Venezuela. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
A country in the northern part of South America. Area - 912,05 thousand km². Capital - Caracas (officially, including suburbs, - 3.3 million people, actually - about 4.5 million), other major cities: Maracaibo, Barquisimeto, Valencia, Maracay, etc. Administrative-territorial division - 22 states, 1 federal district (Caracas), and federal territories (islands in the Caribbean Sea), consisting of 72 islands. Population — 24.3 million (2005); Venezuelans, including 67% Spanish-Indian mestizos, 21% descendants of Spaniards, Italians, etc., 10% blacks, 2% indigenous people. There are over 3 million foreigners living without registration. The official language is Spanish. The dominant religion is Catholicism. Currency - bolívar = 100 centimos.
It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the USSR on March 14, 1945, interrupted on June 13, 1952, restored on April 16, 1970).
National holiday - July 5 - Day of Proclamation of Independence (1811).
Venezuela is a federal republic. The constitution of 1999 is in effect. The head of state and government is the president, elected by universal direct suffrage for a term of 6 years. Legislative power is exercised by a unicameral National Assembly (166 deputies), elected by direct secret ballot under a proportional representation system for a term of 5 years.
Political parties and organizations: Democratic Action (DA) — the largest opposition party, founded in 1941.
It relies on the middle and small bourgeoisie, enjoys support from some workers and peasants, scientific-technical and creative intelligentsia, represents the interests of some national industrial-financial groups. It maintains close relations with social-democratic parties in Europe and Latin America, and is part of the Socialist International. The Christian Social Party (COPEI) - founded in 1946. It enjoys support among the large bourgeoisie, landowners, and clergy; a significant part of COPEI's social base consists of prosperous peasants and the urban petty bourgeoisie. In theory, it is guided by the principles of the doctrine of Christian socialism, maintaining ties with Christian parties in Latin America and Western Europe.
The National Accord Block (NA) - created by left-center forces on the eve of the 1993 elections, during a severe political and socio-economic crisis, managed to defeat the "pillars" of the established two-party system in the country, DA and COPEI, and to bring its leader R. Calderón to the presidency. The Movement towards Socialism (MAC) - founded in 1971 as a result of a split in the Communist Party of Venezuela (founded in 1931). MAC adheres to a left-center orientation, enjoys influence among youth and students, intelligentsia, and the small urban and rural bourgeoisie. The Fifth Republic Movement - a left-leaning organization, socially oriented towards the underprivileged and marginalized segments of the population. Leader - U. Chávez. Other parties (more than 20) do not play a significant role in the political life of the country.
The largest trade unions: The Confederation of Workers of Venezuela - has 1.5 million members, controlled by DA.
It is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the World Confederation of Labor (WCL). The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Venezuela - is controlled by the COPEI party. The Unified Center of Workers of Venezuela - unites over 150 thousand people.
On the coast of Venezuela, which has been inhabited since ancient times by the Arawak and Carib Indian tribes, C. Columbus landed in August 1498. The name Venezuela means "little Venice." It was a colony of Spain. In the late 18th - early 19th centuries, Venezuelan patriots F. de Miranda and S. Bolívar became the inspirers of the struggle of the colonies for independence.
Independence of Venezuela was proclaimed on July 5, 1811. In 1830, the Republic of Venezuela was formed. In 1913, rich oil fields were discovered on the territory of the country, and American oil companies began to play an increasingly significant role in the economy. In 1975, the oil and iron ore industries of Venezuela were nationalized. In the 1990s, the strike movement and student protests intensified. Two attempts at military coups in February and November 1992, expressions of general discontent, led to a sharp socio-political crisis in the country. On June 5, 1993, the Supreme Court and the Senate of the Congress of Venezuela decided to remove C. A. Pérez (elected president in 1988) from the duties of head of state due to accusations of corruption and abuse of power for personal enrichment. In the December 1993 elections, the leader of NA, R. Calderón, was elected president, taking office in February 1994.
In December 1998, U. Chávez, the organizer of the attempted coup in February 1992, won the presidential elections as a candidate from the "Patriotic Pole" block, which united almost all left and left-center parties and movements.
On July 30, 2000, early general elections were held in accordance with the new constitution, during which U. Chávez was re-elected as head of state. The position of vice president is held by J. V. Rangel.
Member of the UN (since 1945), OAS (since 1948), LAOS (since 1975), LAI (since 1981), Andean and Amazonian pacts, Group of Rio, OPEC.
Elected several times as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, including for the period 1992-93, member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
In terms of economic development and potential, Venezuela ranks 4th (after Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina) in the region.
In 2004, Venezuela managed to overcome the cycle of economic recession of 2002-03 (in 2003, GDP fell by 9%). The economy gradually returned to the pre-crisis level of 2001 in key indicators. GDP growth in 2004 was 15%. GDP in 2004 reached 135 billion dollars (117.9 billion dollars in 2003).
The main budget-forming item of the Venezuelan economy continued to be revenues from the export of oil and its derivatives. With an average annual price of 1 barrel of Venezuelan oil at 38.2 dollars (25.6 dollars in 2003), budget revenues amounted to 25.3 billion dollars (14.1 billion dollars in 2003). This situation, along with the continuation of the currency regulation policy with a fixed exchange rate of the dollar (2150 bolívars for 1 dollar), allowed the government to increase foreign currency reserves to 24.9 billion dollars (14.8 billion dollars in 2003). Additional "petrodollars" positively affected the stable development of all sectors of the economy throughout the year. Growth in the private sector was 16.1%, in the public sector - 5.9%. The leading sectors of the manufacturing industry, in addition to oil refining, include: food, textile, clothing, chemical, metallurgy, metalworking, and machine engineering. The entire industry accounts for 38% of GDP, agriculture - 5%.
The state sector occupies an important place in the country's economy. The oil and oil refining industry (over 90% of extracted oil) has been fully nationalized, and transport and communications are largely state-controlled.
The country has large reserves of mineral resources. In addition to oil (production - about 140 million tons per year, one of the leading places in the world), natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, coal, manganese, nickel, gold, diamonds, and other valuable raw materials are extracted. On the Caroni River, there are 2 large hydroelectric power stations ("Guri" and "Macagua"), which account for a significant share of the country's energy capacity.
Agriculture, where large land ownership predominates, is poorly developed. Venezuela meets its internal food and agricultural raw material needs by 60%, importing wheat, corn, soy, cooking oils, milk, and canned goods. About 11% of the economically active population is engaged in agriculture.
In addition to oil and petroleum products, which account for about 3/4 of its export value, Venezuela exports aluminum, iron ore, rolled products, chemical products, mineral raw materials, and gold. It imports machinery and equipment, spare parts, food, medicines, and vehicles.
The main trading partners of Venezuela continue to be the USA and Colombia (40% and 12%, respectively). Trade turnover with China in 2004 amounted to 1.2 billion dollars, and it is expected to double in 2005.
The country has a high unemployment rate (15% in 2004), and the standard of living has noticeably declined (80% of Venezuelans have incomes below the established subsistence minimum). Inflation is 19.2% (in 2004).
Venezuela has a developed road network - over 100 thousand km. The vehicle fleet consists of 3.5 million cars. The length of railways is 720 km.
There are about 300 airfields in the country. In 1983, the first line of the metro in Caracas was launched (the length of the metro lines is 40 km with 35 stations).
The largest universities: Central and Catholic University of Andrés Bello in Caracas, Andean University in Mérida, universities in Valencia and Maracaibo.
More than 60 daily newspapers are published, among them the largest: "Últimas Noticias" (350 thousand copies), "Nacional" (175 thousand), "Mundo" (270 thousand), "Universal" (140 thousand). The government information agency "Venezpress" and the private information agency "Innac" operate. In addition to the state radio and television service, there are several commercial television services.
