties, which had boycotted the previous election, thus allowing the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela to gain a two-thirds...
, with 2,568,090 members voting.
History
The process of merging most of the parties involved in the pro-Bolivarian RevolutionBolivarian Revolution
The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement...
coalition was initiated by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez after he won the Venezuelan presidential election of 2006
Venezuelan presidential election, 2006
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela held presidential elections on 3 December 2006, to choose a president for the six-year term to begin on 10 January 2007...
. The process was led by Chávez' own party, the Fifth Republic Movement
Fifth Republic Movement
The Fifth Republic Movement was a left-wing, Socialist political party in Venezuela. It was founded in July 1997, following a national congress of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, to support the candidacy of Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, in the Venezuelan presidential...
, and was supported by a range of smaller parties such as the People's Electoral Movement (MEP)
People's Electoral Movement
The People's Electoral Movement was a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa...
, Venezuelan Popular Unity (UPV), the Tupamaro Movement
Tupamaro (Venezuela)
Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro or Tupamaro is a political party and organization of Venezuela.-History:The theory pointed to the birth of the movement as an answer—like other social movements on the continent—to alleged injustices perpetrated by the governments of various period of Venezuela's...
, the Socialist League
Socialist League (Venezuela)
The Socialist League was a Venezuelan political party. It was established in 1973 in a split from the Revolutionary Left Movement, and merged into PSUV in 2007. The League was co-founded by Jorge Antonio Rodriguez; he was its Secretary General when he was murdered on 25 July 1976, having been...
and others which all together added up 45.99% of the votes received by Chávez during the 2006 election. Other pro-Bolivarian parties like 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), Fatherland for All (PPT) and For Social Democracy
For Social Democracy
PODEMOS is a political party in Venezuela. In the 2005 legislative elections the party won 15 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly....
(PODEMOS), who added 14.60% of the votes from the mentioned election, decided not to join the proposed party.
On 7 March 2007, Chávez presented a phased plan for founding the new party until November 2007. PODEMOS (For Social Democracy
For Social Democracy
PODEMOS is a political party in Venezuela. In the 2005 legislative elections the party won 15 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly....
), Patria Para Todos (Fatherland for All) and Partido Comunista de Venezuela (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...
) initially stated they would wait until PSUV had been founded and decide their membership in the new party based on its program. On 18 March 2007, Chávez declared in his programme Aló Presidente
Aló Presidente
Aló Presidente is a largely unscripted talk show hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez which is broadcast on Venezuelan state television and radio stations every Sunday at 11:00 AM...
that he had "opened the doors for Podemos, Patria Para Todos, and the Communist Party of Venezuela if they want to go away from Chávez´s alliance, they may do so and leave us in peace". In his opinion those parties are near to be on the opposition and they had to choose wisely the way to go off, "in silence, hugging us or throwing stones". Patria Para Todos decided at its annual congress from 10 April to 11 April 2007 not to dissolve, while re-affirming its support for Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution.
| Parties joining PSUV | Parties not joining PSUV |
|---|---|
| Fifth Republic Movement Fifth Republic Movement The Fifth Republic Movement was a left-wing, Socialist political party in Venezuela. It was founded in July 1997, following a national congress of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, to support the candidacy of Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, in the Venezuelan presidential... (MVR) |
For Social Democracy For Social Democracy PODEMOS is a political party in Venezuela. In the 2005 legislative elections the party won 15 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly.... (PODEMOS) |
| People's Electoral Movement People's Electoral Movement The People's Electoral Movement was a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa... (MEP) |
Fatherland for All (PPT) |
| Everybody Wins Independent Movement Everybody Wins Independent Movement MIGATO was a political party in Venezuela.... (MIGATO) |
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) |
| Venezuelan Popular Unity Venezuelan Popular Unity Venezuelan Popular Unity is a left-wing political party in Venezuela. It supports president Hugo Chávez. In the legislative elections, 4 December 2005, the party won 8 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly.... (UPV) |
Revolutionary Middle Class Revolutionary Middle Class Revolutionary Middle Class is a left-wing political party in Venezuela. It was founded on August 7, 2006 as the electoral arm of the Positive Middle Class movement. It supports President Hugo Chávez... (CMR) |
| Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro Tupamaro (Venezuela) Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro or Tupamaro is a political party and organization of Venezuela.-History:The theory pointed to the birth of the movement as an answer—like other social movements on the continent—to alleged injustices perpetrated by the governments of various period of Venezuela's... (MRT) |
Emergent People (GE) |
| Socialist League Socialist League (Venezuela) The Socialist League was a Venezuelan political party. It was established in 1973 in a split from the Revolutionary Left Movement, and merged into PSUV in 2007. The League was co-founded by Jorge Antonio Rodriguez; he was its Secretary General when he was murdered on 25 July 1976, having been... (LS) |
Action Networks of Communitary Change (REDES) |
| Movement for Direct Democracy (MDD) | Communitary Patriotic Unity (UPC) |
| Union Party | New People Concentration Movement (MCGN) |
| Militant Civic Movement (MCM) | Active Democracy National Organization (ONDA) |
| Action Force of Base Coordination (FACOBA) | National Independent Movement (MNI) |
| Independents for the National Community (IPCN) | Labor Power Labor power Labour power is a crucial concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of capitalist political economy. He regarded labour power as the most important of the productive forces of human beings. Labour power can be simply defined as work-capacity, the ability to do work... (PL) |
| Venezuelan Revolutionary Currents (CRV) | |
It is also of note that many elements of the revolutionary left have entered into the PSUV and take a enthusiastic and vigorous participation in its struggles. Most notable are the Trotskyist groups Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria, Lucha de Classes (IMT
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
), and Socialismo Revolucionario
Socialismo Revolucionario (Venezuela)
Socialismo Revolucionario is the Venezuelan section of the Committee for a Workers International.They produce the paper of the same name as the organisation.-Activities:...
(CWI
Committee for a Workers' International
The Committee for a Workers' International is an international association of Trotskyist parties. Members include the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the Socialist Party , the Socialist Party the Democratic Socialist Movement in South Africa and Nigeria and groups using the name Socialist...
).
The party held its founding congress in early 2008, from 12 January to 2 March, with 1681 delegates participating. Hugo Chávez was proclaimed President of the new party on 14 March.
Overview
Chávez said that "It's a very young party" with an average age of 35 among members. Analysts agreed, saying: "The assumption is that the younger people are going to be Bolivarians [in support of Chávez], they are going to be the ones whose families have benefited from Chávez's social programs."With the creation of PSUV, relationships with former coalition parties choosing not to merge soured greatly. By the 2008 regional election
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...
campaign in October, Chávez was declaring that "Patria Para Todos and the Communist Party of Venezuela will disappear from the political map because they are liars and manipulators."
In April 2010 an Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV resulted in the endorsement of a range of "general principles", including among others socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, and Bolivarianism; humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
, internationalism
Internationalism (politics)
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...
, and patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
; and the defense of participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
and use of internal party democracy. It also defined the party as the "political vanguard of the revolutionary process".
Structure
The party is headed at the national level by a president (currently 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...
), vice-president (Cilia Flores
Cilia Flores
Cilia Flores is a Venezuelan politician. She is a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela , and a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela since 2000....
), and a 29-member board of directors:
- Adán ChávezAdán ChávezAdán Chávez Frías is the governor of Barinas state in Venezuela, and was Minister of Education from 2007 to 2008. He is the elder brother of current Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Adán Chávez Frías was a student at the University of the Andes, and now collaborates in his electoral campaigns and...
- Alí Rodríguez Araque
- Ana Elisa Osorio
- Antonia Muñoz
- Aristóbulo IstúrizAristóbulo IstúrizAristóbulo Istúriz is a Venezuelan politician and academic. He was a professor at the Centro de Estudios del Desarrollo of the Universidad Central de Venezuela. He was elected to Parliament several times for Acción Democrática, representing the Federal District , before joining the Radical Cause...
- Carlos EscarráCarlos EscarráCarlos Escarrá is a Venezuelan politician. A member of the National Assembly of Venezuela for Aragua State, he is a member of the board of directors of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. He is a constitutional lawyer and a former Supreme Court of Venezuela judge. He is a presenter on Canal...
- Darío Vivas
- Diosdado CabelloDiosdado CabelloDiosdado Cabello Rondón is a Venezuelan politician. A former member of the armed forces, he was involved in Hugo Chávez's February 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. He became a leading member of Chavez's Movimiento V República , and remains a leading member of the United Socialist Party of...
- Elías JauaElías Jaua-External links: "", World Investment News, 11 September 2006...
- Érika Farías
- Freddy BernalFreddy BernalFreddy Bernal is the ex-mayor of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas, Venezuela and a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ....
- Héctor Navarro
- Héctor Rodríguez
- Jacqueline FaríaJacqueline FaríaJacqueline Faría is a Venezuelan politician. She is the Head of Government of the Venezuelan Capital District . She was previously the head of the state mobile phone company Movilnet Minister of Environment and Natural Resources , and head of Caracas' water company, Hidrocapital...
- Jorge RodríguezJorge Rodríguez (politician)Dr. Jorge Rodríguez Gómez is a Venezuelan politician and psychiatrist who was Vice President of Venezuela from January 2007 to January 2008. He is currently the Mayor of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas....
- Luis Reyes Reyes
- María Cristina Iglesias
- María León
- Mario Silva
- Nicolás MaduroNicolás MaduroNicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician who was appointed foreign minister by President Hugo Chávez on 9 August 2006.- Biography :...
- Nohelí Pocaterra
- Rafael RamírezRafael Ramírez (Venezuela)Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño is a Venezuelan engineer and politician. He is currently the president of the Venezuelan state-owned petroleum-extraction company PDVSA. In the past, Ramírez had also served as the Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Mines for a time....
- Ramón Rodríguez ChacínRamón Rodríguez ChacínRamón Rodríguez Chacín is a Venezuelan politician. A retired naval officer, he was Minister of the Interior and Justice in 2002, and again in 2008. He took part in the November 1992 coup attempt.-Early years:...
- Rodrigo Cabezas
- Tarek El AissamiTarek El AissamiTarek El Aissami is a Venezuelan politician. As of 2009, he is the interior minister and justice minister of Venezuela. He was previously deputy minister in the same ministry, and a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela.-References:...
- Vanessa DaviesVanessa DaviesVanessa Davies is a Venezuelan politician and political activist for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. She serves as a member of the national executive of the party as well as coordinator of media and communication....
- Willian LaraWillian LaraWillian Lara was a Venezuelan politician. Elected several times to the National Assembly, he was the Minister of Communication and Information between 2006 and 2008 and Governor of Guárico state from 2008 to 2010...
- Yelitza Santaella