According to ezinereligion, in 2007, the population of Venezuela was estimated to be 26 million people. The economy was largely based on oil and had a GDP of $260 billion. Foreign relations were mainly with its Latin American neighbours such as Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, as well as other developed countries around the world. In 2007, the country was led by President Hugo Chávez, who had been in power since 1999. During his presidency, Chávez sought to reduce poverty and improve economic growth by introducing reforms such as subsidies for basic goods and services and land reform programs. He also sought to strengthen ties with other left-leaning governments in Latin America while maintaining strong ties with traditional allies such as the United States and European Union countries.
Yearbook 2007
Venezuela. According to CountryAAH, Caracas is the capital city of Venezuela. Latin America’s internationally best-known head of state, Venezuela’s controversial president Hugo Chávez, made headlines this year as well. Most notable was the racy exchange at the Latin American Summit in Santiago, Chile in November, when Chávez was in open quarrel with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, calling his representative José María Aznar fascist; the present Spanish king Juan Carlos I then asked Chávez to “shut up”. The rhetorical champion Chávez was not late to point out that the old colonial power of Spain had asked Latin America to shut up for 500 years, but that it was now over. He decided to freeze relations with Spain until he received an apology from the king.
The most striking event in domestic politics was the referendum on December 2. For the first time in nine years with twelve national elections of various kinds, Chávez suffered defeat, and the referendum may well prove to be a turning point in Venezuela’s history under Hugo Chávez. A small majority of voters said no to his proposal for a number of changes to the constitution, including extension of the president’s term of office to seven years; the abolition of the ban on the direct re-election of an incumbent president; involves politicizing the military and setting up a new local administrative organization. The reason for Chávez’s defeat was mainly the low turnout of only 56 percent; the opposition received about as many votes as in the December 2006 presidential election, while Chávez lost nearly three million votes. The referendum result also meant that Chávez’s so-called Bolivarian Revolution was losing momentum, which could cost him some of his political support among the country’s poor. On the other hand, Chávez’s rapid recognition of the election results was considered to be proof that the charges against him as undemocratic despot are unfounded.
- According to abbreviationfinder: VZ is the 2-letter acronym for the country of Venezuela.
Chavez, however, made great use of the great powers of power the current constitution gives him. In May, the only opposition TV channel RCTV was closed, and the oil fields in Orinoco were sub-nationalized. At the same time, Venezuela had Latin America’s highest inflation, and social problems worsened. In December, a prison riot with carnage ended and 15 people died.
The US-led coup attempt ran out in the sand over the spring. After manipulating the Western media, the United States probably succeeded in getting allies of the Western colonial states to support coup driver Guaidó as Venezuela’s “president”, but both in Europe and Latin America rallied against the US military intervention. Around May 1, the United States succeeded in bribing individual units in the National Guard and the military to support the coup president, but they were few, isolated, and plans were revealed in advance, so that attempt also ran into the sink. In late July, the United States tried to provoke a military confrontation when it sent a spy plane into Venezuelan airspace, but the plane was rejected by Venezuelan fighters. In increasingly desperation, in early August, the United States imposed financial sanctions on all parts of the Venezuelan state apparatus and banned all supporters of the elected government from entering the United States. At the same time, US “security adviser” John Bolton threatened Russia and China if they continued to support Venezuela.
Venezuela weather in March, April and May
Average daily temperatures between 28 ° C and 35 ° C can be expected over the next three months. It gets warmest in April in Ciudad Bolívar, while May is noticeably cooler in Caracas.
Do you want to go on a beach holiday? The water temperatures are in March, April and May 28-29 ° C. This is great weather for a great time on the beach and in the water.
In March it rains depending on the region of 0 (Maracaibo) to 2 days (Caracas), in April to 2 (Ciudad Bolívar) to 4 days (Caracas) and in May at 6 (Maracaibo) to 9 days (Ciudad Bolívar).
In the period from March to May , the sun shines an average of 6 to 9 hours a day. The sunniest weather is in March in Caracas, with less sun you will have to get by in April in Maracaibo.
Opposition to the Chávez government
At the beginning of his reign, Chávez was also supported by parts of the country’s elite. The support came to an end when he began to challenge established political and economic power structures.
In the fall of 2001, Chávez passed 49 laws that re-regulated the country’s oil and gas operations, banking, pension system and land and fishery resources. Opposition to the laws was a major cause of the failed coup against the Chávez government in April 2002, orchestrated by the political opposition, parts of the military, the employers’ organization FEDECAMARAS, the opposition-affiliated trade union CTV, and opposition newspapers and TV channels. However, the coup fails as a result of disagreements in the coup alliance around the distribution of positions of power, resistance within the military and major popular protests.
In December 2002, the opposition and the business community organized a general strike, lockout and sabotage campaign in the oil company PDVSA. The aim was to force the departure of the government. This action also fails, but the national economy stopped and poverty increased sharply in the months and years that followed.
It was not until the New Year in 2003 that the government started the PDVSA again, and the strike ran out in the sand. Several thousand PDVSA employees who had participated in the action were fired, and the government took control of the company. The failed coup and the action against the PDVSA strengthened the Chávez government, while the opposition was demoralized and discredited.
In 2004, the opposition parties launched a constitutional censored referendum on whether Chávez should be allowed to continue as president. Chávez lost the victory with 59 percent of the vote in his favor. The opposition’s next move was to boycott the national assembly elections in 2005, but the result was a national assembly consisting entirely of government supporters.
Throughout Chávez’s reign, the opposition was characterized by internal power struggles and disagreements around political strategies. In 2007, opposition students came seriously on the run in protest of the opposition TV channel RCTV losing its broadcast license in Venezuela, and having to move production and broadcast via satellite from the United States. Over the next few years, student movements emerged as the most powerful opposition to the government.
Chávez was regularly criticized for restricting freedom of expression in Venezuela, including in connection with the closure of RCTV. At the same time, the grassroots media experienced a major upturn during the Chávez period, and the media image continued to be characterized by oppositional, privately owned media.