Venezuela
The name “Venezuela” is believed to have originated from Amerigo Vespucci who with Alonso de Ojeda, led a 1499 naval expedition along the northwestern coast’s Gulf of Venezuela. On reaching the Guajira Peninsula, the crew observed villages that the people had built over the water. This reminded Vespucci of the city of Venice, so he named the region “Venezuola”, meaning “little Venice” in Italian. Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda’s crew, states in his work Summa de Geografía that the indigenous population they found were called “Veneciuela”, suggesting that the name “Venezuela” may have evolved from a native word. The Vespucci story, however, remains the most popular and accepted version of the origin of the country’s name.
Venezuela was first colonized by Spain in 1522 in what is now Cumaná.
Much of Venezuela’s nineteenth century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule. During first half of the 20th century, caudillos (military strongmen) continued to dominate, though they generally allowed for mild social reforms and promoted economic growth. Following the death of Juan Vicente Gómez in 1935 and the demise of caudillismo (authoritarian rule), pro-democracy movements eventually forced the military to withdraw from direct involvement in national politics in 1958. Since that year, Venezuela has had a series of democratically elected governments. The discovery of massive oil deposits during World War I prompted an economic boom that lasted into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela’s per capita gross domestic product was Latin America’s highest.
In February 1992 Hugo Chávez, an army paratrooper, staged a coup d’état attempt seeking to overthrow the government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez. Chávez failed and was placed in jail. In November 1992, another unsuccessful coup attempt occurred, organized by groups loyal to Chávez remaining in the armed forces. Chávez was acquitted in March 1994 by president Rafael Caldera, with his political rights intact.
In 1998, Chávez was elected president after a vigorous campaign, in contrast with the feeble discourse of the weakened traditional parties’ candidates. [17] His reform program, which he later called the “Bolivarian Revolution”, was aimed at redistributing the benefits of Venezuela’s oil wealth to the lower socio-economic groups by using it to fund programs such as health care and education, but has encountered great criticism by the previous establishment. In April 2002 he suffered a coup d’état.[18] He was returned to power after two days as a result of popular demonstrations in his favour and actions by the military.[19] Chávez has also survived an all-out national strike that lasted more than two months in December 2002 – February 2003, including a strike/lockout in the state oil company PDVSA, and a recall referendum in August 2004. He was elected for another term in December 2006.
