NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Constitution of Venezuela

The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that was created by popular referendum. This 1999 Constitution was adopted in December 1999, replacing the 1961 Constitution — which had been, of the 26 constitutions in use by Venezuela since its independence in 1811, the document that had remained in force for the longest time. It was primarily promoted by the current President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez and thereafter received strong backing from diverse sectors, including figures involved in promulgating the 1961 constitution such as Luis Miquilena and Carlos Andrés Pérez. Chávez and his followers (chavistas) refer to the 1999 document as the "Constitución Bolivariana" (the "Bolivarian Constitution") because they assert that it is ideologically descended from the thinking and political philosophy of Simón Bolívar and Bolivarianism. The President of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela) is the English political nomenclature that designates both the head of state and head of government of Venezuela. ... Hugo Rafael ChÃ¡vez FrÃas (IPA: ) (born July 28, 1954) is the 53rd[1] and current President of Venezuela. ... The Cabinet of Hugo ChÃ¡vez is the circle high level ministerial officials and appointees who coordinate the day to day management of the Venezuelan federal government in conjunction with the current President of Venezuela, Hugo ChÃ¡vez. ... The National Assembly (Spanish Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. ... Political parties in Venezuela lists political parties in Venezuela. ... Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. ... ChÃ¡vez extols the anti-imperialist aspects of Bolivarianism, which were first kindled during his college years, in an address to hundreds of thousands of chavistas along Caracass Avenida BolÃvar on May 16, 2004. ... Venezuela under the ChÃ¡vez administration has deployed numerous national social welfare programs (MisiÃ³nes or Missions) of massive scale: MisiÃ³n Barrio Adentro (Mission Inside the Neighborhood) - a series of initiatives (deployed in three distinct stages: I, II, and III) to provide free, comprehensive, and high-quality community health... Criticism of Hugo ChÃ¡vez discusses allegations and criticism against the current President of Venezuela. ... Elections in Venezuela gives information on election and election results in Venezuela. ... Map of Venezuela Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados), 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales de Ultramar) that consist on a large number of Venezuelan islands. ... Venezuelas states, capital district, and federal dependencies have been grouped into administrative regions since a 1969 decree on regionalization that institutionalized a process of region development. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Hugo ChÃ¡vez. ... Venezuelas priorities in the international arena are: Respect for human rights; The right of all people to self-determination; Nonintervention in the internal affairs of other nations; Peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, including border disputes; The right of all people to peace and security; and Support for democracy. ... President ChÃ¡vez and Fidel Castro of Cuba sign the documents inaugurating the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) trade agreement in May 2005. ... // Hugo ChÃ¡vez era Since Hugo ChÃ¡vez was elected President of Venezuela, the long-standing close diplomatic relationship between Venezuela and the United States have progressively worsened. ... Israel-Venezuela relations have historically been strong. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... List of Presidents of Venezuela José Antonio Páez (1830-1835) José María Vargas (1835-1837) Carlos Soublette (1837-1839) José Antonio Páez (1839-1843) Carlos Soublette (1843-1847) José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851) José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855) José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858) Julián Castro (1858... Hugo Rafael ChÃ¡vez FrÃas (IPA: ) (born July 28, 1954) is the 53rd[1] and current President of Venezuela. ... Perez during his first presidency Carlos AndrÃ©s PÃ©rez RodrÃguez (born October 27, 1922), best known as CAP was President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. ... Chavismo or Chavezismo is the name given to the left-wing political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the present president of Venezuela, Hugo ChÃ¡vez, also referred to as Bolivarianism. ... SimÃ³n BolÃvar Monument, Sixth Avenue entrance to Central Park, New York City SimÃ³n BolÃvar Memorial Monument, near Santa Marta, Colombia Equestrian statue of BolÃvar on BolÃvar Square, Caracas SimÃ³n BolÃvar Park in CÃºcuta, Colombia SimÃ³n JosÃ© Antonio de la Sant... Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. ...

The Constitution of 1999 was the first constitution approved by popular referendum in Venezuelan history, and summarily inaugurated the so-called "Fifth Republic" of Venezuela due to the socioeconomic changes foretold in its pages, as well as the official change in Venezuela's name from the "República de Venezuela" ("Republic of Venezuela") to the "República Bolivariana de Venezuela" ("Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela"). Major changes are made to the structure of Venezuela's government and responsibilities, while a much greater number of human rights are enshrined in the document as guaranteed to all Venezuelans — including free education up to tertiary level, free quality health care, access to a clean environment, right of minorities (especially indigenous peoples) to uphold their own traditional cultures, religions, and languages, among others. The 1999 Constitution, with 350 articles, is among the world's longest, most complicated, and most comprehensive constitutions. Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...

Origins

Conceptualization

President Hugo Chávez was first elected under the provisions of the 1961 Constitution in the presidential election of 6 December 1998. Chávez had been contemplating a constitutional convention for Venezuela as an ideal means to rapidly bring about sweeping and radical social change to Venezuela beginning from the eve of his 1992 coup attempt. Chávez would state later that: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1795x1181, 242 KB) Hugo ChÃ¡vez in Porto Alegre, Brazil. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1795x1181, 242 KB) Hugo ChÃ¡vez in Porto Alegre, Brazil. ... Noam Chomsky at the World Social Forum in 2003. ... Geograpichal divisions of Rio Grande do Sul. ... List of Presidents of Venezuela José Antonio Páez (1830-1835) José María Vargas (1835-1837) Carlos Soublette (1837-1839) José Antonio Páez (1839-1843) Carlos Soublette (1843-1847) José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851) José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855) José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858) Julián Castro (1858... Hugo Rafael ChÃ¡vez FrÃas (IPA: ) (born July 28, 1954) is the 53rd[1] and current President of Venezuela. ... A presidential election was held in the Republic of Venezuela on 6 December 1998. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

After his imprisonment and release, he began to seek a political career with such a convention as its political goal. Thus, in the 1998 presidential elections, one of Chávez's electoral promises was to organise a referendum asking the people if they wanted to convene a National Constituent Assembly. His very first decree as president was thus to order such a referendum, which took place on 19 April. The electorate were asked two questions – whether a constituent assembly should be convened, and whether it should follow the mechanisms proposed by the president. The "yes" vote in response to these two question totalled 92% and 86%, respectively.^[1] A constitutional convention is a gathering of delegates for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ...

Election of the Constitutional Assembly

Elections were then held, on 25 July, to elect 131 deputies to the Constituent Assembly, which convened and debated proposals during the remainder of 1999. Chávez's widespread popularity allowed the constitutional referendum to pass with a 71.78% 'yes' vote; in the second election, members of Chávez's MVR and select allied parties formed the Polo Patriotico ("Patriotic Axis"). Chávez's Polo Patriotico went on to win 95% (120 out of 131 seats) of the seats in the new voter-approved Venezuelan Constitutional Assembly. July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ...

The "judicial emergency committee"

However, in August 1999, the Constitutional Assembly first set up a special "judicial emergency committee" with the power to remove judges without consultation with other branches of government — over 190 judges were eventually suspended on charges of corruption. In the same month, the assembly declared a "legislative emergency," resulting in a seven-member committee that was tasked with conducting the legislative functions ordinarily carried out by the National Assembly — legislative opposition to Chávez's policies was thus instantly disabled. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Assembly prohibited the National Assembly from holding meetings of any sort.^[2]

Framing of the new 1999 Constitution

Afterward, over the span of a mere 60 days in late 1999, the new and voter-approved Constitutional Assembly would frame and found a document that enshrined as constitutional law most of the structural changes Chávez desired. Chávez stated such changes were necessary in order to successfully and comprehensively enact his planned social justice programs. Sweeping changes in Venezuelan governmental structure were to be made; Chávez's plan was, stemming from his 1998 campaign pledges, thus to dramatically open up Venezuelan political discourse to independent and third parties by radically altering the national political context. In the process, Chávez sought to fatally paralyse his AD and COPEI opposition. All Chávez's aims were, in one move, dramatically furthered. Democratic Action (Spanish: AcciÃ³n DemocrÃ¡tica, abbreviated as AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic political party. ... Copei - Social Christian Party of Venezuela (Copei, Partido Social Cristiano de Venezuela) is a political party in Venezuela. ...

Ratification by popular referendum

This new 1999 constitution was presented to the national electorate in 15 December 1999 and approved with a CNE-audited 71.78% "yes" vote. The new constitution then legally came into full effect the following 20 December. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... The National Electoral Council (Spanish: Consejo Nacional Electoral), or CNE, is the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela. ... December 20 is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Text and guiding doctrines

The text of the constitution is an interesting hybrid of jurisprudential and political norms drawn from sources as wide as Simón Bolívar's writings on constitutionality and popular sovereignty, José Martí, the Peruvian Marxist José Carlos Mariátegui, and Evgeny Pashukanis. It is essentially a Bolivarian-Marxist charter, incorporating elements of popular sovereignty (such as frequent referenda), social responsibilities, the right to rebel against injustice and the eternal independence of the republic from foreign domination. SimÃ³n BolÃvar Monument, Sixth Avenue entrance to Central Park, New York City SimÃ³n BolÃvar Memorial Monument, near Santa Marta, Colombia Equestrian statue of BolÃvar on BolÃvar Square, Caracas SimÃ³n BolÃvar Park in CÃºcuta, Colombia SimÃ³n JosÃ© Antonio de la Sant... JosÃ© JuliÃ¡n MartÃ PÃ©rez (January 28, 1853 â€“ May 19, 1895) was a leader of the Cuban independence movement as well as a renowned poet and writer. ... JosÃ© Carlos MariÃ¡tegui JosÃ© Carlos MariÃ¡tegui (14 June 1894 â€“ 16 April 1930) was a Peruvian journalist, political philosopher, and activist. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ...

Reforms introduced by the 1999 constitution

The Constitutional Assembly itself drafted the new 1999 Venezuelan Constitution. With 350 articles, the document was, as drafted, one of the world's lengthiest constitutions.

Venezuela's official name: the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela"

It first changed the country's official name from “Venezuela” to the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela", in honour of Simón Bolívar. The change was made largely at Chávez's personal insistence and despite of the initial reluctance of the constituent assembly's deputies, most of whom believed that the financial cost and bureaucratic fiddling involved in the change would be immense and unwarranted. SimÃ³n BolÃvar Monument, Sixth Avenue entrance to Central Park, New York City SimÃ³n BolÃvar Memorial Monument, near Santa Marta, Colombia Equestrian statue of BolÃvar on BolÃvar Square, Caracas SimÃ³n BolÃvar Park in CÃºcuta, Colombia SimÃ³n JosÃ© Antonio de la Sant...

Five branches in the Venezuelan government

Significant changes were made to the separation of powers. Instead of the usual three branches of government, the new Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has five: The separation of powers (or trias politica, a term coined by French political, enlightenment thinker Montesquieu) is a model for the governance of democratic states. ...

The electoral branch is headed by the National Electoral Council (CNE) and is responsible for the independent oversight of all elections in the country, municipal, state, and federal. The citizens' branch is constituted by the (defensor del pueblo) (ombudsman or "defender of the people"), the Chief Public Prosecutor (fiscal general), and the comptroller general (contralor general). It is responsible for representing and defending the citizens in their dealings with powers of the Venezuelan state. The National Electoral Council (Spanish: Consejo Nacional Electoral), or CNE, is the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela. ... An ombudsman is an official, usually (but not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

A strengthened and recallable presidency

It also increased the presidential term of office from five to six years and introduced a presidential two-term limit. The document also introduced provisions for national presidential recall referenda — that is, Venezuelan voters now were to be given the right to remove their president from office before the expiration of the presidential term. Such referenda were to be activated upon provision of petitions with a valid number of signatures. The new provision was activated for the first time when such a referendum was held in 2004, but it failed to receive majority support. See Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004. The presidency was also strengthened, with the power to dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions. The Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a referendum to determine whether Hugo ChÃ¡vez, the current President of Venezuela, should be recalled from office. ...

A unicameral and marginalized legislature

The new constitution also converted the formerly bicameral National Assembly into a unicameral legislature, and stripped it of many of its former powers. Thus, the new single-chamber National Assembly dropped the prior traditional arrangement of the bifurcation of legislative powers between a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate. In addition, the legislative branch's powers were substantially reduced and transferred to the President of Venezuela. In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ... Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. ... The National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. ... Chamber of Deputies is the name given to a legislative body, which may either be the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or the name of a unicameral one. ... A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... List of Presidents of Venezuela José Antonio Páez (1830-1835) José María Vargas (1835-1837) Carlos Soublette (1837-1839) José Antonio Páez (1839-1843) Carlos Soublette (1843-1847) José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851) José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855) José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858) Julián Castro (1858...

The Public Defender

Provision was also made for a new position, the Public Defender, which was to be an office with the authority to check the activities of the presidency, the National Assembly, and the constitution — Chávez styled such a defender as the guardian of the so-called “moral branch” of the new Venezuelan government, thus putatively tasked with defending public and moral interests.

Public examination for judicial candidates

Lastly, the Venezuelan judiciary was reformed. Judges would, under the new constitution, be installed after passing public examinations and not, as in the old manner, be appointed by the National Assembly.

Health care as a human right

As Articles 83-85 under Title III of the 1999 Venezuelan Constitution enshrine free and quality healthcare as a human right guaranteed to all Venezuelan citizens,^[3] the Hugo Chávez Frias administration has sought to fulfill its constitutional obligations via the Barrio Adentro program. Notably, Article 84 under Title III mandate that the healthcare furnished through such public programmes as Barrio Adentro be publicly funded, and explicitly proscribes under any circumstance its privatization. The relevant text from the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution reads:^[4] The 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was drafted by a National Constituent Assembly convened by President Hugo ChÃ¡vez shortly after his first election victory in December 1998. ... Hugo Rafael ChÃ¡vez FrÃas (born July 28, 1954) is the 53rd and current President of Venezuela. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. ...

References

Categories: Constitutions | Government of Venezuela | Politics of Venezuela Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Venezuela_(state). ... For more information about Venezuela you can also visit the Venezuela portal. ... Image File history File links Venezuela_coat_of_arms. ... This is the history of Venezuela. ... The President of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela) is the English political nomenclature that designates both the head of state and head of government of Venezuela. ... The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given to a group of colonial provinces in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia. ... SimÃ³n BolÃvars Campaign in Venezuela 1813-14 was Venezuelas second war of independence against Spain and part of BolÃvars War in South America. ... BolÃvars War refers to a series of independence wars in South America from 1811 to 1825 led by the famous South American nationalist and general SimÃ³n BolÃvar. ... Venezuelan Independence War in 1811-1812 was Venezuelas first war for independence from Spanish colonial rule. ... The Battle of Carabobo was fought between South American independence fighters, led by SimÃ³n BolÃvar, and royalist forces seeking to preserve Spanishs American empire. ... The Battle of Lake Maracaibo was fought on July 24, 1823 in Venezuelas Lake Maracaibo between Almirante (Admiral)JosÃ© Prudencio Padilla and Royalist Captain Ãngel Laborde. ... Angostura was the name of the town in Eastern Venezuela that was renamed Ciudad Bolívar in 1846. ... Capital BogotÃ¡ Created December 1819 Dissolved November 1831 Demonym Colombian Departments of the Republic Greater Colombia (Gran Colombia in Spanish) is the name given to the Republic of Colombia of 1819-1830, which was a short-lived republic in South America consisting of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. ... Politics of Venezuela takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Venezuela is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... List of Presidents of Venezuela José Antonio Páez (1830-1835) José María Vargas (1835-1837) Carlos Soublette (1837-1839) José Antonio Páez (1839-1843) Carlos Soublette (1843-1847) José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851) José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855) José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858) Julián Castro (1858... The National Assembly (Spanish Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. ... Political parties in Venezuela lists political parties in Venezuela. ... Venezuelas priorities in the international arena are: Respect for human rights; The right of all people to self-determination; Nonintervention in the internal affairs of other nations; Peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, including border disputes; The right of all people to peace and security; and Support for democracy. ... Map of Venezuela Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados), 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales de Ultramar) that consist on a large number of Venezuelan islands. ... These are ranked lists of the States of Venezuela sorted by population, area, and density. ... Venezuelas states, capital district, and federal dependencies have been grouped into administrative regions since a 1969 decree on regionalization that institutionalized a process of region development. ... This is a list of cities in Venezuela. ... A map showing the location of Lake Maracaibo. ... Environmental issues in Venezuela include natural factors such as earthquakes, floods, rockslides, mudslides, and periodic droughts. ... List of national parks of Venezuela: This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... This is a list of Venezuelan companies, corporations, and enterprises. ... The Venezuelan bolÃvar (ISO currency code: VEB; locally abbreviated as Bs) is the currency of Venezuela. ... The population of Venezuela is comprised of a combination of European, indigenous, and African heritages. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This is a list of Venezuelans that are famous or notable. ... Sample of an arepa. ... The population of Venezuela is comprised of a combination of European, indigenous, and African heritages. ... Venezuela under the ChÃ¡vez administration has deployed numerous national social welfare programs (MisiÃ³nes or Missions) of massive scale: MisiÃ³n Barrio Adentro (Mission Inside the Neighborhood) - a series of initiatives (deployed in three distinct stages: I, II, and III) to provide free, comprehensive, and high-quality community health... Holidays in Venezuela Categories: Venezuela | Public holidays by country ... This is a list of hospitals in Venezuela. ... Below is a list of television channels and stations in Venezuela: // National CMT (CMT). ... Venezuelan Joropo. ... Venezuelan Spanish is a dialect of the Spanish language spoken in Venezuela. ... The Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952. ... Telephones - main lines in use: 2. ... East-West Railway System The railway connects the eastern areas with the west of the country, giving better transportation for both cargo and passengers. ...

Contents

Origins GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");