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The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current constitution of Venezuela. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Venezuela is a country in Northern South America, and part of Caribbean South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic | | |} Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados, 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias This is a list of the largest cities in Venezuela, in descending order Lake Maracaibo is a large Brackish Lake in Venezuela at. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait (55km on the northern edge Caracas (kaˈɾakas is the Capital and largest city of Venezuela. Maracaibo is the second-largest city in Venezuela after the national capital Caracas and is the capital of Zulia state Maturín is the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas. The city has a population of 500000 people according to the 2006 census Valencia is the capital city of Carabobo State, and the third largest city of Venezuela. ||} Politics of Venezuela takes place in a framework of a federal Republic, whereby the President of Venezuela is both Head of state and |||} Elections in Venezuela gives information on Elections and election results in Venezuela. ||-||} Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The President of Venezuela (Presidente |||}The National Assembly ( Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government ||-||} Political parties in Venezuela lists political parties in Venezuela. In April 2006 the Venezuelan government passed The Law of Communal Councils ( consejos comunales) which empowers local citizens to form neighbourhood-based elected Venezuela 's declared priorities in the international arena are Respect for Human rights; The right of all people to self-determination |||} The foreign policy of Hugo Chávez concerns the policy initiatives made towards other states by the current President of Venezuela. This is the History of Venezuela. See also the History of South America and the History of present-day nations and states. The Venezuelan War of Independence was the war fought for the emancipation of what is today Venezuela, between 1811 and 1823 The Viceroyalty of New Granada (Virreinato de la Nueva Granada was the name given on May 27, 1717 to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America Bolívar's War is a term coined by some historians to refer to a series of independence wars in South America from 1811 to 1825 led by General Simón Bolívar. The Battle of Carabobo, 24 June 1821 was fought between independence fighters led by Simón Bolívar, and the Royalist forces led by Spanish Field Marshal Miguel Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá ( February 3 1795 &ndash June 4 1830) was a South American independence leader The Battle of Lake Maracaibo was fought on July 24 1823 in Venezuela 's Lake Maracaibo between Almirante ( Admiral) José The Congress of Angostura was summoned by Simon Bolivar and took place in Angostura (today Ciudad Bolivar from February 15, 1819 to July Gran Colombia ( Spanish for Great Colombia) is a name used today for the Republic of Colombia of the period 1819-1831 Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a mass social movement and political process in Venezuela. The Demographics of Venezuela are the condition and overview of Venezuela 's peoples The Culture of Venezuela is product of a very rich and diverse set of cultural traditions The Bolivarian Missions are a series of social justice social welfare anti-poverty educational electoral and military recruiting programs implemented under the administration of the The comprise the mass and niche news and information communications infrastructure of Venezuela. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the ||} Politics of Venezuela takes place in a framework of a federal Republic, whereby the President of Venezuela is both Head of state and ||-||} Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The President of Venezuela (Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. The 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 President of |||}The National Assembly ( Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government Cilia Flores, a lawyer by training is (as of 2007 the president ( speaker) of the National Assembly of Venezuela. ||-||} 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. The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a mass social movement and political process in Venezuela. The Bolivarian Missions are a series of social justice social welfare anti-poverty educational electoral and military recruiting programs implemented under the administration of the |||} Elections in Venezuela gives information on Elections and election results in Venezuela. A parliamentary election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 30 July 2000. Venezuela held a parliamentary election on 4 December 2005. The following elected posts were filled 167 deputies to the National Assembly In the December 6, 1998 Venezuelan presidential election, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with A presidential election was held in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on July 30 2000. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela held presidential elections on 3 December 2006, to choose a president for the six-year term to begin on The Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a Referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, the current President of A constitutional referendum was held in Venezuela on December 2, 2007 to amend 69 articles of the 1999 Constitution. Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados, 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales Venezuela 's states capital district and federal dependencies have been grouped into administrative regions since a 1969 decree on regionalization Venezuela 's declared priorities in the international arena are Respect for Human rights; The right of all people to self-determination |||} The foreign policy of Hugo Chávez concerns the policy initiatives made towards other states by the current President of Venezuela. Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that was created by popular referendum. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 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. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Year 1811 ( MDCCCXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year 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. ||-||} Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The President of Venezuela (Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (born October 27, 1922) best known as CAP, was President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again 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. Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios y Blanco,Venezuelan or commonly known as Simón Bolívar ( July 24, 1783 &ndash 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. Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled The 1999 Constitution, with 350 articles, is among the world's longest, most complicated, and most comprehensive constitutions.
Origins
Conceptualization
President Hugo Chávez was first elected under the provisions of the 1961 Constitution in the presidential election of 6 December 1998. The World Social Forum (WSF is an annual meeting held by members of the Anti-globalization (using the term Globalization in a Doctrinal sense not Porto Alegre ( is the 10th largest city in Brazil, and the capital city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld ||-||} Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The President of Venezuela (Presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. In the December 6, 1998 Venezuelan presidential election, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 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:
We discussed how to break with the past, how to overcome this type of democracy that only responds to the interests of the oligarchical sectors; how to get rid of the corruption. We had always rejected the idea of a traditional military coup, of a military dictatorship, or of a military governing junta. We were very aware of what happened in Colombia, in the years of 1990-1991, when there was a constitutional assembly – of course! – it was very limited because in the end it was subordinated to the existing powers. It was the existing powers that designed Colombia’s constitutional assembly and got it going and, therefore, it could not transform the situation because it was a prisoner of the existing powers and thoughts. [1]
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. Alternative meaning Constitutional convention (political custom A constitutional convention is a gathering for the purpose of writing a new His very first decree as president was thus to order such a referendum, which took place on 19 April. Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer 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]
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. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler 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.
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. Democratic Action ( Spanish: Acción Democrática abbreviated as AD is a Venezuelan Social democratic Political party. Copei &ndash Social Christian Party of Venezuela ( Copei Partido Social Cristiano de Venezuela) is a Political party in Venezuela. All Chávez's aims were, in one move, dramatically furthered.
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. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral or CNE, is the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela. 78% "yes" vote. The new constitution then legally came into full effect the following 20 December. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor.
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. Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios y Blanco,Venezuelan or commonly known as Simón Bolívar ( July 24, 1783 &ndash José Julián Martí Pérez ( January 28, 1853 &ndash May 19, 1895) Born in Havana from Spanish parents his short life was dedicated to gaining José Carlos Mariátegui La Chira ( 14 June 1894 16 April 1930) was a Peruvian journalist Political philosopher, and activist It is essentially a Bolivarian-Marxist charter, incorporating elements of popular sovereignty (such as frequent referendums), social responsibilities, the right to rebel against injustice and the eternal independence of the republic from foreign domination. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself
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"
Despite the initial reluctance of the constituent assembly's deputies, it changed the country's official name from “Venezuela” to the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela", in honour of Simón Bolívar. Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios y Blanco,Venezuelan or commonly known as Simón Bolívar ( July 24, 1783 &ndash The change was made largely at Chávez's personal insistence.
Five branches in the Venezuelan government
Significant changes were made to the separation of powers. Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance Instead of the usual three branches of government, the new Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has five:
- The executive branch (the Presidency). A branch ( American English ˈbræntʃ British English ˈbrɑːntʃ or tree branch (sometimes referred to in Botany as a ramus For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.
- The legislative branch (the National Assembly).
- The judicial branch (the judiciary).
- The electoral branch (poder electoral, or "electoral power").
- The citizens' branch (poder ciudadano, or "citizens' power").
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 National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral or CNE, is the institution in charge of all electoral processes that take place in Venezuela. 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). An ombudsman ( English plural conventionally ombudsmen) is an official usually (but not always appointed by the government or by parliament who is charged with The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law It is responsible for representing and defending the citizens in their dealings with powers of the Venezuelan state.
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 referendums — 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 referendums 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 Venezuelan recall referendum of 15 August 2004 was a Referendum to determine whether Hugo Chávez, the current President of The presidency was also strengthened, with the power to dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions.
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. In Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or Parliamentary chamber 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. |||}The National Assembly ( Asamblea Nacional) is the current legislative branch of the Venezuelan government Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature or can refer to a Unicameral legislature A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. In addition, the legislative branch's powers were substantially reduced and transferred to the President of Venezuela. ||-||} Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->The President of Venezuela (Presidente
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.
This is an idea derived from Bolivar's constitutionalism.
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 Frías administration has sought to fulfill its constitutional obligations via the Barrio Adentro program. |||}The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current Constitution of Venezuela. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (ˈuɰo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβ̞es ˈfɾias (born July 28 1954 is the current President of Venezuela. 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. Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business The relevant text from the 1999 Bolivarian Constitution reads:[4]
Article 83: Health is a fundamental social right and the responsibility of the State, which shall guarantee it as part of the right to life. Bolivarianism is a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity The State shall promote and develop policies oriented toward improving the quality of life, common welfare and access to services. All persons have the right to protection of health, as well as the duty to participate actively in the furtherance and protection of the same, and to comply with such health and hygiene measures as may be established by law, and in accordance with international conventions and treaties signed and ratified by the Republic.
Article 84: In order to guarantee the right to health, the State creates, exercises guidance over and administers a national public health system that crosses sector boundaries, and is decentralized and participatory in nature, integrated with the social security system and governed by the principles of gratuity, universality, completeness, fairness, social integration and solidarity. The public health system gives priority to promoting health and preventing disease, guaranteeing prompt treatment and quality rehabilitation. Public health assets and services are the property of the State and shall not be privatized. The organized community has the right and duty to participate in the making- of decisions concerning policy planning, implementation and control at public health institutions.
Article 85: Financing of the public health system is the responsibility of the State, which shall integrate the revenue resources, mandatory Social Security contributions and any other sources of financing provided for by law. The State guarantees a health budget such as to make possible the attainment of health policy objectives. In coordination with universities and research centers, a national professional and technical training policy and a national industry to produce health care supplies shall be promoted and developed. The State shall regulate both public and private health care institutions.
References
- ^ a b Wilpert, Gregory. (Venezuela Analysis, 27 Aug 2003). Venezuela’s New Constitution. Retrieved 09 Nov 2005.
- ^ McGirk, Tim. (Time, 27 Dec 1999). "Hugo Chávez Frías". Retrieved 03 Nov 2005.
- ^ http://www.gobiernoenlinea.ve/docMgr/sharedfiles/059.pdf
- ^ Title Iii
External links
- Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela (html)
- Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela (pdf)
- Unofficial English translation (html)
- Unofficial French translation (html)
See also
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