-
Period: to
Venezuela
-
Oil Exportation (Economy)
Oil had first been drilled in the early 1910s, and was finally exported in 1917. The economy of Venezuela benefited greatly from this, as poverty decreased and oil replaced coffee as the most important export of Venezuela. This would cause the economy to be more stable than most of the other South American countries. Also, this would lead to Venezuela developing a condition known as Dutch Disease. -
Betancourt Overthrows Caudillos (Political)
Venezuela had been ruled by caudillos (dictators ruling by way of military force) since the mid-19th century. Romulo Betancourt would overthrow the ruling caudillos in 1945, giving Venezuela its first taste of democracy. He would take over as provisional president, and his political party gained full control in the 1947 elections, which would set the stage for another revolution. -
1948 Venezuela Revolution (Social)
Members of conservative political parties were alarmed at the amount of power that the liberal Accion Democratica party had obtained fallowing the 1945 coup d'etat. To prevent Venezuela from becoming a one-party nation, they launched a second coup d'etat, overthrowing Betancourt's successor, Gallegos, and appointing Marcos Jimenez as the new leader. -
Betancourt Reelected (Political)
After Jimenez' term was up, the Venezuelan people reelected Betancourt as president, hoping that he could improve the state of the country. Even though he was elected when the nation was hugely indebted and had very little money, he still managed to restore the country to its former prosperity. Also, his election marked the beginning of a period of political peace, where presidents were elected peacefully and without violence. -
Formation of OPEC (Economic)
To combat falling oil prices, the world's leading oil producers came together and created the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). These nations, including Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Algeria, created quotas for each nation to produce and controlled the prices of oil. This allowed them to raise and lower prices as they pleased, because they controlled most of the world's oil. -
Oil Prices Skyrocket (Economic)
Because of the Middle East oil embargo, worldwide prices of oil more than quadrupled in the space of a few short years. This brought a lot of wealth to Venezuela, and increased the size of their previously small middle class. Unfortunately for the nation, this would only lead to them becoming more and more reliant on oil exportation as the basis of their economy. -
Oil Prices Fall (Economic)
Oil Prices Chart
In 1984, the price of oil began to fall, mainly because of the members of OPEC surpassing their quotas. As the supply went up, the demand went down, lowering the price. They hit an all time low in 1989 at about $15 a barrel. This launched the nation into depression and indebtedness, shrinking the middle class and increasing the amount of poverty. -
New Economic Reforms (Economic)
Faced with a rapidly declining economy due to falling oil prices, president Carlos Perez institutes revolutionary economic policies. These include tax and price hikes along with currency devaluation, which contributed to a huge rise in the amount of poverty in the county. Unrest brought upon by this would directly lead to Los Caracazos. -
Los Caracazos (Social)
Caracazos Documentary Clip
Riots break out in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas after reforms are made by Venezuelan president Carlos Perez. During these riots military personnel and police officers, under government orders, opened fire on the peaceful protestors, killing between 200 and 3000 people. The riots were later named "Los Caracazos" which means "Caracas Smash." -
Election of Hugo Chavez (Political)
Former military officer and paratrooper Hugo Chavez won the 1998 election by a landslide, beating the next closest contender by over 15%. He had led a failed coup d'etat in 1992, and promised that his administration, if elected, would solve the economic problems. He made revolutionary economic changes and distributed unused farmland to poor farmers. -
2002 Revolution (Social)
The number of people in opposition to Chavez' rule had been growing quickly in the past number of years, leading to riots in the capital, Caracas. In these riots about 20 were killed and more than 100 were injured. Chavez agreed to step down after many people called for him to. Businessman Pedro Carmona attempted to step in as provisional president, but his regime had very little support and Chavez was returned to power on April 14, a mere 3 days later. -
Chavez Overrides Maximum Term Limit Law (Political)
Chavez desired to continue his control of Venezuela as president, and he talked about running again in the elections of 2013. However, he was already in his second term, the last term that he was allowed to have based on Venezuelan laws, so he had a vote to override this law, which passed. He has talked about not only running again in 2013, but has made mention of ruling past the year 2030.
