Venezuela under Pérez Jiménez

Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic)

Authors Mullins, Jack Alonzo, 1935-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this materialis made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona.Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such aspublic display or performance) of protected items is prohibitedexcept with permission of the author.

Download date 14/05/2021 07:30:03

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/317957

VENEZUELA UNDER PEREZ J IW E Z

by

Jack Alonzo M ullins

A T hesis Subm itted to th e F a c u lty o f th e

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

In P a r t i a l F u lf i l lm e n t o f th e Requirem ents For th e Degree o f

. MASTER OF ARTS

In th e G raduate C o llege

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1 9 6 6

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

T his th e s i s has been su b m itted in p a r t i a l f u l f i l lm e n t o f req u irem en ts fo r an advanced d eg ree a t The U n iv e rs ity o f A rizona and i s d ep o s ited in th e U n iv e rs ity L ib ra ry to be made a v a i la b le to borrow ers under r u le s o f th e L ib ra ry »

B rie f q u o ta tio n s from th i s th e s i s a re a llo w ab le w ith o u t s p e c ia l perm issions, p ro v id ed th a t a c c u ra te acknowledgment o f sou rce i s made® R equests f o r p e rm iss io n fo r ex tended q u o ta tio n from o r re p ro d u c tio n o f t h i s m a p s ie r ip t in whole o r in p a r t may be g ran ted by th e head o f th e major departm ent o r th e Bean o f th e G raduate C o lleg e when in h is judgm ent th e proposed u se o f th e m a te r ia l i s i n th e i n t e r e s t s o f scholarship® .. In a l l o th e r in s ta n c e s s, however9 p e rm iss io n must be o b ta in e d from th e author®

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

This th e s i s has been approved on th e d a te shown below:

RUSlSLL C® eiengi Pro fe s s o r o f H is to ry

PREFACE

The achievem ent o f p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y in

V enezuela and th e c u l t iv a t io n o f th e f r ie n d s h ip o f th e

governm ent o f th a t n a t io n have been major aims o f th e

U nited S ta te s f o r th e l a s t q u a r te r o f a e e n tu ry 0 For

s t r a t e g i c as w e ll as economic re a s o n s s th e U nited S ta te s

has sought to in s u re th e c o n t in u a t io n o f th e flow o f

V enezuelan petro leu m and i ro n o re to i t s ports® Therefore^,

i t i s o f th e u tm ost im portance th a t th e U nited S ta te s n o t

r e p e a t th e m is tak es made by th e Eisenhower a d m in is tra t io n

d u rin g th e d ic ta to r s h ip o f Marcos P erez Jimenez® In o rd e r

to f o r e s t a l l such a mis fo r tu n e , i t i s n e c e ssa ry t h a t th e re

be an u n d e rs tan d in g o f how th e re a c t io n a ry regim e came to

powerg how i t conducted th e a f f a i r s o f s t a t e , and what

were th e consequences fo r th e p eo p le o f Venezuela®

The p re s e n t s tudy r e p re s e n ts an e f f o r t by th e

au th o r to r e l a t e th e d i c t a t o r i a l r u le o f P erez Jim enez to

th e s o c ia l , economic and p o l i t i c a l e v o lu tio n o f Venezuela®

I t i s e a rn e s t ly hoped th a t th e dem ocratic governm ent which

has fo llow ed i t w i l l be ab le to e r a d ic a te th e e v i l s produced

by th e d ic ta to r s h ip and th a t V enezuelan p o l i t i c a l le a d e rs

w i l l n o t r e p e a t th e m istakes w hich allow ed th e m i l i t a r y to

g a in c o n tro l o f th e p o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s o f th e n a t io n , w ith

such t r a g ic consequences®

TABLE OF CCSTESTS

Page

P iEOiF ACE e o e e o o e o o o o o o o o o D o e o e o o o o o o o o o o o o b o o o o o o o o o o o o 3=3=

AkBST L * T g 9 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 6 0 0 0 0

C hapter

I . ISTRODOCTI® o 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 = 0 0 0 9 0 9 9 0 0 , 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 O O O O 6 0

The B ee lin e and F a l l o f Madina . . « . = . . . =. 3The D em ocratic Exper i ment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7G allegos and tn e G ff rc e rs . . . . . e . . . . . . . . . . . . 13The Overthrow o f th e G allegos Regime . . . . . 17The S w ift A scent o f Marcos P erez J im e n e z .. . 21

IT . THE MILITARY TRIUMVIRATE; 1948-1950 = = = = = = =. = o 25

O rg an iza tio n and C o n s o l i d a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25The J u n ta and th e P o l i t i c a l P a r t i e s . . . . . . . . 27The S u p p ressio n o f O rganized Labor . . . . . . . . . 28The C u rta ilm en t o f C iv i l L i b e r t i e s . . . . . . . . . 31F ore ign R e l a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34S o c ia l and Economic Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The Power S tru g g le and I t s R e s o l u t i o n . . . . . . 39The Legacy o f Delgado ........... 42

I I I . POLITICAL TRE8BS JED CCEBITIOHS, 1950-1957 ..» 46

The S ta tu s and Alignm ent o f S o c i a l .and. IICG) jCO mr C 3 3= 3U ) S . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fThe S earch fo r "Leg i t i ma cy" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53"The.New N a tio n a l Id e a l" . . *............................... 62A bsolute Power* A L icen se fo r C o r ru p t io n . . . 67

IV. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNDER PEBEZ JIMENE20000. 69

The E x tra c t iv e I n d u s t r i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74ac tu r rn g 79

XI St 3=33iC C* 3=0 xi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 25T e . . . . 1 e . o e e e e o e e . e e . . . . . . . o e e * « e . . . . . . . O \

T ra n s p o r ta t io n . ............... 85,4 g r ic u ltu ra l Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

iv

C hapter Page

7 O P CBIlIG Q o o o e o o o o o d o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o b 9A*

H e a lth ........... 94S o c ia l I n s u r a n c e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98E d u c a tio n ............. 99Housing and Urban Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

7X o IHE FORCES o o © o ©»»»© © © o © © . © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 112

b 0 d e rn lz a tio n o f th e Armed F o r c e s . . . . . . . . . 112"The C a rro t and th e S t i c k " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116The M ission o f th e Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

T i l © FOREIGN .RELATIONS, © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 118

L a tin American R e l a t i o n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119R e la tio n s w ith th e U n ited S t a t e s . . . . . . . . . . 123V enezuela and th e S o v ie t Bloc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 125R e la tio n s w ith th e U nited Hat i o n s . . . . . . . . . 126The O rg a n iza tio n o f American S t a t e s . . . . . . . 128F orergu *Ir a»clc5. . . . . . . . . o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130F ore ign I n v e s t m e n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

T ill© THE DECLINE AND FALL OF PEREZ J I M E Z MD THE► . - AFTEJIBCATH © © © © © ©? © © © © © ©* © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © ©' © © © 13 4

The Growth o f O p p o sitio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134The P le b e s e i te and I t s E f f e c t s . . . . . . . . . . . . 137The Legacy o f D i c t a t o r s h i p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143The Wages o f C o l l a b o r a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145The F a te o f P erez J i menez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

BIBLIOGRAPHY© © © © © © © © © © © © o o o © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 151

ABSTRACT

The p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y in V enezuela fo llo w in g

World War I I enab led Marcos P erez Jim enez3 a young army

o f f ic e r s to f u r th e r h is am bitions fo r power0 C a p i ta l iz in g

on th e m istakes o f th e government^ he succeeded in

d i r e c t in g i t s overth row in 19480 A fter se rv in g on a

m i l i ta r y t r iu m v ira te fo r two y e a r 8 $ he became c h ie f o f

s t a t e when th e p r e s id e n t o f t h a t body was a s sa ss in a te d ,,

U n til Januaryg 19589 he ru le d V enezuela w ith th e

backing o f th e ran k in g army o f f i c e r s and o th e r elem ents o f

th e t r a d i t i o n a l e l i t e * S u p p o rte rs were rew arded a t th e

expense o f th e t r e a s u ry bu t opponents ex p e rien ced v io le n c e

and in t im id a t io n e Democracy was r u th le s s ly stamped out*

The in e p tn e s s s co rru p tio n ^ w aste and n e g le c t which

perm eated th e p la n n in g and ex e cu tio n o f th e b iz a r r e

developm ent p r o je c t s o f th e regim e se rv ed to a c c e n tu a te

th e endemic d i s t o r t i o n s o f th e economy. Meanwhile9 s l i g h t

a t t e n t io n was g iv en to th e w e lfa re o f th e im poverished

m asses« •

To secu re more funds fo r h is p u b lic works program

th e d ic t a t o r lu re d fo re ig n in v estm en t w ith th e o f f e r o f

p r e f e r e n t i a l t r e a tm e n t0 S ince U nited S ta te s firm s

c o n t ro l le d th e p ro d u c tio n and ex p o rt o f pe tro leu m and iro n

oreg he c u l t iv a te d th e f r ie n d s h ip o f t h e i r government and

v i i

su p p o rted i t s anti-G om m unist p o l ic ie s on th e in te r n a t io n a l

le v e lo In L a tin Americas, P erez Jim enez a l l i e d h im se lf

w ith o th e r d ic t a t o r s in o p p o s it io n to dem ocratic govern­

ments „

In th e end th e d i c t a t o r was overthrown,, His

p e r s i s t e n t abuse o f power had g ra d u a lly aroused th e

o p p o s it io n o f th e Ghureh@ th e m iddle c la s s and even th e

o f f i c e r c o rp s 0 But V enezuela i s s t i l l ex p e rien c in g some

o f th e t e r r i b l e consequences o f h i s ty ra n n y $ a lth o u g h

s e v e ra l y e a rs have p assed s in c e th e f a l l o f P e rez Jim enez,

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Dmrlag th e l a t t e r s ta g e s o f th e Second World War9

V enezuela began to emerge from i t s t r a d i t i o n a l s t a tu s as

a n a t io n governed by and f o r a sm all and h ig h ly p r iv i le g e d

e l i t e o At t h a t tim e a few l im ite d s te p s were ta k en by th e

a d m in is tra t io n in th e d i r e c t io n o f s o c ia l refo rm and

economic development,, Meanwhile9 th e government began to

a llow p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s to fu n c tio n and even to c r i t i c i z e

i t s p o l ic ie s and program s» A lthough th e se m easures were

somewhat l i b e r a l in natu re* they were by mo means r e p r e ­

s e n ta t iv e o f an in te n t io n by th e regim e to en ab le anyone

o u ts id e o f th e r u l in g c la s s to a c q u ire a s ig n i f i c a n t r o le

i n th e conduct o f th e a f f a i r s o f s ta te * But th e s h i f t in

th e d i r e c t io n o f government p o l ic y was d is tu rb in g b o th to

e lem ents o f th e o ld o rd e r and to th e r a p id ly deve lop ing

o p p o sitio n ,, The form er though t th e reform s to o rad ic a l*

w h ile th e l a t t e r b e lie v e d them to be too mild*

R e a liz in g th a t th e y had no means o f ach iev in g power

by p e a c e fu l means* s in c e th e government m ain ta ined a t i g h t

ho ld in th e e l e c t o r a l p r© cess9 th e p r in c ip a l eppo s i t ion

p a r ty came to power by v io le n t means* I t launched a

s u s ta in e d e f f o r t designed to produce a sound and d iv e r s i f i e d

economy8 sought to secu re a more e q u i ta b le d i s t r i b u t io n o f

th e n a t io n a l income and p e rm itte d th e peop le to ta k e p a r t

in th e p o l i t i c a l p rocess* But th e dem ocratic experim ent

was p rem a tu re ly and v io le n t ly te rm in a te d a f t e r on ly th re e

years* The in e x p e rie n c e o f th e reform ers^ th e r a p id i ty

and r a d ic a l n a tu re o f th e reform m easures9 and th e sub­

v e r s iv e e f f o r t s o f elem ents o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l e l i t e ,

c o n tr ib u te d to th e re su rg en ce o f m ilita rism *

During th e ensu ing decade9 th e n a t io n experien ced

a s w if t and s te ad y d e c lin e in to th e dark abyss o f m i l i t a r y

d ic ta to r s h ip , which s y s te m a tic a l ly conducted an a s s a u l t

upon th e V enezuelan people* The man who h eld th e r e in s o f

power d u rin g th e l a s t seven y e a rs o f t h a t p e r io d was Marcos

P e rez Jimenez*

The d i c t a t o r had a t ta in e d th e p in n a c le o f power

a f t e r having c a r e f u l ly and a s tu te ly grasped th e o p p o r tu n i­

t i e s fo r advancement p ro v id ed him d u rin g th e tu r b u le n t p o s t ­

war years* C a p i ta l iz in g upon th e fo rc e s a t work w ith in

h is chosen p ro fe s s io n and f u l ly e x p lo it in g h is p r e s t ig e

and re p u ta t io n fo r com petence, th e young Army o f f i c e r

managed to p la c e h im se lf a t th e head o f a pow erfu l group

o f o f f i c e r s in th a t i n s t i t u t i o n , t r a d i t i o n a l l y th e f i n a l

a r b i t e r o f V enezuelan p o l i t i e s *

The D ecline and F a l l o f Medina

The p o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s o f V enezuela d u rin g th e

f i r s t fo u r arid o n e -h a lf decades o f th e tw e n tie th c e n tu ry

were managed by a su c c e ss io n o f g e n e ra l o f f i c e r s o f th e army,

a l l o f whom were n a t iv e s o f th e Andean s t a t e o f T a c h ira 0

The p r in c ip a l su p p o rt fo r t h e i r regim es had been p ro v id ed

by a sm a ll group o f s e n io r army o f f i c e r s from t h e i r n a t iv e

s t a t e 0 In r e tu r n they were la v is h ly endowed w ith f in a n c ia l

rew ards o f v a r io u s ty p es and were p e rm itte d to p a r t i c ip a t e

in th e la r g e - s c a le g r a f t and c o r ru p tio n w hich a t ta in e d

s ta g g e r in g p ro p o r tio n s d u rin g th e long d ic ta to r s h ip o f

Ju an V icen te Gomeza

But th e ju n io r o f f i c e r s were p o o rly p a id , su b je c te d

to a v e ry slow r a te o f p rom otionss and d ep riv ed o f th e

b e n e f i ts c u s to m a rily g ran te d to o f f ic e r s * Thoroughly

in tim id a te d by Gomez, th e y were le d to b e l ie v e th a t h is

su c c e sso rs would a l l e v i a t e th e h a rd sh ip s th e y had so long

endured , th ro u g h th e re tire m e n t o f th e superannuated

T a c h lra g e n e ra ls and th e i n s t i t u t i o n o f a tho rough reform

o f th e pay and prom otion systems* But th e prom ised reform s

were n o t forthcom ing* By th e end o f World War I I , p lagued

by r a p id ly mounting i n f l a t i o n , th e young o f f i c e r s concluded

th a t they would have to r e s o r t to d r a s t i c ac tion*

A c o n s p i r a to r ia l group, known as th e P a t r i o t i c

M il i ta ry Union (UPM), was formed in 1944 by some o f th e

4

yomng army o f f i c e r s c T h e ir aim was th e v io le n t o u s te r

o f th e c u r r e n t regim es headed fey P re s id e n t I s a i a s Medina

ih g a r i ta o A pparen tly th e p l o t t e r s were a c tu a te d by a

v a r ie ty o f m otives^ in c lu d in g d i s t a s t e fo r th e incom petence

and p e c u la t io n which perm eated th e Medina regim e, a

d e s i r e fo r th e m o d ern iza tio n and p r o f e s s io n a l iz a t io n o f

th e army9 d em ocratic c o n v ic t io n s 3 and p e rso n a l am b itio n s0

Meanwhile, Medina had begun to l i b e r a l i z e h is

regime,. Among th e in n o v a tio n s were re s p e c t f o r freedom

o f expressions, p re fe re n c e to c i v i l i a n s fo r th e m ajor govern­

ment jo b s , th e enactm ent o f p ro g re s s iv e ta x law s, and

government in te rv e n t io n in la b o r d is p u te s in su p p o rt o f

th e demands o f la b o r 0 These p o l ic ie s and m easures served

to a l i e n a te th e t r a d i t i o n a l govern ing e l i t e , c o n s is t in g o f

s e n io r army o f f i c e r s , i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , and haoendados. most

o f whom flo ck ed to th e banner o f Medina6s more c o n s e rv a tiv e

p re d e c e s s o r9 G eneral E lea z a r lo p e z C o n tre ra s 0 Meanwhile,

th e r a p id ly growing D em ocratic A ction P a r ty (AD), led by

Ronralo B e tan co u rt, had managed to o b ta in c o n s id e ra b le ;

s u p p o r t>among th e la b o r fo rc e , thanks to th e t o l e r a t i o n

shewn by Medina f o r th e e x e rc is e o f c i v i l l i b e r t i e s 0 But

by 1945 i t appeared c e r t a in th a t Medina, f irm ly in c o n tro l

10 Edwin Lieuwen, V enezuela (London; Oxford U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1961), pp. 68=-690 -

©f th e Congress (w hich would s e l e c t h is su c cesso r) would

be ab le to hand -p ick th e n ex t p re s id e n t* In Ju n e , Medina

s e le c te d as th e c a n d id a te o f th e government p a r ty a d i s ­

tin g u ish e d d ip lom at whose p o l i t i c a l ph ilo so p h y was

s u f f i c i e n t l y " l i b e r a l to a s su re him th e su p p o rt o f AD* But

Diogenes E scalan te ,, th en Ambassador to th e U nited S ta te s 9

was u n accep tab le to th e Lopez s u p p o r te r s .

The HPM s e c r e t ly e n te re d th e p o l i t i c a l a re n a a t

th e end o f Ju n e , The young o f f i c e r s c o n ta c te d B e tan co u rt

and i n i t i a t e d a s e r i e s o f m eetings w ith him designed to

secu re an a l l i a n c e w ith AD fo r th e pu rpose o f f o r c ib ly

overth row ing th e Medina reg im e. But th e AD le a d e r d e c lin e d

to commit h is p a r ty to such a d r a s t i c co u rse o f action®

p r e f e r r in g to adhere to th e p a r t y ”s d e c is io n to su p p o rt

Escalante® who had assu red him th a t he would u n d e rta k e

e x te n s iv e reform s and re s p e c t p o l i t i c a l l i b e r t i e s ,2

But a c r i s i s a ro se in September w hich fo rc e d AD

to change i t s p la n s , E sc a la n te s u f fe re d a nervous b reak ­

down and had to w ithdraw h is can d id acy . D esp ite a s u s ta in e d

e f f o r t by AD to induce Medina to s e l e c t a compromise candi­

d a te a c c e p ta b le to a l l parties® th e P re s id e n t chose as h is

h e ir -a p p a re n t an obscu re c iv ilian ® Angel B ia g g in i, who was

se rv in g as h is M in is te r o f A g r ic u ltu re , A ll a ttem p ts by AD

to g e t him to change h is mind were r e je c te d and i t appeared

t h a t Medina p lanned to r e t a i n p o l i t i c a l power by se c u rin g

th e e l e c t io n o f a puppet P re s id e n t , T herefore^ AD renewed

i t s n e g o t ia t io n s w ith UPM, Meanwhile, Medina, a p p a re n tly

c o n f id e n t t h a t he had w idespread su p p o rt among th e army

o f f i c e r s , sought to overcome th e in f lu e n c e o f th e Lopez

f a c t io n among th e s e n io r o f f i c e r s , i n th e b e l i e f t h a t th e3

t h r e a t to h is regim e emanated from th a t s o u rc e ,

A fte r Medina r e je c te d a l a s t d e s p e ra te e f f o r t by

J© to secu re th e j o i n t s e le c t io n o f a compromise c a n d id a te ,- «

th e AD le a d e rsh ip h e ld a f i n a l s e c r e t m eeting w ith le a d e rs

o f th e 1PM on O ctober 16, 1945, At t h a t m eeting th e AD

formed an a l l ia n c e w ith th e 1PM fo r th e v io le n t overth row

o f Medina a f t e r th e young o f f i c e r s evidenced t h e i r

d e te rm in a tio n to s ta g e a r e v o l t in any e v e n t, The le a d e rs

fe a re d th a t a r e v o l t conducted s o le ly by th e m i l i t a r y would

produce a m i l i t a r y d ic t a to r s h ip . The two groups agreed

t h a t c i v i l i a n s would c o n t ro l th e new governm ent and th a t

AD members would com prise a m a jo r i ty o f th e c o l l e g i a l

ex e c u tiv e which would be e s ta b l i s h e d to manage th e a f f a i r s

o f s t a t e , ^

3 , I b id , , p , 116,

4 , R obert J , . A lexander, Communism in L a t in America (New Brunswick, 1 , J , s R utgers U n iv e rs ity P re ss ,. 1957),p , 258, . '

Meanwhileg Medina had re c e iv e d a l i s t o f th e

le a d e rs o f th e BPM and had le a rn e d o f t h e i r p la n to s ta g e

a r e v o l t in December« Bmt he d id n e t know o f t h e i r

a l l i a n c e w ith AD, The a r r e s t and d e te n tio n o f M ajors

Marcos P e rez Jim enez and J u l io C0 Vargas on th e morning o f

O ctober 18 im pelled th e o th e r c o n s p ira to r s to s ta g e an

im m ediate r e v o l t . A fte r heavy f ig h t in g and many c a s u a l t ie s

th e r e v o l t succeeded . On th e morning o f O ctober 19-,

Medina su rre n d e re d to P erez Jim enez

V enezuela was governed fo r th e n ex t th r e e y e a rs by

regim es c o n tro l le d by AD. During th e tr ie n n iu m c o n s id e ra b le

p ro g re ss was made toward th e achievem ent o f p o l i t i c a l

dem ocracy9 economic developm ent and s o c ia l re fo rm . The

government g ran te d u n iv e r s a l s u f f ra g e ; conducted h o n est

e l e c t io n s 9 in tro d u ce d th e s e c r e t b a l l o t , i n s t i t u t e d th e

d i r e c t e l e c t io n o f th e P re s id e n t and o f members o f C ongresss

g e n e ra l ly fo s te re d and p ro te c te d th e e x e rc is e o f c i v i l

l i b e r t i e s and o th e rw ise s tim u la te d th e e v o lu tio n o f p o l i t i c a l

dem ocracy. I t s economic developm ent program was a c a r e f u l ly

p lanned and g e n e ra lly w e ll-e x e c u te d e f f o r t to d iv e r s i f y th e

economy, and was to be fin an ced by th e enhanced petro leum

revenues o b ta in e d by means o f in c re a se d le v ie s upon th e

5. Luzardo, pp . 116-19.

fo re ig n o i l com panies. The re fo rm ers succeeded in red u cin g

i l l i t e r a c y , s t im u la t in g th e developm ent o f e d u c a tio n ,

im proving p u b lic h e a lth , and r a i s in g th e s ta n d a rd o f l iv in g

o f th e p o o re r c i t i z e n s .

However, s e r io u s problem s a ro se because o f th e

r a p id i ty w ith which th e government pu rsued i t s program s,

by th e m is tak es o f th e regim e and by th e im p lacab le o p p o si­

t io n o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l e l i t e to refo rm m easures0

Im m ediately a f t e r th e o u s te r o f Medina, a

R ev o lu tio n ary J u n ta , composed o f Romulo B e tan co u rt ( i t s

P r e s id e n t ) , th r e e o th e r members o f AD, two army o f f i c e r s ,

and one in d ep en d en t, assumed th e e x e c u tiv e and l e g i s l a t i v e

pow ers0 The ju n ta im m ediately e s ta b l is h e d a s p e c ia l

t r ib u n a l empowered to p ro se c u te o f f i c i a l s o f th e p rev io u s

regim es who were su sp ec ted o f fra u d o r embezzlement o f

p u b lic funds and to impose f in e s upon th o se who should be

found g u i l ty o f c r im in a l conduct o f t h i s n a tu re , ' P reced en t

f o r such p ro ceed in g s la y in th e e x p ro p r ia tio n o f th e v a s t

Gomez e s t a t e s by th e Congress and s t a t e l e g i s l a tu r e s

d u rin g th e Lopez reg im e.

For n in e months th e s p e c ia l t r ib u n a l conducted

p ro ceed in g s a g a in s t more th an 150 p rom inent form er o f f i ­

c i a l s , More th an 100 o f th e d e fen d a n ts , in c lu d in g th e

/ yr

6 , Romulo B e tan co u rt, V enezuela: P o l i t i c a v- P e tro le o (Mexico: Fondo de C u l tu r a Economic a, 1956)7 PP ° 226-27„ C ited h e r e a f te r as B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, .

e x i le d form er p r e s id e n ts 9 were o rd e red to make r e s t i t u t i o n

o f la rg e sums0 They were o rd e red to pay f in e s to t a l i n g

more th an $100 m il l io n . ? The a d m in is tra t iv e t r ib u n a l

p e rm itte d th e accused to be re p re se n te d by le g a l counsels,

and th e accused were a ffo rd e d th e o p p o r tu n ity to p re s e n t

a d d i t io n a l ev idence d u rin g th e rev iew p ro ceed in g s conducted

by a s p e c ia l com m ission. But IB was rendered v u ln e ra b le

to o p p o s it io n com plain ts t h a t th e n o n - ju d ic ia l n a tu re o f

th e p ro ceed in g s and th e heavy p e n a l t i e s imposed (and o f te n

s a t i s f i e d by means, o f th e c o n f is c a t io n o f e s t a t e s ) were

a c tu a te d by p e rs o n a l an im osity tow ard th e o u s ted o f f i c i a l s .

Thuss, a t th e very o u ts e t th e deposed government o f f i c i a l s

were fu rn ish e d an a d d i t io n a l in c e n tiv e to p lo t th e d e s tru c ­

t io n o f th e AD reg im e. Lopez and Medinas each o f whom were

o rd ered to r e s to r e about $4 m il l io n to th e t r e a s u r y s were

ren d ered v i r t u a l l y p e n n i le s s , a c ircu m stan ce w hich o f fe re dQ

them an e s p e c ia l ly s tro n g in c e n tiv e to p l o t . 0

C o u n te r-re v o lu tio n a ry r e v o l ts and c o n s p ira c ie s

were fre q u en t and tended to become in c re a s in g ly s e r io u s .

The e a r l i e r r e v o l t s were a p p a re n tly in s t ig a te d by su p p o rte rs/

o f Medina and Lopez. However, th e l a t e r ones w ere, fo r th e

7 . New York Times. August 1, 1946, p . 10 and February 1 6 , 1948, p . . 5.

8 . A ustin F . MacDonald, L a tin American P o l i t i c s and Government (2d ed . r e v . ; New York. Thomas Y. C row ell Co. , 1954), pp . 442-43.

most p a r t a d ir e c te d by form er members o f th e OEM who had

become d i s s a t i s f i e d w ith th e reg im ee Two o f th e most

s e r io u s c h a lle n g e s to th e B e tan co u rt regim e — th e Maraeay

m i l i ta r y r e v o l t o f December 10s 1946, and th e a b o r tiv eZ *

T achira=based u p r is in g e f September 12, 1947 — were le d ,/ /r e s p e c t iv e ly , by L ie u te n a n t C olonel Juan P e rez Jim enez,

th e b ro th e r o f th e C h ief o f th e G eneral S ta f f , and by

L ie u ten an t C olonel J u l io Ce V argas, th e b ro th e r o f th e

In s p e c to r G enera l, But B e tan co u rt was ab le to q u e l l them,

s u s ta in e d by th e a t - le a s t rn o m in a l lo y a l ty o f th e form er

le a d e rs o f th e UPM0 To p u t down th e Maraeay r e v o l t o f

December, 1946, however, he had found i t n e c e ssa ry to

o rd e r h is p a r ty to c a l l o u t i t s members and arm them a t a

b a rrack s in C aracas,

The army had been a ssu red a v o ice in th e fo rm u la tio n

o f government p o l ic y from th e v ery in c e p tio n o f th e

R ev o lu tio n a ry J u n ta . Two o f th e p r in c ip a l GPM le a d e r s .

Major C arlo s Delgado. Chalbaud and C ap ta in Mario V argas,

were appo in ted members o f th e ju n ta and were a ss ig n ed th e

im p o rtan t c a b in e t p o s i t io n s o f M in is te r o f D efense and

M in is te r o f th e I n t e r i o r , r e s p e c t iv e ly »

9 0 Hew York Times. December 14, 1946, p c 8 , and September 25, 1947, p , 23.

11

Betancom rt a s ta te ly reco g n ized th a t th e regim e #omld

a lso have to u n d ertak e o th e r m easures to in s u re th e c o n t i ­

nued lo y a l ty o f th e armed f o r c e s 9 whose su p p o rt was v i t a l

to th e e x is te n c e o f th e government* During h is tw o-year

te n u re as p r e s id e n t o f th e ju n ta a v a r ie ty o f program s were

c a r r ie d o u t fo r th e b e n e f i t o f th e armed f o r c e s 0 I n i t i a l l y ^

a l l o f f i c e r s above th e grade o f m ajor were r e t i r e d * a

move w hich se rved a d u a l purposes th e rem oval from th e army

o f n e a r ly a l l o f th e s e n io r o f f i c e r s who had su p p o rted

Lopez and Medina* and whose lo y a l ty to th e new regim e was*

a t best* q u e s tio n a b le ; and th e fu r th e ra n c e o f th e p r o f e s ­

s io n a l iz a t io n o f th e armed fo rc e s th rough th e e l im in a tio n

o f p roponen ts o f outmoded te c h n iq u e s and th e improvement

o f o p p o r tu n i t ie s fo r prom otion* Then th e regim e g ran ted

s a la r y in c re a s e s o f 37 p e r c e n t to th e o f f i c e r s and r a is e d

th e pay o f e n l i s t e d men 57 p e r cent* S u b s is te n ce allow ances

were in c re a se d 50 p e r cent* m edical and o th e r b e n e f i ts

were augmented* r e c r e a t io n and h e a l th f a c i l i t i e s were

improved* and o th e r m easures were ta k en to p ro v id e fo r th e

w e lfa re and com fort o f th e armed f o r c e s »H In 1946* th e

j u n ta e n te re d in to an agreem ent fo r th e d is p a tc h o f U nited

S ta te s m i l i ta ry and n a v a l m issions to V enezuela to ad v ise

th e armed fo rc e s concern ing th e employment o f modern

11* lew York Times* lovem ber 17* 1945* p* 10* and June 4* 1946* p* 11; B etancourt* Venezuela., p« 837*

t a c t i c s and equipment,, Armaments were pu rchased from th e

U nited S ta te s and o th e r n a tio n s*

There was, however, a qu id p ro quo demanded in

r e tu r n fo r th e improvement o f th e m i l i t a r y s ta n d a rd o f

l iv in g and th e p u rch ase o f modern equipm ent and te c h n ic a l

a s s is ta n c e abroad* The governm ent made i t c l e a r from th e

v ery b eg in n in g th a t i t expected th e o f f ic e r s to tu r n t h e i r

a t t e n t io n to s t r i c t l y m i l i t a r y m a tte rs and to r e l in q u is h

th e t r a d i t i o n a l n o tio n th a t th ey had a r ig h t to fo rc ib ly

in te rv e n e in p o l i t i c s * ^

Some o f th e r e t i r e d s e n io r o f f i c e r s , h a rb o rin g

resen tm en t a g a in s t th e regim e, occup ied t h e i r l e i s u r e

tim e p lo t t i n g i t s d o w n fa ll, and some o f th e more am bitious

young o f f i c e r s d is l ik e d th e id e a o f abandoning t h e i r

n o tio n t h a t th e y had a r i g h t o f p o l i t i c a l in te r v e n t io n * ^

But th e army le a d e r s p u b l ic ly acknowledged th e le g itim a c y

o f th e AD regime and th e h onesty o f th e e le c t io n s which i t

conducted , p ro m isin g to defend th e government a g a in s t

v io le n t e f f o r t s to overth row i t* As l a t e as O ctober 13,

1947, th e M in is te r o f D efense, l i e u te n a n t C olonel Delgado,

p re se n te d to th e C o n s titu e n t Assembly a document s igned by

12* S tan ley J* S erxner, 11 Acc io n D em ocratic a o f V enezuela: I t s O rig in .a n d Development. 88 L a tin American Monographs (G a in e s v il le , F la* : U n iv e rs ity o f F lo r id a P re ss , 1959)71X 7 13* " , . .

13

him# and by th e C h ief o f S ta f f and A s s is ta n t C h ie f o f S t a f f 9

L ie u te n a n t C o lonels Marcos P erez Jim enez and L u is F e lip e

L lo v e ra P aez, r e s p e c t iv e ly 9 r e a f f irm in g th o se a s s e r t io n s e ^

But th e army o f f i c e r s were w e ll aware o f th e

c o n t in u a l a t ta c k s b e in g made upon th e regim e th ro u g h th e

news media and knew th a t vehement d e n u n c ia tio n o f th e

regim e was be in g to le r a te d by th e government p u rsu a n t to

i t s p o lic y o f r e s p e c t fo r freedom o f e x p re s s io n , d e s p i te

th e f a c t th a t such v e rb a l a s s a u l t s o f te n c o n s t i tu te d

in c ite m e n ts to v io len ce ,. The an ti-g o v ern m en t propaganda

most o f te n emanated from businessm en, i n d u s t r i a l i s t s , and

r u r a l landow ners who were d is tu rb e d by th e p ro - la b o r p o l i ­

c ie s o f th e government which c o n tr ib u te d to th e i n f l a t i o n

o f t h e i r la b o r e o s t s 9 The o p p o s it io n p a r t i e s , on th e o th e r

hand, re se n te d th e p o l i t i c a l dominance o f AD and th e

a t t i t u d e o f Ma g g re ss iv e in to le r a n c e 18 d isp lay ed by th a t

p a r ty tow ard them, e s p e c ia l ly in th e sm all p r o v in c ia l 15communities*

a#l!em m _and th e O ff ic e rs

A fte r d i r e c t in g th e a f f a i r s o f s t a t e f o r n e a r ly twoy “ *

y e a rs , Eoraulo B e tan co u rt p rep a red to r e l in q u is h h is o f f ic e

14. I b id . . p © 215./ / /15. Romulo B e tan co u rt, Romulo B e tan co u rt: P o s lc io n

v D o c tr in a ( 2d ed'. r e v . ; C aracas: E d i to r ia l C o r d i l le r a ,1959), "p. 170. C ited h e r e a f te r as B e tan co u rt, P o s ic lo n .

to a c o n s t i tu t io n a l ly e le c te d p r e s id e n t0 He h im se lf was

b a rred from seek in g th e o f f ic e under th e term s o f an e a r ly

d ec ree o f th e R ev o lu tio n ary Junta.-, T h e re fo re 5, AD had9

n o t u n n a tu ra l ly 9 s e le c te d as i t s s ta n d a rd -b e a re r in th e

1947 e le c t io n s th e e ld e r ly Romulo G a lle g o s0 His nom ination

was no doubt m otivated in p a r t by th e f a c t t h a t he had

been a founder o f th e p a r ty 9 had been i t s "sym bolic11

c a n d id a te f o r th e p re s id e n c y i n th e 1941 e le c t io n s , and

had been a c lo s e f r ie n d o f B e tan co u rt s in c e th e l a t t e r 8s

s tu d e n t days in C aracas d u rin g th e Gomez reg im e„ M oreover,

he had a t ta in e d in te r n a t io n a l fame and n a t io n a l p r e s t ig e

as a s o c ia l n o v e l i s t , p r im a r i ly because o f h is c l a s s i c

work, Dona B a rb a ra . . But th e o n ly a d m in is tra t iv e ex p e rien ce

G allegos had had was acq u ired d u rin g th e Lopez reg im e» He

had served fo r a y e a r as M in is te r o f N a tio n a l E ducation

and had been a member o f th e M unicipal C ouncil o f C aracas

He was e le c te d P re s id e n t in 1947, p o l l in g approx im ate ly

th r e e - f o u r th s o f th e t o t a l v o te 0

The c o n t r a s t between B e tan co u rt and G allegos was

sharpo The form er, a shrewd p o l i t i c i a n and an ab le

a d m in is tra to r , had s u c c e s s fu l ly managed to keep th e armed

fo rc e s from e x e rc is in g a v ery pronounced in f lu e n c e on

h ig h - le v e l policy-m akingo But G allegos lack ed th e n a t iv e

a b i l i t y as w e ll as th e ex p e rien ce to enab le him to r e le g a te

16. Luzardo, p . 147,

15

th e m i l i ta r y to i t s p ro p e r function ,, Indeeds had a c h ie f

e x e c u tiv e o f th e same c a l ib r e as B e tan co u rt been in o f f i c e

d u rin g th e y ea r 1948s th e trag e d y th a t b e f e l l th e n a t io n17th a t y ea r m ight n o t have o c c u rre d s

In h is in a u g u ra l address* d e liv e re d on February 15,

1948, P re s id e n t G allegos p a id t r i b u t e to th e army fo r

o u s tin g th e Medina regim e arid p led g ed to m a in ta in th e

s t r e n g th o f th e armed fo rc e s a t a le v e l adequate fo r th e

m aintenance o f n a t io n a l d e fen se , bu t s t r e s s e d th e n e c e s s i ty

t h a t th e array r e tu r n to a s t r i c t l y p r o fe s s io n a l r o l e , ^

He th u s r e s ta te d th e p o lic y pu rsued by h is p re d e c e s s o r0

The twelve-member c a b in e t ap po in ted by G allegos

c o n s is te d o f e ig h t members o f AB and fo u r in d ep en d en ts .

The on ly r e p r e s e n ta t iv e o f th e armed fo rc e s was th e M in is te r

o f D efense, L ie u te n a n t C olonel Delgado Chalbaud, an

independen t who had served in t h a t c a p a c ity ev e r s in c e th e

fo rm atio n o f th e R ev o lu tio n ary J u n ta , ^ U n fo r tu n a te ly ,

b o th fo r G allegos and fo r th e n a t io n , th e form er M in is te r

o f th e I n t e r i o r and form er In s p e c to r G eneral o f th e Armed

F o rces, L ie u te n a n t C olonel Mario V argas, was no lo n g e r

a c t iv e in e i t h e r th e m i l i ta r y o r p o l i t i c a l s p h e re s ,

17,

18,

19,

Times, F ebruary 16, 1948, p , 13

I b id ,* F ebruary 17, 1948, p , 13,

16

Vargas had been fo rc ed , fo r reasons o f h e a l th , to

go to th e U nited S ta te s s e v e ra l months b e fo re G allegos

was inaugura tedo The d e p a r tu re o f t h a t s tau n ch su p p o rte r

o f th e S3 regim e and p o p u la r member o f th e o f f i c e r co rps

had become n ec e ssa ry when he c o n tra c te d tu b e rc u lo s is , fo r

w hich he sought tre a tm e n t a t Saranac Lake, New Y ork0^® The

w ithdraw al o f Vargas from f e d e r a l s e rv ic e l e f t o n ly two o f

th e p r in c ip a l le a d e rs o f th e O ctober r e v o lu tio n in h igh

p u b lic o f f i c e : Delgado Chalbaud and P erez Jimenez*

Delgado Chalbaud, d u rin g th e sp r in g and summer o f

1948, co n tin u ed h is e f f o r t s to m ediate d is p u te s between

th e governm ent and th e armed fo rc e s and openly m an ifested

h is lo y a l ty to G alleg o s, denouncing c i v i l i a n groups which

were i n c i t i n g th e armed fo rc e s to d iso b e d ien c e , P erez

Jim enez, th e C h ief o f th e G eneral S t a f f , made an o f f i c i a l

v i s i t to A rg en tin a , where he c o n fe rre d w ith Juan Peron,

and re tu rn e d home by way o f P e ru , Im m ediately a f t e r h is

r e tu r n he launched an in te n s iv e campaign c a lc u la te d to

p ro p ag a te among th e o f f i c e r s th e id e a th a t th ey p o sse ssed

a r ig h t o f in te rv e n t io n in p o l i t i c a l a f f a i r s and to d i s ­

c r e d i t AD, th e regim e, and th e o f f i c e r s who were lo y a l to

th e governm ent. The p e r s is te n c e o f rumors in m i l i ta r y

c i r c l e s th a t G alleg o s was p la n n in g to b u ild up a c i v i l i a n

20o B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp , 467-69,

17

m i l i t i a , w ith which he would re p la c e th e armed fo rc e s ,/ / f) \ fu r th e re d th e su b v e rs iv e campaign o f P erez Jim en eze

The Overthrow o f th e G allegos Regime

The p o l i c i e s and program s o f th e new regim e s t i r r e d

up o p p o s it io n among pow erfu l c i v i l i a n elem ents e The

u n w illin g n e ss o f G allegos to e f f e c t compromises w ith

m in o rity p a r t i e s , a lth o u g h u n d e rs ta n d a b le in view o f th e

la rg e p o p u la r m a jo r ity enjoyed by h is p a r ty in Congress and

in th e s t a t e l e g i s l a tu r e s , fo s te re d p a r t i s a n resentm ent,,

The A grarian Reform law p assed by Congress d u rin g th e

sp r in g c re a te d f e a r among th e owners o f la rg e e s ta te s th a t

t h e i r lands would be ex p ro p ria ted ,. The b i t t e r o p p o s it io n

o f th e Church to th e e d u c a tio n a l reform b i l l w hich was

being co n s id e red by Congress focused upon th e p ro v is io n s

which r e s t r i c t e d th e o f f e r in g o f r e l ig io u s in s t r u c t io n s in

p u b lic sc h o o ls , and u l t im a te ly com pelled th e regim e to

w ithdraw th e m easure, in th e face o f charges o f o f f i c i a l

h o s t i l i t y tow ard r e l ig i o n and o f th e f e a r o f th e c le rg y

th a t n a t io n a l iz a t io n o f e d u c a tio n m ight be con tem plated by

th e r e g i m e o T h e army o f f i c e r s w ere, o f c o u rse , w e ll aware

o f th e se developm ents and many o f them w ere, no doubt,

d is tu rb e d by ,them 0

21o B e tan co u rt, F o s ie io n , pp . 168^69.

22p Luzardo, p p . 158=59.

As summer approached* th e o p p o s it io n grew more

in te n s e and s e v e ra l a b o r tiv e r e v o l t s o c c u rre d « On June 19$

G allegos was vo ted emergency powers under A r t ic le 77 o f th e

C o n s ti tu t io n o f 1947$ to en ab le him to d ea l w ith th e f i r s t

s e r io u s armed th r e a t to h is regime* a r e v o l t le d by army

o f f i c e r s and c i v i l i a n r e a c t i o n a r i e s B u t P erez Jiraenez

and h is fo llo w ers were n o t y e t ready to move d e c is iv e ly

a g a in s t th e regimeo

The p ro m u lg a tio n o f th e A grarian Reform Law by

G allegos in O ctober se rv ed to c r y s t a l l i z e th e o p p o s it io n

to h is regim e among th e c o n s e rv a tiv e m i l i ta r y and c i v i l i a n / /

le ad e rso P erez Jim enez and h is m i l i t a r y c l iq u e were

encouraged by th e w idespread an im o sity tow ard th e government

em anating from th e landed c l a s s , th e i n d u s t r i a l i s t s and th e

c l e r g y 0 They began to fo rm u la te p la n s d esig n ed to undermine

th e governm ent»

G allegos had pow erfu l weapons a t h is command„ As

com m ander-in -ch ief o f th e armed fo rc e s he cou ld r e ly upon

th e lo y a l ty o f many o f th e o f f i c e r s «, He was su re o f th e

su p p o rt o f th e more than 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 members o f th e la b o r unions

a f f i l i a t e d w ith th e Venezuelan C o n fed e ra tio n o f Labor and

th e P easan t F e d e ra tio n , o rg a n iz a tio n s which had m an ife s ted

t h e i r w ill in g n e s s to defend th e government by means o f

19

g e n e ra l s t r i k e s , p u b lic d e m o n s tra tio n s , and even by armed

c o n f l i c t

L a te in O ctober a c h a in o f ev en ts was s e t in m otion

which was to cu lm in a te in th e o u s te r o f th e governm ent0

The i n i t i a l move was made by th e C h ie f o f S ta f f and h is

c o n s e rv a tiv e fa c tio n * They demanded o f G allegos t h a t he

d ism iss h is c a b in e t and ap p o in t a new one, c o n s is t in g o f

arecy o f f i c e r s and members o f a l l o f th e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s .

G allegos r e je c te d t h a t ^ultim atum and re fu se d to accep t th e

r e s ig n a t io n s ten d ered by th e members o f h is c a b in e t . Two

weeks l a t e r th e m i l i ta r y f a c t io n renewed i t s demand fo r

r e c o n s t i tu t io n o f th e c a b in e t and sough t th e appointm ent

o f o f f i c e r s to o th e r government jo b s . In re sp o n se th e

F e d e ra tio n o f P etro leum Workers (FEDEPETRGL) th re a te n e d

to c a l l a g e n e ra l s t r i k e in th e s t a t e o f Z u lia . On

November 20, G allegos prom ulgated a d ec ree suspending th e

p r o te c t io n accorded by th e C o n s t i tu t io n to freedom o f

e x p re s s io n , d e c la r in g a s t a t e o f alarm , and p r o h ib i t in g th e

p u b l ic a t io n o f news concern ing th e p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s . When

th e army c l iq u e renewed i t s demands, G allegos d is s o lv e d

h i s c a b in e t and o rd e red L ie u te n a n t C o lonel Vargas to r e tu r n

im m ediately to V enezuela. But he r e je c te d t h i s f i n a l

. 24. R obert J . A lexander, Labour Movements in L a tin America (London; F ab ian P u b l ic a t Io n s , 1947), p . 7 .

20

u ltim atu m s w hich had been m odified to r e q u ire th e a p p o in t­

ment o f a c a b in e t composed e n t i r e l y o f p o l i t i c a l' 25independentso

G allegos had th u s allow ed th e re b e l o f f i c e r s to

s e iz e th e i n i t i a t i v e and to p ro g re s s toward th e f i n a l

s ta g e s o f t h e i r p la n fo r th e o u s te r o f th e dem ocratic regime

and th e s e iz u re o f th e r e in s o f governments He had f a i le d

to d i s c ip l i n e th e d is s id e n t o f f i c e r s $ had n o t f u l l y u t i l i z e d

h is powers as com m ander-in -ch ief, and had n o t a v a ile d h im se lf

o f th e o f f e r o f h is p a r ty and o f th e la b o r movement to

o rg a n iz e c i v i l i a n r e s i s ta n c e to th e m i l i t a r y t h r e a t «

I r o n ic a l ly ; th e s t r i c t ce n so rsh ip to which he u l t im a te ly

r e s o r te d p rev en ted th e w idespread c i r c u la t i o n o f a l a s t -

m inute c a l l by th e le a d e rs o f o rg an iz ed la b o r f o r a n a t io n ­

wide g e n e ra l s t r i k e to b eg in oh Hovember 24=

Delgado and Vargas u n s u e c e s s fu lly s tro v e to d issu ad e

P erez Jim enez from c a rry in g o u t th e c u a r te la z o w hich he

had plannedo In th e end, they c a s t t h e i r l o t w ith th e

c o n s p ira to rso I t may w e ll have been th a t U nited S ta te s

r e c o g n itio n o f th e m i l i t a r y regim e o f Manuel 0 d r fa , w h o '

had r e c e n t ly se iz e d power in P eru , was a d e c is iv e f a c to r .

The U nited S ta te s had reco g n ized th a t regim e on November 229

two days b e fo re th e coup d ’e t a t .

25. H ispan ic American R eport. December, 19489 p p . 12-13.

21

Wien Delgado le a rn ed o f th e impending g e n e ra l s t r i k e

he is su e d th e o rd e rs which a c t iv a te d th e p lo t» On th e

morning o f November 24, 1948, th e m i l i ta r y made i t s move*

W ith in a few hours th e in s u r r e c t io n had ach ieved n e a r ly

com plete su c c e s s . The f a c i l i t y w ith which th e e u a r te la z o

was ach ieved appears to have been made p o s s ib le by s e v e ra l

im m ediate f a c to r s ; th e g e n e ra l s t r i k e d id n o t m a te r ia l iz e ;

th e army moved w ith g r e a t speed and e f f ic ie n c y ; th e c i v i l i a n

popu lace la ck ed access to arms and ammunition; and th e26s t r i c t c e n so rsh ip g en e ra ted co n fu s io n among th e p e o p le .

The S w ift Ascent o f Marcos P erez Jim enez

The am bitious young o f f i c e r who f ig u re d so prom i­

n e n tly in th e tu r b u le n t p e r io d o f V enezuelan h is to r y which

cu lm ina ted in th e re su rg e n c e o f m i l i t a ty d ic ta to r s h ip began

l i f e in a rem ote Andean v i l l a g e in th e s t a t e o f T a c h ira on

A p ril 25, 1914. Marcos P erez Jim enez was th e th i r d o f fo u r

c h i ld re n bo rn to an e ld e r ly farm er-m erchan t and h is w ife , a

f o r ty -y e a r -o ld form er schoo l te a c h e r „ The fam ily dw elled

in a modest b u t co m fo rtab le home u n t i l th e d e a th o f th e

f a th e r i n 1926 . Then th e m other took two o f h e r c h i ld re n

to an o th er v i l l a g e and began ag a in to te a c h in a prim ary

sch o o l. But th e o ld e s t c h i ld , Juan , e n te re d th e m i l i ta r y

academy a t Maracay and Marcos, a q u ie t , w ithdraw n boy o f '

2 6 . Tad S zu lc , T w ilig h t o f th e Tyrants (Hew York; Henry H o lt & Company, 1959), pp . 37-39, 2 5 4 ,2 5 8 -6 6 , 270-74.

tw elv e , went to l i v e w ith an aun t in Gucuta, Colombia*

Em ulating h is b ro th e r , young Marcos e n ro l le d as a

ca d e t in th e same m i l i ta r y schoo l i n 1931. A lthough he

was q u ie t and no t g re g a r io u s , th e young ca d e t was a

b r i l l i a n t s tu d e n t0 Thus, i n 1934 he g rad u a ted a t th e head

o f h is c l a s s , having s p e c ia l iz e d in a r t i l l e r y , b a l l i s t i c s

and o rdnance . Commissioned a second l ie u te n a n t , P erez

Jim enez was a ss ig n ed to an a r t i l l e r y b a t te r y a t Maraeay

and se rved as a s e c t io n le a d e r . He was prom oted to th e

grade o f f i r s t l ie u te n a n t in 1936.

The second phase o f h is army c a re e r began in March,

1939, when he was s e n t to P eru to f u r th e r h is m i l i t a r y

ed u c a tio n . For th e n ex t two y e a rs he s tu d ie d a t th e

a r t i l l e r y schoo l and a t th e S u p erio r War C o lleg e . While

a t te n d in g th e l a t t e r i n s t i t u t i o n he became a c lo s e f r ie n d

o f Manuel.lA. Odrjia, th en a. m i l i t a r y in s t r u c to r , and

b e fr ie n d e d young V enezuelan o f f i c e r s , in c lu d in g Luxs

F e lip e L lo v e ra P aez , who were s tu d y in g th e r e . T h e re a f te r

P^rez Jim enez, th e n a c a p ta in , was a tta c h e d to a mounted

a i t i l l e r y g roup .

A fte r an absence o f n e a r ly f iv e y e a rs , P erez

Jim enez re tu rn e d to V enezuela in December, 1943. Be

q u ic k ly became aware o f th e w idespread an im o sity o f th e

young o f f i c e r s tow ard th e t r a d i t i o n a l army p a tro n a g e system

Follow ing h is appointm ent to th e p o s i t io n o f G -l o f th e

23

G eneral S ta f f in Ja n u a ry s 1944s, th e young c a p ta in assumed

le a d e rs h ip o f th e newly formed UPM0

In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , P e rez Jim enez a t ta in e d g re a t

advancement in h is p ro fe ss io n ,, In J u ly , 1945, he was

prom oted to th e g rade o f m ajo r= Follow ing th e O ctober

r e v o lu t io n he was rew arded fo r h is p a r t in th e p la n n in g o f

th e m i l i t a r y in s u r r e c t io n by being appo in ted C h ie f o f th e

G enera l S ta f f , a p o s i t io n su b o rd in a te on ly to th a t o f th e

M in is te r o f D efensee Two o f h is f r ie n d s , Delgado and

L lo v era , were ap po in ted M in is te r o f D efense and A s s is ta n t

C h ie f o f th e G eneral S ta f f , r e s p e c t iv e ly ,

While Delgado s tro v e to ach iev e harmony between th e

armed fo rc e s and th e new government h is two im m ediate sub ­

o rd in a te s s u r r e p t i t i o u s ly o rg an ized th e c o n s e rv a tiv e

o f f i c e r s who opposed th e c i v i l i a n a d m in is tra t io n . I n i t i a l l y

th e c l iq u e had l i t t l e su ccess in p r o s e ly t iz in g th e o th e r

o f f i c e r s because o f th e p o p u la r i ty o f th e reform measures

o f th e regim e and th e p o p u la r i ty o f Major Mario V argas,

who lo y a l ly su p p o rted th e regim e. But P erez Jim enez was a

shrewd, am bitious and te n a c io u s man. U t i l i z in g h is

p ro fe s s io n a l knowledge and h is p o s i t io n as C h ie f o f S ta f f ,

he c o n s o lid a te d h is s t r e n g th among th e c o n s e rv a tiv e army

o f f i c e r s and aw aited th e o p p o r tu n ity to b r in g about th e

dow nfa ll o f th e AD governm ent. H is in t r o v e r te d p e r s o n a l i ty ,

in e f f e c t iv e n e s s as a p u b lic sp eak er, and u n p rep o sse ss in g

p h y s ic a l appearance — he was s h o r t , s tocky and d e f in i t e ly

n o t handsome - - d id n o t seem to d e t r a c t from h is p o p u la r i ty

w ith h is m i l i ta r y a l l i e s , a lth o u g h th e se c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

made him r e t i c e n t to m ingle w ith th e p e o p le . In f a c t , h is

u n o b tru s iv e n e ss o p e ra te d to h is advantage, e s p e c ia l ly a f t e r

th e d e p a r tu re o f B e tan co u rt and Vargas from th e p o l i t i c a l

scen e . When th e o p p o s it io n to G allegos reached i t s c r e s ­

cendo, a t th e tim e th e A grarian Reform Law was p rom ulgated , / /

P erez Jim enez was ready and w i l l in g to c a p i t a l i z e upon i t

and upon th e in e x p e rie n c e o f th e P re s id e n t , Only a f t e r

th e c u a r te la z o , w hich he had so e f f i c i e n t l y p lan n ed , d id

he p u b l ic ly emerge as a s tro n g m a n ,^

27o' B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp . 469-73,

CHAPTER I I

. TIE MILITARY TRIUiWIRATE; 1948-1950

©gganizatiogi and C onsolidation

Having se iz e d power$ th e th r e e m i l i t a r y le a d e r s 9/ / yD elgado? P erez Jim enez and L lo v era Paez, r a p id ly moved to

c o n s o lid a te t h e i r p o s i t io n and ex ten d th e i r c o n t ro l o f th e

governmento On th e v ery day o f th e coup d 8 e t a t s th ey

fo rm a lized t h e i r de fa c to d i r e c t io n o f th e a f f a i r s o f s t a t e

by c r e a t in g a M il i ta ry J u n ta o f Government, to w hich they

appo in ted th em se lv ese A lthough a l l th re e were l ie u te n a n t

c o lo n e ls , Delgado, being se n io r in rank , became th e p r e s i ­

d en t o f th e ju n ta * P erez Jim enez was e le v a te d to th e

p o s i t io n o f M in is te r o f D efense, and L lo v era Paez became

th e M in is te r o f th e I n t e r i o r * Thus, the form er c o n tro l le d

th e armed fo rc e s and th e l a t t e r , th e f e d e ra l p o l ic e force*

But L ie u te n a n t C o lonel Mario Vargas d id n o t p r o f i t from

th e u s u rp a tio n o f power, perhaps because o f h is known

sym pathies fo r th e o u s ted regim e and because o f h is poor

h ea lth * T h ir te e n months a f t e r th e coup d 8 e t a t he d ied o f

tu b e rc u lo s is in W ashington, D, C.

The ju n ta proceeded to th e r e s t r u c tu r in g o f th e

governm ent so as to p re se rv e t h e i r power * On November 24,

th e ju n ta is su e d a d ec ree which s e t a s id e th e l i b e r a l

25

26

C o n s ti tu t io n o f 1947 ami s u b s t i tu te d th e C o n s t i tu t io n o f

19365, w ith th e amendments en ac ted in 1945, On November

2 6 , i t appo in ted new s t a t e g o v e rn o rs . On December 5,

th e Congress and th e s t a t e l e g i s l a tu r e s were d is s o lv e d .

M unicipal c o u n c ils were a lso b rough t under th e c o n tro l o f

th e regim e th rough th e d is m is s a l o f th e members and th e

appoin tm ent o f new ones who su p p o rted th e governm ent. On

December 15s th e law w hich had empowered th e Supreme Court

to rev iew th e l e g a l i t y o f th e a c ts o f th e e x e c u tiv e b ranch

was an n u lled . F in a l ly , th e j u s t i c e s o f th a t t r ib u n a l were

d ism issed and rep la ced by ju n ta a p p o in te e s ,

N e ith e r d id th e tr iu m v ira te n e g le c t th e i n t e r ­

n a t io n a l r e la t io n s o f th e new governm ent. S teps were tak en

i to secu re d ip lo m a tic r e c o g n i t io n ,. On November 25, Delgado

o f fe re d assu ran ces to th e n a t io n s o f th e hem isphere th a t

f re e and h o n est e le c t io n s would be conducted as soon as

p o s s ib le , f o r th e pu rp o se o f choosing a P re s id e n t and a

new C ongress, and th a t no r e p re s s iv e a c tio n would be tak en

a g a in s t any p o l i t i c a l p a r ty . He a lso s ta te d t h a t th e ju n ta

had no d e s i r e to in a u g u ra te a m i l i t a r y d ic ta to r s h ip and t h a t

th e m i l i ta r y would w ithdraw from p o l i t i c s as soon as- - 4

e le c t io n s were h e ld ,^

1 , New York Times, November 26 , 1948, p , 5 ,

27

The J u n ta aad th e P o l i t i c a l P a r t i e s

But le g itim a c y e@uld h a rd ly be ach ieved by th e new

r u le r s g fo r they had o u sted an overw helm ingly p o p u la r ,

c o n s t i tu t io n a l ly = e le c te d regim e, which had g e n e ra lly

com plied w ith th e req u irem en ts o f a c o n s t i tu t io n framed by

e le c te d r e p re s e n ta t iv e s o f th e people* Moreover, th e

members o f th e ju n ta had them selves acknowledged th e

le g itim a c y p£ th e p rev io u s regim e. T h erefo re , th e u su rp e rs

were fo rced from th e very beg inn ing to r e ly upon th e su p p o rt

o f th e on ly pow erfu l group which had opposed th e form er

regim es th e t r a d i t i o n a l e l i te * Caught in a web o f i t s own

w eaving, th e t r iu m v ira te s e t in m otion a c h a in o f cause

and e f f e c t — re p re s s io n and r e a c t io n th e re to - - which

grew in c re a s in g ly in ten se*

The ju n ta q u ic k ly i n i t i a t e d a campaign o f re p re s s io n

aimed a t th e dismemberment o f th e two p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s

w hich posed th e g r e a te s t p o te n t i a l t h r e a t to i t s se c u rity *

W ith in two weeks a f t e r i t s fo rm atio n th e ju n t a is su e d a

d ec ree which outlaw ed AD* The Communist P a r ty o f V enezuela

(PCV) s u f fe re d th e same f a te , b u t n o t u n t i l May, 1950,

fo llo w in g a n a tionw ide s t r i k e o f th e petro leum workers,

fo r which bo th AD and PCV were blamed*

However, th e ju n ta sought to m a in ta in appearances

by p e rm it t in g th e o th e r p a r t i e s to function* The co n se rv a ­

t iv e S o c ia l C h r is t ia n P a r ty (G0PEI), th e l e f t - o f - c e n t e r

Dem ocratic R epublican Union (URD) and th e P r o le ta r ia n

le w Im tio n a ry P a r ty (PEP)s a pro"governm ent Communist

f a c t io n , r e ta in e d t h e i r le g a l s t a t u s 0 The URD sup p o rted

th e regim e and some o f i t s members accep ted appointm ents

to p o s i t io n s in th e s t a t e and n a t io n a l governm ents.

R afae l C a ld e ra t a c i t l y p e rm itte d th e members o f h is p a r ty ,

GOPEl, to ho ld p u b lic o f f i c e and some o f th e more c o n se r­

v a t iv e members d id accep t minor p o s i t io n s 0 The PEP p ro f ite d

c o n s id e ra b ly from th e su p p o rt i t gave to th e regim e,

e s p e c ia l ly a f t e r th e ju n ta d is s o lv e d th e iB la b o r o rg a n iz a ­

t io n s in F ebruary , 19490 The d is s o lu t io n l e f t th e PIP in

c o n t ro l o f th e on ly re g io n a l la b o r f e d e ra t io n s t i l l

p e rm itte d to fu n c tio n , th e F e d e ra tio n o f Workers o f th e

F ed era l D i s t r i c t . In a d d it io n , th e PEP was allow ed to

c o n tin u e th e p u b l ic a t io n o f i t s nmmwpapers and to fu rn is h

members fo se rv e on com m ittees which Min v e s t ig a te d *1 th e9 7a c t i v i t i e s o f th e AD regim e in two o f th e s t a t e s . ^

The Suppression o f O rganized Labor

The campaign a g a in s t AD in e v i ta b ly ex tended to th e

la b o r movement, s in c e th e f a te s o f th e p a r ty and o f o rg an ized

la b o r had become in e x tr ic a b ly in te r tw in e d under th e demo­

c r a t i c reg im e. T h ere fo re , th e ju n ta w asted l i t t l e tim e in

lau n ch in g a com prehensive a s s a u l t upon th e la b o r movement

2. R obert J . A lexander, The V enezuelan Dem ocratic R evo lu tion (Hew Brunswick, H. J e s ,R u tg e rs U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1964), p . 38.

29

c a lc u la te d to underm ine and d e s tro y th e AD la b o r o rg a n iz a ­

t io n s a A ll b u t a few o f th e more th an 1 SOQ0 r e g is te r e d

la b o r un ions a f f i l i a t e d w ith th e s t a t e and in d u s t r i a l

fe d e ra t io n s which formed th e V enezuelan C o n fed e ra tio n o f

Labor (GVT) were a f f i l i a t e s o f ADC Many o f th e le a d e rs o f

o rg an ized la b o r were a lso members o f th e Congress and had

v ig o ro u s ly supported th e s o c ia l p o l i c i e s o f th e dem ocratic

reg im ee The a s s a u l t on th e AD la b o r o rg a n iz a tio n s th e r e ­

fo re amounted to an o f fe n s iv e a g a in s t th e la b o r movement,

s in c e th e few la b o r un ions n o t a f f i l i a t e d w ith th e GVT

had l i t t l e su p p o rt among th e la b o r force* In th e view

o f th e ju n ta , un ion a l le g ia n c e to p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s such as

th e PEP and COPEI was n o t o b je c t io n a b le , d e s p i te th e f a c t

th a t i t s r a t io n a le fo r th e su p p re ss io n o f th e AD unions

was t h a t they were engaging in p o l i t i c a l , a c t i v i t i e s

The a n t i - l a b o r campaign began a t th e end o f 1948

w ith th e a r r e s t and im prisonm ent o r e x i le o f un ion le a d e rs•f

who belonged to AD, th e o ccu p a tio n and se a rc h o f un ion' -

o f f i c e s , th e c o n f is c a t io n o f un ion reco rd s and un ion

funds, and s im ila r m easures» C ensorsh ip o f th e p re s s and

th e m easures tak en by th e ju n ta to in s u re th e su b se rv ien ce

o f th e c o u r ts se rv ed to complement th e o th e r blows d ir e c te d

3» I n te r n a t io n a l Labour O ffice* Freedom o f A sso c ia tio n and C o n d itio n s -o f Work in V enezuela (.S tudies and R eports: Hew S e r ie s , No* 21; Genevar La T ribune de Geneve, 1950), pp* 9-12, 43-48,

a t o rg an ized la b o r e T his f i r s t wave o f r e p re s s io n induced

th e un ions to r e g i s t e r p r o te s t s w ith th e regim e which, in

tu rn , fu rn ish e d th e p r e te x t fo r more sy s tem a tic and

in te n s iv e p e rse cu tio n ^ On F ebruary 24, 1949, th e regim e

took th e d r a s t i c s te p o f d is s o lv in g th e G?T and i t s

f e d e ra t io n s , and imposed sev e re r e s t r i c t i o n s upon th e

freedom o f th e lo c a l un ions to assem ble and to manage

t h e i r in te r n a l a f f a i r s 0 By th e summer o f 1949, th e la b o r

un ions had v i r t u a l l y l o s t t h e i r freedom o f a s so c ia tio n *

Meanwhile, e x i le d le a d e rs o f th e la b o r movement

had managed to b r in g th e p l ig h t o f th e un ions to th e

a t t e n t io n o f th e I n te r n a t io n a l Labour O ffice (ILO ), o f which

V enezuela was a member* In March, 1949, s e v e ra l L a tin

American re p u b lic s p ro te s te d th e s e a t in g o f th e V enezuelan

la b o r d e le g a tio n to th e Montevideo m eeting o f t h a t o rg a n i­

za tio n * The ch a llen g ed d e le g a t io n was se a te d on ly a f t e r

th e V enezuelan government had arranged w ith th e d i r e c to r

o f th e ILO f o r th e d is p a tc h o f a m issio n empowered to

in v e s t ig a te th e c o n d it io n o f la b o r under th e regime* The

ju n ta allow ed th e m issio n , which a r r iv e d in V enezuela in

th e l a t e ; summer, to t r a v e l about th e co u n try and to f r e e ly

d is c u s s w ith em ployers, union members and government

o f f i c i a l s a l l m a tte rs r e la te d to th e s ta tu s and c o n d itio n

o f labor* The g e n e ra lly adverse n a tu re o f th e r e p o r t o f

th e m ission , p u b lish e d in 1950, induced th e d e leg a tes to th e

31

1950 m eeting o f th e ILO to r e fu s e to s e a t th e V enezuelan

€h November 26, 1948, th e m i l i t a r y tr iu m v ira te

suspended th e c i v i l l i b e r t i e s g u aran teed by th e C o n s ti tu ­

t io n o f 1936, which had ju s t , been r e i n s t a t e d 0 That d ecree

was to rem ain in e f f e c t during th e e n t i r e te n u re o f th e

m i l i ta r y ju n ta . Freedom o f e x p re s s io n was s e v e re ly

r e s t r i c t e d . C ensorsh ip o f th e news media was imposed and

was m ain ta ined under th e aeg is o f an a d m in is tra t iv e b oard .

Newspapers c o n t ro l le d by AD and FGV were s in g le d o u t fo r

in te n s e p e rse c u tio n . In f a c t , b e fo re two weeks had e lap se d ,

a Communist newspaper had been re q u ire d to suspend p u b l ic a ­

t i o n fo r having a l le g e d ly v io la te d ce n so rsh ip r e g u la t io n s ,

and s e v e ra l AD new spapers, in c lu d in g E l P a rs o f C aracas,

had been fo rced to cease p u b l ic a t io n . T h e re a f te r , e d i to r s ,

j o u r n a l i s t s and o th e r employees o f s e v e ra l new spapers,

re p re se n tin g ; a v a r i e ty o f p o l i t i c a l a l le g ia n c e s , were

su b je c te d to a r r e s t and d e te n tio n when t h e i r new spapers

p r in te d a r t i c l e s which th e cen so rs co n s id e red o f fe n s iv e .

On o cc a s io n , new spapers which o ffended th e regim e were

o rd e red to suspend p u b l ic a t io n . But d e s p i te th e h arsh n ess

o f th e m easures, th e governm ent d id n o t u n ifo rm ly and

s y s te m a tic a l ly apply th e r e s t r i c t i v e m easures prom ulgated

4 , I b id ,

32

to r e g u la te th e conduct o f th e p re s s and ra d io s ta t io n s

The su sp en sio n o f th e p r iv i l e g e o f th e w r i t o f habeas

corpus p e rm itte d th e m i l i t a r y r u le r s to im p riso n S3

o f f i c i a l s w ith o u t charges a g a in s t them* The government

in c a rc e ra te d many p o l i t i c a l le a d e rs fo r ex tended p e r io d s

o f tim e w ith o u t any sem blance o f j u d i c i a l p ro c e e d in g s»

&bre fo r tu n a te members o f th e o p p o s it io n were e x i le d „

In 1949s th e government reopened p en a l i n s t i t u ­

t io n s which had been c lo se d by th e AD regime because o f

th e h azard s w hich they had posed to th e h e a l th o f t h e i r

inm ateso These were th e n o to r io u s M obile P r is o n C olonies o f

E l Dorado s i tu a te d in a ju n g le re g io n n ea r th e Orinoco R iv e r ,

P re v io u s ly re se rv e d fo r th e in c a r c e r a t io n o f hardened c r im i­

n a ls , th ey had been th e s i t e s o f f re q u e n t epidemics o f y e llow

fe v e r , ty p h o id , m a la r ia , and d y se n te ry , whidh had produced

many d e a th s among th e p r is o n p o p u la tio n , N e v e r th e le s s , th e

ju n ta , in 1949, removed tw e n ty - th re e p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e r s

(m ost o f whom were members o f AD) from o th e r p la c e s o f

im prisonm ent and tr a n s p o r te d them to th e p r is o n c o lo n ie s ,

The a l le g e d j u s t i f i c a t i o n fo r th e measure was th a t they were

n o t r e a l ly p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e rs b u t were a c tu a l ly g u i l ty6o f c i v i l o f fe n se s such as sabo tage and m urder. W ith th e

5, New York Times. December 2, 1948, p , 4; December 11, 1948, p , 6 ; December 13, .1948, p , 21; March 12, 1949,p , 7; and A p ril 26, 1950, p , 3 ,

6 , B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp , 480-82,

33

ex c ep tio n o f th e d e p lo ra b le c o n d itio n s which p re v a i le d in

E l Dorado8 th e re do no t appear to have been g e n e ra l ly bad

p r is o n c o n d itio n s o r w idespread m altrea tm en t o f th e

p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e r s d u rin g th e te n u re o f th e m i l i ta r y ju n ta s

At l e a s t th e re were no s e r io u s co m p la in ts to t h a t e f f e c t

made to th e members o f th e ILO m ission d u rin g th e l a t e

summer o f 1949

The p r o te c t io n a ffo rd ed by th e C o n s t i tu t io n to th e

r ig h t s o f p e a c e fu l assem bly and o f p o l i t i c a l a s s o c ia t io n

was s e v e re ly c u r t a i l e d . Hot s u r p r i s in g ly 9 th e re fo re ^ th e

regim e made no s e r io u s e f f o r t to hold th e f r e e and honest

p r e s id e n t ia l e le c t io n s which had been prom ised from th e v ery

b eg in n in g . In f a c t , th e ju n ta nev er took any c o n c re te

s te p s tow ard th e h o ld in g o f e l e c t io n s o f any ty p e . That

th e ju n ta members never s e r io u s ly e n te r ta in e d th o u g h ts o f

p la y in g a m erely t r a n s i t i o n a l r o le i s s tro n g ly in d ic a te d

by th e p r e f e r e n t i a l tre a tm en t accorded to th e armed forces*

w hich were r a p id ly transfo rm ed in to what* by L a tin American

standards* c o n s t i tu te d a modern and e f f i c i e n t force*

cap ab le n o t o n ly o f defend ing th e n a t io n a g a in s t p o s s ib le

armed in v a s io n s launched from n e ig h b o rin g c o u n tr ie s b u t

a lso in c re a s in g ly a b le to d ea l e f f e c t iv e ly w ith o v e r t

o p p o s it io n to th e reg im e. To f in a n c e th a t tran sfo rm atio n *

7. I n te r n a t io n a l Labour O ffic e , p . §0.

th e government r a is e d th e budgetary a l lo c a t io n fo r th e

M in is try o f D efense to $53 m il l io n f o r f i s c a l y ea r 1949-

19503 an in c re a s e o f $19 m il l io n above, th e amount g ran te d

to th e armed fo rc e s in th e f i n a l budget approved by th e

G allegos a d m in is t r a t io n 0 T his re p re se n te d an in c re a s e o f

th e m i l i ta r y sh a re o f th e n a t io n a l budget from 7 p e r c e n t8 / to 11 p e r cento With th e e x t r a funds P erez Jim enez

purchased arms and equipm ent from th e U nited S ta te s and from

European n a t io n s , in c re a se d th e b e n e f i ts accorded to th e

o f f i c e r co rp s , and g e n e ra lly s tre a m lin e d th e s t r u c tu r e ■ / - . '

and fu n c tio n in g o f th e armed fo rc e s , w ith th e ab le a s s is ta n c e

o f th e m i l i ta r y and n av a l a d v iso rs ass ig n ed to th e m issions

p ro v id ed by th e U nited S ta t e s c

W ithin four months a f t e r th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f th e

m i l i t a r y governm ent, th e U nited S ta te s and a l l o f th e

L a tin American n a tio n s ex cep t B o liv ia , C h ile , C osta R ica ,

Cuba, Uruguay and Guatem ala had e s ta b l i s h e d d ip lo m a tic

r e l a t io n s w ith th e de f f a c to reg im e0 R u ssia , Spain , G reat

B r i ta in , France and o th e r n a t io n s a ls o reco g n ized th e govern-

mento Only B o liv ia , C h ile , Guatem ala and Uruguay p e r ­

sev ered in t h e i r d e c is io n n o t to recogn ize th e de fa c to

government on th e grounds th a t i t had achieved power by

8 e Jo Lloyd Mecham, The U nited States__and_ I n f e r s American S e c u r ity , 1889-1960 (A u s tin : The U n iv e rs ity o f Texas P re s s , 1961), p . 425* - . .

35

fo rc e and had o v e r th ro w a c o n s t i tu t io n a l governm ent0

The only s e r io u s em barrassm ent encoun tered by th e

m i l i ta r y government on th e in te r n a t io n a l f ro n t a ro se

because o f i t s r e p re s s iv e p o l ic ie s tow ard o rg an ized la b o r .

As was p re v io u s ly m entioneds th e governm ent-appoin ted

d e le g a t io n to th e 1950 m eeting o f th e hem ispheric members

o f th e ILO was den ied re c o g n it io n as th e t r u e r e p r e s e n ta t iv e

o f th e la b o r movement o f V enezuela in view o f th e co n c lu ­

s io n reached by th e ILO m ission th a t th e re was no freedom

o f a s s o c ia t io n fo r la b o r o rg a n iz a tio n s in V enezuela ,

The government had more success in th e conduct o f

com m ercial r e la t io n s w ith o th e r n a t io n s . I t succeeded in

n e g o t ia t in g s e v e ra l advantageous com m ercial agreem ents

w ith fo re ig n powers and m ain ta ined f r ie n d ly r e la t io n s w ith

th e p e tro leu m and s t e e l i n t e r e s t s o p e ra tin g in V enezuela,

In March, 19509 th e government acq u ired a $3 m il l io n loan

from th e E x port-Im port Bank o f th e U nited S ta te s to fin an ce

th e c o n s tru c tio n o f a la rg e h o te l in C aracas which was to be

j o i n t l y owned by th e government and by an American c o rp o ra ­

t i o n , One o f th e more expensive fo re ig n t r a n s a c t io n s was

th e p u rch ase o f two medium d e s tro y e rs from G reat B r i ta in in9September, 1950,

9 , H ispanic American R eport. A p ril, 1950, p , 18; O ctober, 1950, pp , 22-23,

36

A lthough V enezuela d id n o t ta k e an a c t iv e p a r t in

th e h o s t i l i t i e s d u rin g th e Korean Wars th e government d id

make a modest c o n t r ib u t io n to th e U nited N ations e f f o r t s 0

S h o rtly a f t e r th e o u tb reak o f th e w ar, V enezuela c o n t r i ­

bu ted m edical s u p p lie s va lu ed a t $100,000 to th e U nited10N ations fo rc e s »

S o c ia l and Economic Measures

During th e tw o-year te n u re o f th e m i l i t a r y tr iu m ­

v i r a t e many o f th e s o c ia l and economic program s i n i t i a t e d

by th e AD regim e were co n tin u ed b u t v e ry few were expanded.

G en e ra lly , th e program s which had been u n d ertak en by th e

p reced in g government were allow ed to la p se upon com pletion

o f th e p r o je c t s a lre a d y in p ro g re s s .

T his was, indeed , t r u e o f government a c t i v i t i e s in

th e a g r i c u l tu r a l s e c to r . A fte r th e government f in is h e d th e

i r r i g a t i o n p r o je c ts a lre a d y in p ro g re ss i t d id n o t u n d er­

ta k e new o n es . The V enezuelan Development C o rp o ra tio n , an

autonomous agency o f th e n a t io n a l governm ent, was s tr ip p e d

o f i t s a g r i c u l tu r a l and l iv e s to c k dep artm en t. The a g ra r ia n

reform program in s t i t u t e d by th e o u s te d regim e was suspended,

w ith th e ex cep tio n o f a few very expensive c o lo n iz a t io n

p r o je c ts on p u b lic la n d s . The ju n ta abandoned th e program

fo r th e g en e ra l r e d i s t r ib u t io n o f lan d c a l le d fo r by th e

A g ra rian Reform Law o f 1948, The P easan t F e d e ra tio n and

10, New York Times, Jan u ary 4, 1951, p , 62,

37

i t s component lanions ©f p e a sa n ts and farm w orkers were

d e s tro y e d . There was a marked d e c lin e in th e number o f

p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s g ran ted by th e A g r ic u ltu ra l and L iv e­

s to c k Bank; a government agency c re a te d to f u r th e r th e

developm ent o f th e r u r a l economy. The Bank a lso g ra d u a lly

d ec reased th e t o t a l amount o f money which i t l e n t to

a g r ic u l tu r a l p ro d u cers and in c re a se d th e average amount

made a v a ila b le to th e in d iv id u a l b o rro w ere N early a l l o f

i t s lo an s were g ran te d to owners o f th e m edium -sized and

la rg e e s t a t e s , which produced com m ercial c ro p s .

The V enezuelan Development C o rp o ra tio n , th e p r i n c i ­

p a l government agency fo r th e developm ent o f in d u s try ,

s u f fe re d a s iz e a b le re d u c tio n in i t s a p p ro p r ia t io n s .

A lthough i t co n tin u ed to p u rsu e i t s broad i n t e r e s t s in

d iv e rs e s e c to r s o f in d u s try by means o f investm en t in , and

th e management and o p e ra t io n o f v a r io u s e n te rp r is e # , th e

c o rp o ra tio n undertook to d iv e s t i t s e l f o f th e ow nership

o f i t s p r o p e r t i e s . M oreover, i t began to c o n c e n tra te a

d is p ro p o r t io n a te sh a re o f th e t o t a l amount o f i t s in v e s t ­

ment in in d u s t r ie s which were s i tu a te d in th e C aracas a re a .

In th e realm o f p u b lic w e lfa re , th e ju n t a pursued

p o l ic ie s which, on b a lan ce , were n o t conducive to th e

w e ll-b e in g o f th e p eo p le . Government program s and th e

e x p e n d itu re s th e r e f o r were g e n e ra l ly m ain ta ined a t 1948

l e v e l s . Most o f th e c r e d i t fo r th e modest g a in s made in

38

a few s e c to r s must go to th e AD govern men t 9 w hich had

p lanned and i n i t i a t e d work on most o f th e p rogram s=

A lthough th e co n tin u ed p ro s e c u tio n o f th e campaign to

e r a d ic a te th e o f t e n - f a t a l m a la r ia was s u c c e s s fu l , in th a t

th e m a la r ia m o r ta l i ty r a t e d e c lin e d from 12 d ea th s p e r

100,000 in h a b i ta n ts in 1948 to 9 in 1950, th e r e s u l t s had

been f a r b e t t e r in p re v io u s y ea rs and much o f th e ground­

work had been l a id by th e p rece d in g regime,, E ducation

s u f fe re d a r a th e r sharp blow a t th e hands o f th e m i l i ta r y

regime* The number o f s tu d e n ts e n ro lle d in th e normal

sc h o o ls , fo r example, had d e c lin e d by 1950 to s l i g h t l y more

th a n h a l f th e number in a tten d an ce in 1948*12 L i t t l e was

done to p ro v id e b ad ly needed new schoo ls and th e i l l i t e r a c y

problem was n o t ad eq u a te ly a ttack ed * The d e c l in e o f p u b lic

sj ed u c a tio n i s n o t s u rp r is in g in view o f the f a c t th a t th e

t o t a l a l lo c a t io n fo r ed u c a tio n amounted to on ly 7*6 p e r

c e n t o f th e n a t io n a l budget in 1949-1950, as compared to

12*3 p e r c e n t o f th e G allegos b u d g e t* ^

The s t a t e and m un ic ipa l governm ents, w hich had

t r a d i t i o n a l l y borne th e p rim ary r e s p o n s ib i l i t y f o r th e

11* George I* Sanchez, The Development o f Educa­t io n in V en ezu e la ,- -U* S* O f f ic e .o f E duca tion B u l le t in No*7 (W ashington, D* 8*: Government P r in t in g O ff ic e , 1963),p * - 42 * - . . •

12* A lexander, The V enezuelan D em ocratic Revolution*p* 39* . . -

13* U nited N a tio n s , D epartm ent o f Economic A f fa i r s , P u b lic Financ e Surveys * V enezuela (ST/ECA/Ser* B /l) (New York, 1951), p* 5* . . . . - ■ ■

39

c o n s tru c tio n and m aintenance o f s a n i ta ry f a c i l i t i e s and

fo r th e p ro v is io n o f n ecessa ry m u n ic ip a l s e rv ic e s , were

ren d e red le s s cap ab le o f p erfo rm in g th o se fu n c tio n s because

o f th e re d u c tio n in th e i r rev en u es» The re d u c tio n r e s u l te d

from th e governm ent’ s d e c is io n to d ec rease th e p ro p o r tio n

o f i t s revenues a l lo c a te d to th e s t a t e and lo c a l govern­

ments o -N a tio n a l g r a n ts - in - a id d e c lin e d from 25 p e r c e n t

o f th e t o t a l f e d e r a l revenues in 1948-1949 to o n ly 16 p e r

c e n t in 1949-1950o^^ -

The need fo r housing was made more ac u te because

o f th e c u r ta ilm e n t o f governm ent-sponsored p rogram s. The

W orkers8 Bank e re c te d n e a r ly 4,000 w e ll-p la n n ed housing

u n i t s . But an e f f e c t iv e housing program would have re q u ire d

th e com pletion o f a t l e a s t f iv e to te n thousand u n i ts p e r

y e a r , s in c e th e re were an e s tim a te d 150,000 slum -dw ellers

in C aracas a lo n e . The need was f u r th e r agg rava ted by th e

s t e a d i ly in c re a s in g number o f r e c e n t a r r i v a l s in th e

f e d e r a l d i s t r i c t as w e ll as by th e n a tu r a l in c re a s e o f th e

m e tro p o lita n p o p u la t i o n ,^

The Power S tru g g le and I t s R e so lu tio n

C arlo s Delgado Chalbaud appeared to be in c o n tro l o f

th e government d u rin g th e f i r s t two y ea rs o f m i l i t a r y

14, I b id , , p , 8,

15, F ra n c is V iolich , ’’C aracas Face L i f t i n g , ” Am ericas, I I I A p ril, 1951), 41, . ..

d ic ta to r s h ip ,, ab le and i n t e l l i g e n t man, he managed to

c o n s o lid a te th e power o f th e ju n ta in n a t io n a l a f f a i r s 0

A lthough s te r n m easures were tak en a g a in s t th e o p p o s it io n ,

in c lu d in g th e le a d e rs o f AD, i t s la b o r o rg a n iz a t io n s , and

i t s i n t e l l e c t u a l a l l i e s in th e e d u c a tio n a l system and in

th e armed fo rc e s , th e re p re s s io n was n e i th e r so sev e re nor

so w e ll o rg an ized as th a t which was to come. As p re v io u s ly

n o ted , th e s o c ia l reform and economic developm ent program s,

which had p re v io u s ly made g re a t s t r id e s , were g e n e ra lly

c u r t a i l e d , b u t were n o t abandoned.

Meanwhile, a power s t ru g g le was e v id e n tly develop ing

beh ind th e scenes between th e more m oderate Delgado and

th e am bitious P erez Jim enez, th e two r e a l strongm en on th e

ju n ta s Delgado, fo cu s in g h is a t t e n t io n upon th e c u l t iv a t io n

o f su p p o rt among th e sm all c i v i l i a n e l i t e o f th e c a p i t a l ,

seldom had c o n ta c t w ith h is fe llo w o f f i c e r s , p o s s ib ly be­

cause he g en u in e ly wanted to c a r ry o u t h is e a r ly prom ises

to ho ld f r e e e le c t io n s and wanted to s tre n g th e n h is t i e s

w ith pow erfu l c i v i l i a n groups p re p a ra to ry to making a b id

fo r th e p re s id e n c y . In any e v e n t, D elgado’ s w ithdraw al

from th e company o f th e army o f f i c e r s p re se n te d to P erez

Jim enez a golden o p p o r tu n ity to s tre n g th e n h i s t i e s w ith

a group o f young army o f f i c e r s from T ach ira , By im p riso n ­

ing su p p o r te rs o f th e o u s te d regim e, by d e p o r tin g o f f ic e r s

whose lo y a l ty to him was q u e s tio n a b le and by ju d ic io u s ly

spending th e funds a l lo c a te d to h is m in is try , th e am bitious

41

P erez Jim enez was a b le to rew ard lo y a l ty and p u n ish

d re s id e n c e ) th e reb y s u b s ta n t ia l ly in c re a s in g h i s su p p o rt

w ith in th e a l l - im p o r ta n t o f f i c e r c o rp s 0 ^

The ap p a ren t r i v a l r y was re so lv e d by v io le n c e . On

th e morning o f November 13, 1950, as he was on h is way to

th e p r e s id e n t i a l p a la c e in th e company o f h is n av a l a id e ,

C arlo s Delgado Chalbaud was kidnapped by a group o f armed

men led by R a fae l S, U rbina, a r e t i r e d army g e n e ra l from

th e s t a t e o f T aeh ira who had se rv ed as a t e r r i t o r i a l

governor d u rin g th e Lopez a d m in is tra t io n , U rb ina, whom

Delgado had p e rm itte d to r e tu r n to V enezuela o n ly a few

months p re v io u s ly , murdered h is b e n e fa c to r a f t e r having

tak en him to a r e s id e n t i a l a re a on th e o u t s k i r t s o f C aracas,

Then th e a s s a s s in , a ch ro n ic c o n s p ira to r , took re fu g e in

th e N icaraguan Embassy, s e r io u s ly wounded by a sh o t f i r e d

a c c id e n ta l ly by one o f h is drunken fo llo w e rs . But th e

N icaraguan o f f i c i a l s su rren d e red him to th e f e d e r a l p o l ic e

and b e fo re th e day ended, he h im se lf was sh o t and k i l l e d .

According to th e government v e rs io n , h is d e a th o ccu rred

as he was a ttem p tin g to escape from a guard w h ile being le d

in to a C aracas j a i l , ^

16, B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, p , 483,

17, New York Times. November 14, 1950, pp , 1, 17; and November 15, 1950, pp , 1, 15,

42

The ev idence adduced by an exam ining m a g is tra te

who conducted a p re lim in a ry in v e s t ig a t io n o f th e circum ­

s ta n c e s su rround ing th e a s s a s s in a t io n o f Delgado s tro n g ly

im p lic a te d P erez Jim enez in th e c r im in a l e n te rp r is e * Not

o n ly had he p o sse ssed an obvious m otive fo r th e e l im in a tio n

o f Delgado from th e p o l i t i c a l scene , b u t he was a lso shown

by s u b s ta n t ia l ev idence to have been th e a c tu a l d i r e c to r

o f th e p lo t to abduct h is r i v a l and f o r c ib ly secu re h is

r e s ig n a t io n and im m ediate d e p o r ta t io n from Venezuela*

D esp ite th e r a th e r damning n a tu re o f th e ev id en ce , P erez

Jim enez was never c a l le d upon to g iv e testim ony* A lthough

o th e rs were t r i e d fo r t h e i r p a r t in th e crim e, th e sub­

se rv ie n c e o f th e ju d ic ia r y to th e m i l i ta r y le a d e rs - - a

c o n d itio n which th e s l a in le a d e r had helped to produce —

i r o n ic a l ly p ro te c te d th e man who may w e ll have p lo t t e d h is

d e a t h , ^ D elgado8s demise c le a re d away th e l a s t major

o b s ta c le which la y in th e p a th o f th e l i t t l e c o lo n e l from

Taehira* A bsolute power new la y w ith in h is grasp*

The Legacy o f Delgado

V enezuela, a t th e end o f 1950, was b e s e t by funda­

m ental s o c ia l and economic im balances* Upon th e su ccesso r

o f Delgado would devolve th e r e s p o n s ib i l i t y fo r ta k in g

18* B e tan co u rt, V enezuela* pp* 484, 844—46,

43

im m ediate a c t io n to so lv e th e p ro d u c tiv e 9 geograph ical^

s o c ia l and in te r n a t io n a l problem s which were s te a d i ly

becoming more ag g rav a ted „

The huge c o n tr ib u t io n o f th e p e tro leu m in d u s try to

th e g ro ss dom estic p ro d u c t and th e heavy dependence o f th e

o th e r economic s e c to r s upon th e p e tro leu m revenues and th e

incomes g en e ra ted by th e in d u stry ^ had adverse im p lic a tio n s

fo r th e economy as a whole* High c o s ts p laced th e p ro d u c tiv e

in d u s t r ie s a t a d isad v an tag e in co m p e titio n on th e i n t e r ­

n a t io n a l market* The f a c t th a t much o f th e a ra b le land

was being used e i t h e r as n a tu r a l p a s tu re o r n o t a t a l l ;

and th e p e r s is te n c e o f backward tech n iq u es (e x c e p t on some

h ig h ly com m ercialized e s t a t e s ) ; made i t d i f f i c u l t fo r

farm ers to compete fo r ex p o rt m arkets o r even to d is p la c e

th e la r g e - s c a le im p o r ta tio n ©f fo o d s tu ffs* M anufacturing;

a lth o u g h s ig n i f i c a n t ; was co n fin ed to a narrow range o f

in d u s t r ie s ; most o f which were h e a v ily p ro te c te d by th e

government*

The g eo g rap h ica l p a t t e r n o f developm ent was d i s ­

to r te d * Labor had been a t t r a c te d from th e i n t e r i o r by th e

p e tro leu m in d u s try and th e m ig ra tio n had been a c c e le ra te d

as a r e s u l t o f th e governm ent's ex p e n d itu re o f most o f i t s

pe tro leum revenues in th e c o a s ta l reg io n ; e s p e c ia l ly in

Caracas* S ince com m unications w ith th e i n t e r i o r were too

poor to p e rm it demand to sp read r e a d i ly , v i r t u a l l y a l l o f

th e in d u s try and commerce rem ained c o n c e n tra te d n ea r th e

44

coasto A pproxim ately h a l f o f th e p eo p le l iv e d in u rban

a rea s n ea r th e coast., where th e y earned h ig h e r incomes and

enjoyed b e t t e r t r a n s p o r ta t io n f a c i l i t i e s and more advanced

s o c ia l s e rv ic e s o

The s o c ia l system r e f le c te d th e t r a d i t i o n a l

s t r a t i f i c a t i o n as w e ll as th e geographic and economic

d is to r t io n s * In th e r u r a l a re a s le s s th an 1 p e r c e n t o f th e

la n d h o ld in g s encompassed tw o - th ird s o f th e t o t a l a re a

under p roduction* R u ra l incomes were low and unevenly

d i s t r ib u t e d , housing was g e n e ra l ly p r im it iv e , la b o r was

underem ployed, and more than h a l f o f th e a d u lts were

i l l i t e r a t e , w h ile most o f th e c h i ld re n a tte n d e d schoo l f o r ,

a t b e s t , one year* A lthough th e average income was h ig h e r

in th e c i t i e s , ex trem es o f w ea lth and p o v e rty a ls o e x is te d

th e re* I h i l e most o f th e r e c e n t a r r iv a l s in th e c i t i e s

dw elled in shacks which had no e l e c t r i c i t y o r runn ing w ate r,

c o n s tru c tio n firm s were e r e c t in g la rg e suburban develop ­

ments c o n s is t in g o f luxu ry houses and ap a rtm en ts„

The economy re ta in e d i t s extrem e s e n s i t i v i t y to

e x te rn a l developm ents* P etro leum ex p o rts com prised

v i r t u a l l y a l l o f V en ezu e la 's e x p o r t t r a d e , bu t p ro d u c tio n

c o s ts exceeded th o se which p re v a i le d in th e M iddle E a s t,

The n a t io n co n tin u ed to be h e a v ily dependent upon im ports

19, U nited N a tio n s , Economic Commission fo r L a tin America, Economic B u l le t in fo r L a tin America, V (March, I9 6 0 ), 21-22, C ited h e r e a f te r as U nited N a tio n s , Economic B u l le t in f o r L a tin America,

45

because o f th e i n a b i l i t y o f dom estic in d u s try and a g r i ­

c u l tu r e to compete w ith im ported com m odities, and because

demand was sm all due to th e c o n c e n tra t io n o f income in th e

c o a s ta l reg io n and th e m a ld is t r ib u t io n o f incom e.

D esp ite th e im m ensity o f th e problems^ th e govern­

ment had c o n s id e ra b le a s s e ts w ith which to seek s o lu t io n s .

P etro leum revenues had in c re a se d to more th an one b i l l i o n

b o l iv a r s in 1948-1949 and co n tin u ed to r i s e , th e re b y

p ro v id in g th e funds re q u ire d to in c re a s e demand in th e non­

p e tro leu m s e c to r s o f th e economy. There was a V ast amount

o f a ra b le lan d and p o te n t i a l p a s tu re and a r e l a t i v e l y

sm all p o p u la tio n . The n a t io n p o sse ssed r i c h m in e ra l

d e p o s its , abundant sou rces o f energy and good c o a s ta l

com m unications by sea,^®

20, I b id ,

CMPTER I I I

POLITICAL TRENDS MB CONDITIONS9 1950-1957

The a s s a s s in a t io n o f C arlo s Delgado Ghalbaud

brough t to a co n c lu s io n th e f i r s t and m ild e s t phase o f th e

m i l i ta r y d i c t a t o r s h i p „ P erez Jim enez had a t ta in e d m astery

o f th e o i l - r i c h b u t p rob lem -plagued n a t io n . For more th an

seven y e a r s 3 th e n a t io n was to be com pelled to subm it to

an u n b rid le d ty ran n y which was in many re s p e c ts more

sev e re in n a tu re and more d is a s t ro u s in i t s consequences

th an th a t which Juan V icen te Gomez had imposed upon th e

V enezuelan p e o p le .

A lthough th e d i c t a t o r would nfever s e r io u s ly a ttem p t

to c u l t i v a t e su p p o rt among th e m assess and, th e re fo re ^ d id

n o t e x h ib i t much i n t e r e s t in th e fo rm u la tio n o f a compre­

h en siv e p o l i t i c a l p h ilo so p h y 9 he d id make, d u rin g th e

f i n a l phase o f h is d ic ta to rs h ip * a h a l f - h e a r te d a ttem pt

to p ro v id e a r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n f o r th e v i r t u a l e l im in a tio n

o f o v e r t ly fu n c tio n in g p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . I t may w e ll

have been t r u e t h a t P erez Jim enez and h is c ro n ie s had

hopes t h a t th e dem ocratic n a tio n s o f th e hem isphere - -

p a r t i c u l a r ly th e U nited S ta te s - - would be l e s s o ffended

by th e h a rsh r e a l i t i e s o f e l i t i s t r u le i f th e y were

fu rn is h e d a s u p e r f i c i a l th eo ry p u rp o r tin g to j u s t i f y

th e e x c lu s io n o f th e masses from p a r t i c ip a t io n in t h e i r

government „

P erez Jimenez* f irm ly su p p o rted by a sm all b u t

p ow erfu l r u l in g c liq u e* whose members were r i c h ly rew arded

fo r t h e i r lo y a lty * and co p io u sly endowed w ith an e v e r-

in c re a s in g supply o f money produced by th e governm en t's

sh a re o f th e p r o f i t s from petro leu m production* made o f

p e c u la t io n and c o r ru p tio n a s o p h is t ic a te d a rt* During -

th e l a s t two o r th re e y e a rs o f th e d ic ta to rs h ip * th e

d ev ices evolved to f a c i l i t a t e th e p lu n d e r o f th e t r e a s u ry

became e s p e c ia l ly i n t r i c a t e 0

The S ta tu s and Alignment o f S o c ia l and

When he a t ta in e d a b so lu te power* P erez Jim enez

co n tin u ed h is e f f o r t s to b ind th e o f f i c e r s to him by th e

expansion o f program s desig n ed to m odernize th e m i l i ta r y

e s ta b lish m e n t and to enhance th e p r e s t ig e o f th e armed

fo rces* as w e ll as by th e appointm ent o f h is m i l i t a r y

a l l i e s to h ig h - le v e l p o s i t io n s in h is governm ent and th e

enhancement o f th e rem u n era tio n acc ru in g to th e o f f i c e r s

and e n l i s te d men0 The army re p a id th e d i c t a t o r by c a rry in g

o u t i t s assig n ed task* th e su p p re ss io n o f armed c i v i l i a n

d is s e n to To perfo rm th a t task* th e y rece iv ed th e f i n e s t

and -most modern asso rtm en t o f armaments in L a tin America0

Advice and a s s is ta n c e in th e te ch n iq u e s re q u ire d fo r th e

48

e f f i c i e n t m aintenance and u t i l i z a t i o n o f th e arms and

equipm ent was fu rn is h e d by th e m issio n p e rso n n e l p ro v id ed

by th e U nited S ta te s ,

A second elem ent o f th e power s t r u c tu r e , th e

s e c r e t p o l ic e , was expanded and s tre n g th e n e d so t h a t i t

would be b e t t e r ab le to su p p ress p o l i t i c a l o p p o s it io n o f

a more c o v e r t n a tu re and v io le n t p r o te s t s w hich d id n o t

reach th e s ta g e o f o u t r ig h t armed in s u r r e c t io n . This

a u x i l ia r y arm o f v io le n t su p p re ss io n , co p io u s ly endowed

w ith f in a n c ia l re so u rc e s , was ab le to a t t a i n a degree o f

e f f ic ie n c y r iv a l in g th a t o f th e Gestapo o f N azi Germany,

The campaign o f t e r r o r launched by th a t n o to r io u s o rg a n i­

z a t io n u l t im a te ly p e n e tra te d a l l ,s e g m e n ts o f s o c ie ty .

By means o f t o r tu r e , murder and th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f a

n a tio n w id e netw ork o f s p ie s and in fo rm ers , th e S esu ridad

N ac io n al was a b le to f r u s t r a t e p lo t s and g e n e ra lly

d em o ra lize th e o p p o s it io n . In r e tu r n fo r t h e i r e f f i c i e n t

a s s is ta n c e , th e le a d e rs o f t h a t n o to r io u s o rg a n iz a t io n

were amply rew arded by th e d i c t a t o r , who a ffo rd e d them

many o p p o r tu n i t ie s fo r g r a f t , b lack m ail and im m o ra lity ,^

The hacendados, th e o p u le n t r u r a l landed c la s s

w hich had se rv ed as a p i l l a r o f su p p o rt fo r th e Gomez

regim e, reassum ed t h e i r form er r o l e . They, l i k e th e army

. 1, John E„ Fagg, L a tin Americas A G eneral H is to ry (Hew York: M acm illan-G o,, W 6 3 J7 p o 823, . .

o f f i c e r s and th e s e c r e t p o l ic e , b e n e f i t te d from t h e i r

a l l ia n c e w ith th e d i c t a to r , a lth o u g h perhaps n o t to th e

same ex ten to They were r e l ie v e d o f t h e i r f e a r s t h a t th ey

would have to pay income ta x e s and o b ta in ed a r e l a t i v e l y

f re e hand to e x p lo i t th e farm workers,, A v a r ie ty o f

p r o te c t iv e d ev ices and p r ic e su p p o rts enabled them to

s u b s t a n t ia l ly augment t h e i r incomes from th e p ro d u c tio n

o f com m ercial cropso Those c lo s e s t to the d i c t a t o r and

h is p r in c ip a l a s s i s t a n t s were p e rm itte d to p a r t i c i p a t e in

th e e x p lo i ta t io n o f th e lands made p ro d u c tiv e by th e

i r r i g a t i o n p r o je c t s o f th e regim e and were g ran te d most o fo .

th e p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s p ro v id ed by th e governm ente

P erez Jim enez was ab le to ach ieve c o n s id e ra b le

p o p u la r i ty among th e I n d u s t r i a l i s t s , c o n t r a c to r s , and

w ealthy m erchants who had begun to emerge as an urban

upper c l a s s 0 The nouveaux r ic h e , l i k e th e r u r a l e l i t e ,

were ab le to p r o f i t from e n te r p r is e s a s s o c ia te d w ith th e

economic boom fin an c ed by p e tro leu m rev en u e s0 The

fo r tu n a te m an u fac tu rers who were a b le to induce th e

government to impose o r in c re a s e t a r i f f s , low er q u o ta s ,

o r o th e rw ise p r o te c t t h e i r goods were in c l in e d to su p p o rt —'

o r a t l e a s t to t o l e r a t e — th e governm ent0 They, as w e ll

2 0 I n te r n a t io n a l Bank f o r R e c o n s tru c tio n and Developments The Economic Development o f V enezuela (B a ltim o re ; Johns Hopkins P r e s s , 1961), p p . 166-67, 180-81o C ite d h e r e a f te r a s - I n te r n a t io n a l Bank0

as th e o th e r em ployerss were ren d ered b e t t e r a b le to

compete w ith fo re ig n companies in th e dom estic m arket

because o f th e su p p o rt which th e government l e n t them in

t h e i r d e a lin g s w ith th e w o rk e rs0 The d i s i n c l i n a t io n o f

th e government to en fo rce th e p ro v is io n s o f th e income

ta x law , - w hich had never been burdensome, p e rm it te d them

to r e t a i n n e a r ly a l l o f t h e i r p r o f i t s = The com m ercial

and in d u s t r i a l e n tre p re n e u rs who were r e la te d to members

o f th e c a m a r i l la which surrounded th e d i c t a t o r o r who. were

f r ie n d s o f h is c o n f id a n ts were th e ones who secu red th e

g r e a te s t f in a n c ia l g a in s 0 T his was e s p e c ia l ly t r u e o fQ

th o se who were engaged in th e c o n s tru c tio n b u s in e s s =

The p e tro leu m in d u s try re c e iv e d b e t t e r tre a tm e n t

th an any e th e r s e c to r o f th e economy0 R e a liz in g th a t he

cou ld n o t long r e t a i n c o n tro l o f th e government w ith o u t

in s u r in g th e co n tin u ed flow o f s iz e a b le p e tro leu m revenues

in to th e n a t io n a l t r e a s u ry , P erez Jim enez c u l t iv a te d th e

f r ie n d s h ip o f th e in te r n a t io n a l pe tro leu m i n t e r e s t s in -

s e v e ra l ways. F i r s t , he allow ed them to re m it to th e

t r e a s u ry a p o r t io n o f t h e i r n e t p r o f i t s g e n e ra l ly sub­

s t a n t i a l l y le s s th an th e 50 p e r c e n t th e re o f w hich they

were re q u ire d by law to pay. Second, he c o n s is te n t ly

in te rv e n e d in b e h a lf o f th e com panies to impose s e ttle m e n ts

in la b o r d is p u te s . T h ird , he p e rm itte d th e com panies to

3 . Fagg, p . 324=

d isc h a rg e w orkers w ith o u t good cause and w ith o u t pay ing

them th e indem nity re q u ire d by law and to ig n o re many

ru le s o f law p re s c r ib e d by th e Labor Code fo r th e p r o te c ­

t io n o f w orkers. F in a l ly $, he so ld to thema a t b a rg a in

r a t e s , p e tro leu m co n cess io n s co v e rin g more ac reage th an

they had been ab le to a c q u ire from a l l p rev io u s adm ini- 4s t r a t i o n s .

The m iddle c l a s s , which had g ro w n .s te a d ily s in c e

th e d ea th o f Gomez in 1935, re c e iv e d some r e s id u a l bene­

f i t s from th e governm ent e f f o r t s to s t im u la te in d u s try .

But th e regime does n o t appear to have made much o f a

d i r e c t e f f o r t to c u l t i v a t e th e su p p o rt o f th a t s e c to r o f

s o c ie ty . Many o f th e shopkeepers, te c h n ic ia n s , su p e r­

v is o r s , s a la r ie d employees o f in d u s try and commerce, and

p r o fe s s io n a l men who com prised th e m iddle s e c to r o f th e

economy a s p ire d to membership in th e upper c l a s s . But th e

m iddle s e c to r was a d is p a ra te group which was la rg e ly

la c k in g in c la s s co n sc io u sn e ss . I t s members v a r ie d w ith

re s p e c t to p o l i t i c a l a lignm ent and a t t i t u d e tow ard th e. 5regim e.

The v a s t m a jo rity o f th e p eop le o f V enezuela were

e i t h e r openly o r s e c r e t ly opposed to th e a u th o r i t a r ia n

4 , B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp , 679-88,

5, W alte r Dupouy, La C lase Media en V enezuela, Vol, V o f H a te r la le s p a ra e le s tu d lo de l a c la s e media en V enezuela, ed , Theo Crevenna (W ashington: Pan American bn ion , 1951), p , 54,

r u le o f P erez Jim enez from i t s v e ry in cep tio n ,. The la b o r

fo rc e , which had p r o f i t e d g r e a t ly under th e gu idance and

p r o te c t io n o f th e dem ocratic regim e, ex p erien ced more

in te n s e p e rs e c u tio n under P e rez Jim enez th an i t had

s u f fe re d a t th e hands o f th e governm ent headed by D elgado.

T h ere fo re , i t i s n o t s u r p r i s in g th a t th e w orkers c o n s t i ­

tu te d , n u m e ric a lly , th e g r e a te s t t h r e a t to th e reg im e„

But sm a lle r and more a r t i c u l a t e groups were th e

g u id in g s p i r i t o f th e o p p o sitio n ,, Among them were th e

more l i t e r a t e p e tro leu m w orkers, th e u n iv e r s i ty and h igh

sch o o l s tu d e n ts o f w orking c la s s o r ig in , some i n t e l l e c tu a l s

o f f i c e r s o f th e armed fo rc e s who espoused dem ocratic

p r in c ip l e s , and some j o u r n a l i s t s . Such p eo p le worked w ith

th e dem ocratic underground o rg a n iz a tio n s d i r e c te d by th e

fo r tu n a te p o l i t i c a l le a d e rs who were a b le to e lu d e th e

c lu tc h e s o f th e s e c r e t p o l ic e o r who, from t h e i r havens

in e x i le , m ain ta ined a c o n s ta n t p re s s campaign a g a in s t th e

reg im e.

The d ic t a to r r e l e n t l e s s l y moved to e l im in a te th e

d is s id e n ts , r e g a rd le s s o f t h e i r s o c ia l s ta n d in g . The

s e c r e t p o l ic e , employed a v a s t netw ork o f s p ie s , in fo rm ers ,

s a d i s t s and p e r v e r ts to f e r r e t o u t th e le a d e rs and o th e r

members o f th e underground movement. T o rtu re , im prisonm ent

d e a th o r e x i le were th e p r ic e f re q u e n tly ex ac ted fo r even

m ild p r o te s t s o f th e conduct o f th e governm ent. Jo u rn a ­

l i s t s and e d i to r s were su b je c te d to in t im id a t io n by

government cen so rs and were f in e d o r im prisoned fo r

v o ic in g d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w ith th e p r a c t ic e s o f th e regime*

U n iv e rs ity s tu d e n ts and p ro fe s s o r s had to endure th e

im p o s itio n o f economic and a d m in is tra t iv e r e s t r i c t i o n s

designed to e l im in a te from th e u n iv e r s i t i e s p e rso n s

su sp e c te d o f im p lic a tio n in an ti-governm en t a c t i v i t i e s ,

and th o se who p a r t i c ip a te d in p u b lic d em o n stra tio n s were

o f te n b ea ten and im prisoned* A h o s t o f in g en io u s dev ices

were used to d e s tro y th e v e s t ig e s o f th e f r e e la b o r move­

ment* P ro fe s s io n a l men and army o f f i c e r s who dared to

m a n ife s t t h e i r d i s t a s t e fo r th e ty r a n n ic a l p r a c t ic e s o f

th e regime by means o f p u b lic p r o t e s t o r armed r e v o l t

in c u rre d th e speedy, e f f i c i e n t and t e r r i b l e r e t r i b u t i o n

ex ac ted by th e d i c t a t o r 8s s e c r e t p o lic e* So e f f e c t iv e d id

th e s e c r e t p o l ic e and th e armed fo rc e s become in e l im in a tin g

o p p o s it io n th a t , d u rin g th e y e a rs 1954-1956, th e u n d er­

ground8 s a c t i v i t i e s c o n s is te d o f l i t t l e e l s e b u t th e

o c c a s io n a l h u r l in g o f a few bombs and th e c la n d e s t in e6c i r c u l a t i o n o f some a n t1 -government l i t e r a tu r e *

Although P erez Jim enez had, in f a c t , reached th e

p in n a c le o f power on November 13, 1950, he d id n o t a t th a t

tim e fo rm ally come forw ard to c la im th e t i t l e o f P re s id e n t

6* B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, o p * 485-500*

o f th e co u n try o r even to have h im se lf e le v a te d to th e

p o s i t io n o f P re s id e n t o f th e ju n ta ,, His r e lu c ta n c e to do

so can p ro b ab ly be ex p la in ed by th e e x is te n c e o f two

c o n d itio n s which tended to d ic t a t e a more c a u tio u s

approach,, F i r s t , i t was w idely known th a t he had been

th e government o f f i c i a l who had had th e most to g a in from

th e e l im in a tio n o f Delgado Ghalbaud from th e ju n ta , fo r

th e le a d e rs o f th e AD underground and t h e i r e x i le d a sso ­

c i a t e s had l o s t no tim e in v ig o ro u s ly p u b l ic iz in g th a t

fac to Second, th e a s s a s s in a t io n o f Delgado on ly two y ea rs

a f t e r th e v io le n t overth row o f a c o n s t i tu t io n a l government

and th e f a i l u r e o f th e m i l i ta r y regim e to ho ld e le c t io n s

c re a te d a s e r io u s in te r n a t io n a l p rob lem . T h e re fo re , any

im m ediate e f f o r t by P erez Jim enez to have h im se lf d e c la re d

c h ie f o f s t a t e m ight have c re a te d a g rave r i s k o f

in s u r r e c t io n a t home and m ight have induced th e U nited

S ta te s and th e o th e r n a tio n s o f th e hem isphere to w ith ­

h o ld re c o g n it io n o f th e new governm ent.

Whatever th e reaso n , th e s tro n g man from T ach ira

chose to fo llo w th e d ic ta t e s o f c a u tio n . He reo rg an iz ed

th e governing com m ittee. I t became th e P ro v is io n a l Ju n ta

o f Government, a name d o u b tle s s chosen to convey th e

im p ressio n th a t i t was to be a mere t r a n s i t i o n a l body and

to deem phasize th e ro le o f th e m il i ta ry : . in th e governm ent,

A c i v i l i a n was chosen to head i t , German Suarez F lam erieh ,

th e new t i t u l a r le a d e r s was an a t to rn e y who had been

se rv in g as Ambassador to Peru* Because he had rem ained

a lo o f from p a r t i s a n a f f i l i a t i o n and had se rved as Dean o f

th e Law F acu lty a t th e C e n tra l U n iv e rs ity , th e o p p o s it io n

e n te r ta in e d th e hope th a t he m ight somehow manage to w ield

r e a l power in th e governm ent» But th o se hopes were q u ick ly

dashed0 I t soon became e v id e n t t h a t P erez Jim enez had

s e le c te d a mere puppet who had no in te n t io n o f secu rin g a

r e la x a t io n o f th e heavy-handed methods which had been

employed a g a in s t th e p o l i t i c a l o p p o s it io n .^

D uring th e n ex t two y e a rs , P erez Jim enez lab o red

d i l i g e n t l y to p re p a re th e n a t io n fo r e le c t io n s . The

p re p a ra t io n he had in mind invo lved th e p ro m u lg a tio n o f

laws designed to l im i t th e e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f th e e x is t in g

p a r t i e s and th e u t i l i z a t i o n o f v io le n c e and in t im id a t io n

to induce a m a jo rity o f th e e l e c to r a te to v o te f o r c a n d i­

d a te s proposed by th e governm ent.

The e l e c t o r a l p ro c e ss was s e t in m otion in A p ril,

1951. At th a t tim e th e governm ent announced t h a t e le c t io n s

would be h e ld in 1952 and th a t th e v o te rs would th e n be

g iv en th e o p p o rtu n ity to s e le c t th e members o f a c o n s t i tu e n t

assem bly empowered to d r a f t a new c o n s t i tu t io n , and to

de te rm ine th e manner in which th e n ex t c h ie f ex e c u tiv e

7 . B e tan co u rt, P o s ic io n . pp . 82-85.

would be e lec ted o ^ The government prom ulgated an e l e c t o r a l

law w hich was to govern th e conduct o f th e campaign and

which e s ta b l is h e d th e norms fo r th e b a l lo t in g and th e

p ro ced u re fo r th e co u n tin g o f v o te s 0 The p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s

n o t p re v io u s ly outlaw ed by th e governm ent had been

p e rm itte d to p a r t i c i p a t e in th e d r a f t in g of th a t s t a t u t e

b u t t h e i r d e le g a te s on th e d r a f t in g com m ittee c o n s t i tu te d

a m in o rity o f i t s membership0 As a r e s u l t , th e s t a t u t e ,

as f i n a l l y p rom ulgated , was u n s a t i s f a c to r y to th e members

o f th e p r in c ip a l p a r t i e s , in t h a t i t imposed p o te n t i a l l y

se v e re l im i ta t io n s upon t h e i r c a p a c ity to cam paign e f f e c ­

t i v e ly and to in s u re th a t th e p o l l in g and v o te - ta b u la t io n

p ro c e s se s would be h o n e s tly conducted . T ie p r in c ip a l

o b je c tio n s were th a t th e s t a t u t e p e rm itte d th e e x c lu s io n

o f r e p re s e n ta t iv e s o f th e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s from s e rv ic e

on th e e l e c t o r a l b o ard s; th a t i t p ro h ib i te d th e ho ld in g

o f ou tdoor p u b lic m eetings and re q u ire d advance government

p e rm iss io n fo r in d o o r r a l l i e s ; and th a t i t a u th o riz e d

ce n so rsh ip o f e l e c t o r a l propaganda. The g l ib re p ly o f th e

regim e to th e v ig o ro u s p r o te s t s r e g is te r e d by th e m ajor

p a r t i e s was t h a t th e a u th o r iz a t io n o f c e n so rsh ip was a mere

fo rm a lity , t h a t c r i t i c i s m o f th e regim e would be p e rm itte d

so long as i t was "decorous" and d id n o t amount to " in s u l t s

o r p ro v o c a tio n s ," and th a t th e r e s t r i c t i o n s embodied in

8. Hew York Times. A p ril 28, 1951, p . 5.

th e law were '"necessary to p re s e rv e o rd e r and p re v e n tg

su b v e rs iv e a c ts o'*

Although th e s e p ro v is io n s a lone fu rn ish e d th e govern­

ment im p o rta n t le g a l to o ls w ith which to m an ipu la te th e

e l e c t o r a l p ro c e s s , th e re were o th e rs w hich were n o t

p r o te s te d , bu t w hich were consp icuous fo r th e f a c t th a t

th ey e i t h e r fu rn ish e d th e government th e means w ith which

to m an ipu la te th e r e s u l t s o f th e v o tin g , o r o p e ra te d to

reduce th e s iz e o f th e p o t e n t i a l an ti-g o v ern m en t v o te .

For example, th e Supreme E le c to r a l C ouncil, which was to

be appo in ted by th e ju n ta to su p e rv ise th e e l e c t o r a l p rocess,

was to c o n s is t o f f i f t e e n members, o f which o n ly f iv e were

to be r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s o f th e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s p e rm itte d

to p a r t i c i p a t e in th e e l e c t io n s . A lso, s u f f ra g e was n o t

ex tended to th e la rg e group o f p e rso n s between th e ages

o f e ig h te e n and tw enty-one, so t h a t many o f th e u n iv e r s i ty

s tu d e n ts , most o f whom had dem onstra ted t h e i r o p p o s it io n

to th e governm ent, were d ise n fran c h ise d .^ ®

Meanwhile, th e s e c r e t p o l ic e had launched a

sy s te m a tic and in te n s iv e e f f o r t to t e r r o r i z e th e p eo p le

so as to in s u re t h a t a m a jo r ity o f th e d e le g a te s to be

e le c te d to th e assem bly would be su b se rv ie n t to th e

d i c t a t o r . R e a liz in g th a t th e co n tin u ed fu n c tio n in g o f

9 . lew York Times. A p ril 28, 1951.$ p . 5; May 8,1951, p . 26; and May 9$ 1951, p . 3 ,

10. lew York Times. May 20, 1951, p . 18.

th e Hndergroiand movement re p re se n te d th e p r in c ip a l

o b s ta c le to th e su ccess o f h is p la n 9 th e d i c t a t o r gave a

h ig h p r i o r i t y to th e e l im in a tio n o f th e le a d e rs o f th a t

group o He appo in ted an ex p erien ced policeman., Pedro

E strada* c h ie f o f S esu rid ad N acional ( th e s e c r e t p o l ic e )

on August 31* 1951, T h erea fte r* th e e f f ic ie n c y o f th e

f e d e ra l p o l ic e was improved to such an e x te n t th a t* by th e

tim e o f th e e le c tio n s* i t seemed t h a t th e underground had

been a l l b u t d em o ra lized . The campaign o f v io le n c e

cu lm ina ted in th e murder o f th e le a d e r o f th e underground*1 1Leonardo Ruiz Pineda* two weeks b e fo re th e e l e c t io n s .

D esp ite th e v io le n t r e p re s s io n o f th e underground

and th e r e s t r i c t i v e p ro v is io n s o f th e e l e c t o r a l s ta tu te *

th r e e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s dec ided to e n te r th e cam paign

a g a in s t th e government p a r ty , GOPEI* th e URD and th e t in y

S o c ia l i s t P a r ty su b m itted to e l e c t io n o f f i c i a l s l i s t s o f

c a n d id a te s fo r th e November 30 e l e c t io n s . The government

party* th e Independent E le c to r a l F ro n t (P E I)* had been

formed d u rin g th e sp r in g o f 1952, The outlaw ed p a r t i e s ~=

AD and th e PGV -= were excluded from e l e c to r a l p a r t i c i p a ­

t io n .

The campaign* which la s te d about two months * was

n o ta b le fo r th e in te n s e a c t i v i t y o f th e D em ocratic

R epublican Union* th e governm ent0s employment o f i t s le g a l

11, Luzardo* p , 170,

to o ls to h a r ra s s th e p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s s and th e use o f

p u b lic funds to f in a n c e th e FE1 campaign* During th e

HRD8 B v ig o ro u s n a tionw ide campaigns p a r ty le a d e rs fre q u en tly

and cou rageously a s s a i le d th e p o l ic ie s and program s o f th e

government d e s p ite th e a r b i t r a r y enforcem ent o f p re s s

cen so rsh ip s th e req u irem en t o f p r io r o f f i c i a l a u th o r iz a t io n

fo r th e h o ld ing o f m eetings and r a l l i e s , and s im ila r

h a rra ssm en t, FBI was allow ed to campaign w ith o u t government

in te r f e r e n c e *

C e r ta in th a t th e o f f i c i a l p a r ty would win a

smashing v ic to ry a t th e p o l l s , P erez Jim enez took s e v e ra l

s te p s c a lc u la te d to in c re a s e th e s iz e o f i t s vote* The

su p p o rte rs o f th e e x i le d form er d i c t a t o r s , Lopez and

Medina, were d o u b tle s s p le a se d when, d u rin g th e summer o f

1952, P erez Jim enez allow ed th e two o ld g e n e ra ls to r e tu rn

to Venezuela* R epeated assu ran ces were g iven th a t th e

regim e would p e a c e fu lly r e l in q u is h c o n tro l o f th e govern­

ment to th e c o n s t i tu e n t assem bly, re g a rd le s s o f i t s

p a r t i s a n com position , and th a t th e com position o f t h a t body

would a c c u ra te ly r e f l e c t th e w i l l o f th e e le c to ra te * A few

days b e fo re th e e le c t io n s , Suarez o f fe re d a p a r t i c u l a r l y

p o te n t inducem ent to th e fa m il ie s and f r ie n d s o f th e

thousands o f p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e r s to c a s t t h e i r v o te s fo r

12* New York Times. September 29, 1952, p* 5; and November 28, 1952, p* 5*

th e FEI can d id a teso He prom ised th a t a l l p o l i t i c a l

p r is o n e r s w u ld be re le a s e d b e fo re C hristm as and ag a in

assu red th e p eo p le t h a t th e e le c t io n s ■would be h o n est

However3 th e d ic t a t o r had u n d e res tim a ted th e

d e te rm in a tio n o f h is enem ies0 The murder o f Ruiz by ag en ts

o f th e s e c r e t p o l ic e had prom pted th e o th e r le a d e rs o f th e

AD underground movement to abandon t h e i r p la n to have t h e i r

p a r t i s a n s b o y c o tt th e e le c t io n s in fav o r o f a p la n to have

them go to th e p o l l s and c a s t t h e i r v o te s fo r th e URD

c a n d id a te s , r

The i n i t i a l r e tu rn s ru d e ly s h a t te r e d th e d i c t a t o r ’ s

i l l u s io n s o f an easy v ic to r y . They showed th a t URD had

re c e iv e d about 50 p e r c e n t o f th e v o te s ; FEI, 35 p e r c e n t;

and G0PEX, about 15 p e r c e n t . In i t s f i r s t e l e c t io n

b u l l e t i n , th e Supreme E le c to r a l C ouncil announced th a t

f i n a l r e tu rn s would be p u b lish ed on December 2 , ^

December 2, 1952, was an e v e n tfu l day, b u t n o t

because o f th e r e le a s e o f an e l e c t io n b u l l e t i n . The

enraged P erez Jim enez had responded im m ediately to th e

s u rp r is in g d e fe a t o f government c a n d id a te s . Im posing s t r i c t

cen so rsh ip upon dom estic and fo re ig n news d ispatches.::con­

ce rn in g th e e le c t io n , he had th e n secu red th e r e s ig n a t io n

13, Mew York Times. September 23, 1952, p , 6; and November 25$ 1952, p , 19,

14, B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp , 553-54,

o f th e o th e r members o f th e ju n ta s had induced th e Supreme

E lec to ra l: '. C ouncil to p re p a re f ra u d u le n t incom plete re tu rn s

w hich p u rp o rte d to g iv e th e FEZ a p l u r a l i t y o f th e v o te ,

and had had h im se lf e le v a te d to th e p o s i t io n o f P ro v i­

s io n a l P r e s id e n t0 L i f t in g th e ce n so rsh ip on D ecem ber.2,* 16 -he is su e d a communique d is c lo s in g th e f a i t accom pli.

The f i n a l r e tu r n s , re le a s e d bn December 13, were

rig g ed so as to g iv e FE1 a m a jo rity o f th e d e le g a te s to

th e assembly,, But th e cru d en ess o f th e scheme was rendered

obvious by th e f a c t th a t th e number o f s e a ts awarded to th e

government c a n d id a te s was in excess o f th e number which

should have been awarded to th e p a r ty , even on th e b a s is o f

th e f ra u d u le n t v o te t o t a l s , under th e form ula o f p ro p o r-17t io n a l r e p re s e n ta t io n p re s c r ib e d by law .

P erez Jim enez, having secu red a government

m a jo r ity in th e assem bly, s t i l l needed to secu re th e

a tte n d a n ce o f enough d e leg a tes o f th e o th e r p a r t i e s to

c o n s t i tu t e a quorum,, To co m p lica te h is problem , th e le a d e rs

o f COPEI and th e URD, R a fae l C a ld e ra and Jov it© V il la lb a ,

r e s p e c t iv e ly , o rd e red t h e i r c a n d id a te s n o t to ta k e s e a ts

in th e assem bly, on p a in o f ex p u ls io n from t h e i r p a r t i e s .

The d i c t a t o r had to r e s o r t to b r ib e s and th r e a t s in o rd e r to

16. New York Times. December 3 , 1952, p . 1 .

17. Leo B. L o tt , "The 1952 V enezuelan E lec tio n ssA Lesson fo r 1957 ,M W estern P o l i t i c a l Q u a r te r ly . X (Septem ber, 1 9 5 7 ),.5 5 0 -5 3 .

induce enough d e le g a te s and a l t e r n a te s to ta k e t h e i r s e a t s .

Meanwhile3 he e x i le d th e le a d e rs o f th e URD and outlaw ed

t h e i r p a r ty .

In Januaryg 19539 th e su b s e rv ie n t assem bly d u t i ­

f u l l y gave i t s app roval to th e d i c t a t o r ’ s s e l f . - s e le c t io n

as P ro v is io n a l P re s id e n t , Three months l a t e r 9 i t c a r r ie d

th e fa rc e to g r e a te r h e ig h ts o f a b s u rd ity by c o n v e rtin g

i t s e l f in to a Congress and s e le c t in g P erez Jim enez to be

th e P re s id e n t o f th e co u n try f o r th e ensu ing f iv e y e a r s .

The c a r e f u l ly p lanned e f f o r t s o f th e d i c t a t o r to

a t t a i n th e n a t io n 0 s h ig h e s t o f f i c e under some sem blance

o f l e g a l i t y had come to nau g h t. He now was w e ll aware

th a t a m a jo r ity o f th e p eo p le co u ld n e i th e r be co e rced nor

in tim id a te d in to accep tance o f h is h a rsh r u le . A lthough

he had a t ta in e d th e presidemeyg he would n ev e r ag a in r i s k

being em barrassed by g iv in g th e p eo p le a chance to v o te

in a f r e e e le c t io n .

By A prilg 19539 when P erez Jim enez began h is

p se u d o -le g a l term as '’c o n s t i t u t i o n a l11 p re s id e n ts V enezuela

had9 in e f f e c t , no p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . The PGV and AD had

been outlaw ed fo r more than fo u r y e a rs . The.FBI, m erely

an 'ad 'hoc p o l i t i c a l o rg a n iz a tio n s had ceased to fu n c tio n

when i t s r a is o n d ’ e t r e , th e 1952 e l e c t io n s 9 p a s se d . The

URD had been ou tlaw ed , T hereforeg th e o n ly m ajor p o l i t i c a l

p a r ty s t i l l allow ed to e x i s t was C0PEIo But even th a t

p a r ty , c o n s e rv a tiv e though i t was, was n o t p e rm itte d to

fu n c tio n e f f e c t i v e l y 9 I t was den ied p e rm iss io n to hold

p u b lic m eetin g s, i t s new spapers were su p p ressed , i t s

le a d e rs were f re q u e n tly a r r e s te d , and some o f i t s members1 Q

were im prisoned , e x ile d o r k i l l e d .

Having c re a te d a p o l i t i c a l vacuum, th e d i c t a t o r

and h is r e c e n t ly appo in ted M in is te r o f th e I n t e r i o r ,

Laureano V a l l e n i l l a Lanz, began to fo rm u la te a th e o ry o f

government which would r a t io n a l i z e th e v i r t u a l non-

e x is te n c e o f p o l i t i c a l o rg a n iz a tio n s in Venezuela.. The

la b e l which was ap p lie d to t h a t th e o ry - - th e Hew N a tio n a lSId e a l — came from th e in a u g u ra l ad d ress d e l iv e re d by Perez

Jim enez on A p ril 17, 1953, The b a s ic co n c ep ts , however,

were borrowed from th e th e o ry o f '‘D em ocratic C aesar ism ,8t.

dreamed up by V a l l e n i l l a 's f a th e r in 1929 in an e f f o r t to/ 19j u s t i f y th e Gomez reg im e=

The c e n t r a l theme was t h a t th e V enezuelan p eo p le

were n o t y e t p re p a red to e x e rc is e modern c i v i l l i b e r t i e s

and were s t i l l o v e r ly s u s c e p t ib le to th e demagogic appeals

o f p o l i t i c a l p a r t ie s o Furtherm ore , so th e th e o ry ra n , th e

p eo p le should n o t be allow ed to w aste t h e i r e n e rg ie s on

p o l i t i c a l m a tte rs , bu t should devo te t h e i r tim e e x c lu s iv e ly

18o A lexander, The V enezuelan Dem ocratic R evolu-tAOfis pe 47. .

19o S zu lc , p . 36.

to th e e x e c u tio n o f th e schemes d ev ised by th e d ic t a to r

fo r th e economic developm ent o f th e n a t io n « In s h o r t$

th e peo p le were expected to be o b ed ien t to th e d ic ta t e s

o f th e govern ing h ie ra rc h y headed by Marcos P erez Jim enez

In 19559 th e d i c t a t o r r e s ta te d h is co n cep tio n o f th e

fu n c tio n o f government and th e r o le he v is u a l iz e d fo r

h im se lf i n th e im plem entation o f t h a t p h ilo so p h y , du rin g

an in te rv ie w he g ran ted to a fo re ig n r e p o r t e r 0 He sa id :

" I w i l l make every e f f o r t to g iv e th e V enezuelan p eo p le

th e k in d o f government adap ted to them, 0 „ , We a re s t i l l

in ou r in f a n t y e a rs and we s t i l l need h a l t e r s , » , There

must be a le a d e r who shows th e way w ith o u t being p e r tu rb e d

by th e n e c e s s i ty o f w inning demagogic p o p u la r i ty ,"^1

During th e l a s t th r e e y e a rs o f h is regim e, P erez

Jim enez openly re v ea led to th e w orld th e im p la u s ib le

r a t io n a le fo r h is d ic ta to r s h ip and adopted new la b e ls fo r

i t . In June , 1955, f o r example, he re p o r te d ly announced

to th e P e ru v ian p r e s s , d u rin g a s t a t e v i s i t to P eru , th a t

V enezuela had no p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s and a s s e r te d th a t th e

Venezuelan p eo p le were "n o t in c l in e d tow ard p o l i t i c a l

p a r t i e s , " The fo llo w in g y e a r , a p p a re n tly f a s c in a te d by

th e term co in ed by a young New York Times co rresp o n d en t

20, Jo se V icen te Pepper B ,, R eco n stru ce io n i n t e ­g r a l de V enezuela (V a len c ia , V enezuela: E d i to r ia l ab o rig en , 1953), pp» 118-19,

21, "S k ip p er o f th e D ream boat," Time. F ebruary 28, 1955, p , 29, .

to d e s c r ib e h is reg im e$ he borrowed and f r e e ly used th a t

la b e l - - ^ tech n o eracy o 11 ^

The s e c r e t p o l ic e d id much to t r a n s l a t e th e th e o ry

in to r e a l i ty o During th e f i r s t f iv e months o f 1953$ they

underm ined th e e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f th e underground by s i l e n ­

c in g i t s le a d e r s o In Ja n u a ry s A lberto C a rn e v a li, who had

re p la c e d Ruiz P in ed a as le a d e r o f th e underground a f t e r

th e l a t t e r had been murdered^ was im prisoned* Three months

l a t e r 9 E l ig io Anzola 4 a z o la s h is su c c e sso r, s u f fe re d th e

same fa te* In May, C a rn e v a li d ied a f t e r undergoing an

o p e ra t io n fo r cancer* That same month an agen t o f th e

s e c r e t p o l ic e sh o t to d e a th Jh to n io P in to S a lin a s , who

had j u s t re p la c e d th e im prisoned Anzola*

But P e rez Jim enez was n o t c o n te n t w ith th e

su p p re ss io n o f dom estic p o l i t i c a l a c t iv i ty * • P e r io d ic a l ly ,

v io le n c e and su b te rfu g e were u t i l i z e d to make su re th a t

th e e x ile d p o l i t i c a l le a d e r s would n o t i n t e r f e r e w ith th e

ex e cu tio n o f h i s program to in s u re th e " d i s in c l in a t io n ” o f

th e p eop le to in v o lv e them selves in p o l i t i c s * The v io le n c e

came in th e form o f a ttem p ts to murder th e e x i le d p o l i t i c a l

le a d e r s , n o ta b ly Eomulo B e tancourt and Romulo G alleg o s,

in o rd er to s i le n c e th e most a r t i c u l a t e and p e r s i s t e n t o f

th e an ti-governm en t p ro p ag an d is ts* F a il in g in th o se

22* New York Times* June 12, 1955, p* 11; and March 17, 1956, p* 6 . . .

a tte m p ts3 th e d ic ta to r^ i n F ebruary 1956; launched an

e f f o r t to lu r e th e e x i le s back to V enezuela where th e y

co u ld be e f f e c t iv e ly s i le n c e d . But th a t p la n a lso f a i l e d ,

fo r two re a s o n s . F i r s t , th e c a u tio u s B e tancourt andz

G allegos, d o u b tin g th e s in c e r i t y o f th e o f f e r by P erez

Jim enez to p e rm it a l l e x i le s to r e tu r n under th e prom ise

o f an am nesty, e le c te d to rem ain ab road . Second, th e

a r r e s t o f C arlo s Arcaya, a c o n s e rv a tiv e , im m ediately a f t e r

he a r r iv e d in C aracas, made c l e a r to th e o th e r e x i le s

t h a t th e prom ise o f amnesty was n o th in g b u t a r u s e . ^

The d i c t a t o r ’s p la n s to " d e p o l i t ic lz e " th e n a t io n

a ls o ex tended in to th e realm o f o rg an ized la b o r , because

o f th e obvious s t r e n g th o f p o l i t i c a l p a r t is a n s h ip w ith in

th e u n io n s . S ince a l l o f th e AD un ions had a lre a d y been

c r ip p le d by th e a p p l ic a t io n o f a v a r ie ty o f r e p re s s iv e

m easures and th e la b o r o rg a n iz a tio n s sponsored by th e

o th e r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s were few, sm all and la rg e ly

in e f f e c tu a l , th e re was l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y in v o lv ed in c a r r y ­

ing o u t t h a t phase o f th e program . But P erez Jim enez went

one s te p f a r t h e r . At th e end o f 1952, he d i r e c te d h is

M in is te r o f th e I n t e r io r , V a l l e n i l l a Lanz, to c a l l a

co n v en tio n o f " independen t" u n io n s , From th a t m eeting

th e re emerged a pro-governm ent la b o r c o n fe d e ra tio n , th e

23, New York Times. F ebruary 4, 1956, p , 5; and March 17, 1956, p , 6 , .

Mbvimiento Obrero S in d ic a l de T rab a iad o res (MOSIT)0 • That

o rg a n is a tio n ) renamed th e M ational C o n fed e ra tio n o f

Workers (GIT) in 1955; s tro v e to induce th e w orkers to

abandon t h e i r a f f i l i a t i o n w ith th e p a r t i s a n un ions in fav o r

o f membership in i t s a f f i l i a t e u n io n s^

A bsolute Power: A L icen se fo r C o rru p tio n

The famous s ta tem en t made by Lord Acton reg a rd in g

th e c o r ru p tiv e in f lu e n c e e x e r te d by th e e x e rc is e o f abso­

lu te power upon him who w ie ld s i t was e s p e c ia l ly a p p lic a b le

in th e case o f Marcos P erez Jim enez and h is a s s o c ia te s .

The c o r ru p tio n p r a c t ic e d by th a t r e l a t i v e l y sm all group

o f men a t ta in e d a v a r ie ty and in t e n s i t y du ring th e p e r io d

1955-1957 never equaled in th e h is to ry o f V enezuela,

The d ic t a t o r and h is c ro n ie s o b ta in ed immense

w e a lth a t th e expense-of th e n a t io n a l t r e a s u ry . Employing

a v a r ie ty o f in g en io u s d e v ic e s , P erez Jim enez, E s tra d a ,

V a l ie n t ! la Lanz, o th e r p r in c ip a l government o f f i c i a l s ,

and p r iv a te c i t i z e n s who headed c o n s tru c tio n firm s and who

had t i e s o f k in sh ip o r f r ie n d s h ip w ith them s y s te m a tic a l ly

c a r r ie d on th e f in a n c ia l p i l l a g e . Perhaps th e most lu c r a ­

t iv e d e v ic e was th e f i s c a l p r a c t i c e o f p re p a r in g s o -c a l le d

e x tra o rd in a ry b u d g ets , which served to concea l th e o b je c ts

o f ex p e n d itu re o f s u b s ta n t ia l p o r t io n s o f th e p u b lic

24, A lexander, The V enezuelan D em ocratic R ev o lu tio n , p , 47, . •

rev en u e s0 The f a c t th a t th e se rev en u es3 d u rin g th e l a s t

fo u r y ea rs o f th e regimeg averaged more th an two b i l l i o n

b o liv a rs p e r y e a r8 and th a t about o n e - th ird o f th a t amount

was sp en t on p u b lic w o r k s g a v e th e p lu n d e re rs an

unusual o p p o r tu n ity . How su c c e s s fu ly th ey c a p i ta l iz e d

upon i t w i l l , p e rh ap s , never be known. By means o f k ic k ­

backs from p u b lic works c o n t r a c to r s , who them selves made

unduly la rg e p r o f i t s from th e c o n tr a c tu a l arrangem ents,

th e in s id e r s o f th e regime were ab le to amass la rg e/ / * p e rso n a l fo r tu n e s . P erez Jim enez a lone a l le g e d ly en rich ed

h im se lf by as much as $250 m il l io n .

But u n law fu l enrichm ent a lone appears n o t to have

s a t i s f i e d h is a p p e t i te fo r v ic e . He had s e v e ra l lu x u rio u s

r e t r e a t s b u i l t f o r him. There he r e p o r te d ly h e ld drunken

re v e ls and e n te r ta in e d h is f r ie n d s w ith sex u a l o r g ie s , in

w hich he h im se lf , d e s p ite having a w ife and four sm all97

c h i ld re n , p a r t i c ip a t e d .

25. I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p . 43=

26. S zu lc , pp . 252-58.

27. I b id .

CHAPTER IV

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNDER PEREZ JIMENEZ

Economic developm ent was a m ajor g o a l o f P erez

Jim enez« In c re a se d revenues 9 la rg e ly d e r iv e d from th e

d o ub ling o f th e v a lu e o f p e tro leu m ex p o rts d u rin g h is

regime^ made p o s s ib le a s te a d y in c re a s e in government

ex p e n d itu re s fo r economic p u rp o se s . D esp ite th e s t r u c ­

t u r a l w eaknesses in th e economy and th e w aste o f p u b lic

funds, p ro d u c tio n in th e non-petro leum s e c to r s a lso

doub led . M anufacturing e n te r p r is e s exceeded th e average

in c re a s e in p ro d u c tio n , b u t in d u s t r ie s which d e a l t in th e

p ro v is io n o f s e rv ic e s ach ieved r e s u l t s o n ly s l i g h t l y l e s s

p o s i t iv e .

P ro d u c tio n in c re a se d r a p id ly enough to p e rm it th e

employment o f n e a r ly a l l o f th e la b o r fo rc e and r e a l

consum ption in c re a se d a t an annual average o f about 7 p e r

c e n t p e r c a p i ta ,^ T his grow th o cc u rred w ith o u t p roducing

n o tic e a b le i n f l a t i o n o f p r ic e s , p r im a r i ly because o f th e

dynamic a c t i v i t y in th e p e tro leu m s e c to r w hich se rved to

in c re a se th e supp ly o f fo re ig n exchange. In 1956 and

1957, a d d i t io n a l revenues from th a t s e c to r came in th e

1, U nited N atio n s, Economic B u l le t in f o r L a tin America. V, pp , 22-23,

form o f paym ents f o r new c o n c e ss io n s0 F in a l ly , th e f a c t

th a t wages d id n o t r i s e more r a p id ly th an p ro d u c t iv i ty

se rved to r e ta r d i n f l a t i o n .

But th e f a n ta s t i c economic p ro g re ss was i l l u s o r y

in some r e s p e c ts . The ra p id r i s e o f p ro d u c tio n in th e

m anufactu ring s e c to r was l e s s m eaningful when one con­

s id e r s th a t o p e ra t io n s in t h a t b ranch o f in d u s try were

conducted on a sm a ll s c a le in 195© and th a t , by 1958, th e

e n t i r e s e c to r was c o n tr ib u t in g a mere 12 p e r c e n t o f th e

g ro ss dom estic p ro d u c tio n . A lso, p a r t o f th e in c re a s e

in dom estic p ro d u c tio n was absorbed by a more h ig h ly

u rb an ized p o p u la tio n whose in c re a se d sh a re o f consum ption

n e c e s s i ta te d th e t r a n s p o r ta t io n o f fo o d s tu f f s g r e a te r

d is ta n c e s . There was a lso a g r e a te r need fo r u rban t r a n s ­

p o r ta t io n and w ater s u p p l ie s . F urtherm ore , a lth o u g h p r ic e s

d id n o t v ary s ig n i f i c a n t ly , they rem ained a t h ig h l e v e l s .

Fbre b a s ic was th e f a i l u r e o f th e d ic ta to r s h ip to c o r r e c t

th e fundam ental economic w eaknesses p re v io u s ly o u t l in e d .

In 1958, th e economic dependence o f th e n a t io n upon

p e tro leu m was as s tro n g as e v e r . D iv e r s i f ic a t io n o f th e

economy was alm ost as f a r from being a - r e a l i t y as i t had

been in 1950. A lthough th e p ro d u c tio n o f some a g r ic u l tu r a l

com m odities had g r e a t ly in c re a se d , la r g e ly because o f .

government p r o te c t io n and su p p o rts , many fo o d s tu f fs s t i l l

2 . I b id .

had to be im ported0 The c o n t r ib u t io n o f th e a g r i c u l tu r a l

s e c to r to th e g ro ss dom estic p ro d u c t f e l l to o n ly 6 C3 p e r

c e n t by 1957, a d e c lin e o f 1 ,7 p e r c e n t from th e 19503

p ro p o r t io n . The heavy in d u s t r ie s c o n s tru c te d by th e regime

were p roducing very l i t t l e by th e end o f 1957, Manufac­

tu r in g co n tin u ed to be la rg e ly l im ite d to th e p ro d u c tio n

o f l ig h t consumer goods, th e m arket f o r which rem ained

r e l a t i v e l y sm all because o f fo re ig n c o m p e titio n .

The c o a s ta l c i t i e s became in c re a s in g ly crowded,

a lth o u g h much o f th e n a t io n 6 s c u l t iv a b le land was n o t

being u t i l i z e d . Some o f th e r u r a l zones even ex p erien ced

la b o r s h o r ta g e s . The u rb an sh a re o f th e p e rs o n a l income

co n tin u ed to in c re a s e a t th e expense o f th e p o r t io n th e re o f

re c e iv e d by r u r a l r e s id e n ts , to such an e x te n t th a t th e

r e s id e n ts o f m e tro p o lita n C aracas, c o n s t i tu t in g about one-

s ix th o f th e n a t io n a l p o p u la tio n , w ere re c e iv in g about

tw o - f i f th s o f th e p e rso n a l income in 1957, I n te r n a l

m ig ra tio n tow ard th e c i t i e s became so pronounced th a t

n e a r ly th r e e - f o u r th s o f th e t o t a l p r iv a te income accrued

to 40 p e r c e n t o f th e p o p u la tio n , th e r e s id e n ts o f th e

tw enty to tw e n ty -f iv e towns having p o p u la tio n s o f 20,000 4o r more,

3 , I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, T able 4, p , 83,

4 , C a rl Shoup, e t a l , . The F is c a l System o f V enezuela (B a ltim o re ; Johns Hopkins E re s s , 1959), p , 22,

Because o f th e in c re a s e in u rban wages, th e in f lu x

o f la b o r to th e c i t i e s became so g r e a t th a t th e d e f i c i t in

adequate lo w -co s t housing enorm ously in c re a s e d 0 As a

r e s u l t , slum a rea s sp read , th e number o f hom eless c h i ld re n

in c re a se d , and th e crim e r a t e ro s e . By 1958, more th an

o n e - th ird o f th e peop le o f C aracas were d w ellin g in

shacks, and abou t o n e - f i f t h o f them liv e d in th e h a s t i l y -

c o n s tru c te d , p o o rly -eq u ip p ed su p e r-b lo ck s e re c te d by th e

regim e, some o f which had a lre ad y become slum s0 Approxi­

m ately 163,000 abandoned c h i ld re n roamed th e s t r e e t s o f

th e c i t y 0^

The s ta n d a rd o f l iv in g o f th e r u r a l la b o r fo rc e

underw ent, a t b e s t , a m inute improvem ent. Most a g r i ­

c u l tu r a l w orkers re v e r te d to th e same s t a t e o f p o v e rty

and igno rance in which th ey had liv e d b e fo re th e O ctober,

1945 r e v o lu t io n . In 1957, more th a n 45 p e r c e n t o f th e

r e c ip ie n ts o f p r iv a te income were r e c e iv in g le s s th a n

2400 b o l iv a r s (ro u g h ly $800) p e r y e a r , and t h e i r sh a re o f

th e t o t a l p e rso n a l income was b u t 9 p e r cento The e s tim a ted

annual income which th e average r u r a l w o rk in g -c la ss fam ily

re c e iv e d was approx im ately 800 b o liv a rs ( l e s s th an $300),

o r about 125 b o liv a rs p e r p e rso n (ap p ro x im ate ly $40),

in c lu d in g th e v a lu e o f th e s u b s is te n c e crops consumed.

5. U nited N a tio n s !. Economic B u l le t in fo r L a tin America. V, p .. 23. .

But a g ra r ia n w orkers com prised about 80 p e r c e n t o f th e

r u r a l p o p u la tio n * ^

The n a tio n -w id e p a t t e r n was one o f ag g ra v a tio n o f

th e endemic m a ld is t r ib u t io n o f w ealth* The ra p id in c re a s e

in dom estic p ro d u c tio n accrued p r in c ip a l ly to th e m iddle

and upper c la sse s* Meanwhile, th e la b o r in g c la s s e s o f th e

r u r a l and u rban a reas re c e iv e d l i t t l e . o f th e r e a l increm ent

in n a t io n a l income * The urban w orker was b e s e t by th e

c h ro n ic a l ly h ig h p r ic e s which absorbed most o f h is income,

so th a t he had a r e a l income n o t much g r e a te r th an th a t o f

h i s u n d e rp r iv ile g e d r u r a l c o u n te rp a r t .

F in a l ly , th e regim e o f. Marcos P erez Jim enez f a i l e d

to p ro g re ss tow ard th e achievem ent o f a m easurable degree

o f independence in th e in te r n a t io n a l p e tro leu m m arke t. By

th e end o f 1957 th e dependence o f th e V enezuelan economy

upon th e d e c is io n s o f th e in te r n a t io n a l petro leum

i n t e r e s t s re s p e c tin g p ro d u c tio n and p r ic e s , and upon i n t e r ­

n a t io n a l p o l i t i c a l developm ents r e la te d to th e w orld

supply o f p e tro leu m was more e v id e n t than e v e r . T h is was

made p a in f u l ly obvious when th e o i l sh o r ta g e s produced by

th e Suez c r i s i s were e lim in a te d by th e f i n a l s e tt le m e n t

o f th e c o n tro v e rsy . The subsequen t in c re a s e in co m p e titio n

from th e M iddle E a s t, coup led w ith th e re d u c tio n by th e

6 , George W, H i l l , La v id a r u r a l en V enezuela (C aracas: E d i to r i a l V argas, 1958), p„ 20,

74

U nited S ta te s o f i t s im port quo tas on petro leu m , caused a

pronounced re d u c tio n i n th e volume o f V enezuelan p etro leum

exportso A lso, d e s p ite th e f a c t th a t p e tro leu m ex p o rts

fu rn ish e d th e im petus to dom estic demand n ec e ssa ry to

prom ote economic grow th, th e v i r t u a l f lo o d o f fo re ig n

exchange w hich they produced p r e c ip i t a t e d an expansion o f

th e im port t r a d e so ra p id as to impede th e growth o f

dom estic in d u s t ry . A lthough th e government re c e iv e d a

s u b s ta n t ia l p o r t io n o f th e fo re ig n exchange and was,

th e re fo r e , ren d ered ab le to c o n sc io u s ly m an ipu la te th e

p ro c e s s , i t f a i l e d to do so . The d i c t a t o r e v id e n tly d id

n o t a p p re c ia te th e n a tu re o f th e problem and o f th e

m easures which would be needed to so lv e i t . M oreover, any

e f f e c t iv e program to a l l e v i a t e th e s i t u a t i o n would have

invo lved th e c u r ta i lm e n t o f im ports o f lu x u ry goods, a

m easure which he d o u b tle ss r e a l iz e d would ten d to a l ie n a te

th e upper and m iddle c la s s e s , which im ported a l l such 7 'goods.

The E x tr a c t iv e I n d u s tr ie s

The foreign-ow ned p e tro leu m in d u s try , th e p r in c ip a l

sou rce o f government revenues, re c e iv e d more fa v o ra b le

tre a tm e n t than o th e r s e c to r s o f in d u s try . The govern­

ment assu red th e in d u s try v i r t u a l freedom from s e r io u s

la b o r d i s p u te s e I t allow ed th e companies to r e t a in a

la r g e r sh a re o f t h e i r n e t Incomes th an was p e rm itte d by

law® P ro v is io n s o f th e Labor Code which th e y co n s id e red

r e s t r i c t i v e were n o t r ig id ly enforced® Hew co n cess io n s ,

co v erin g an a re a which su rp assed th a t which th ey had

p re v io u s ly ac q u ired , were so ld to th e In d u s try In 1956

and 1957®

A d ec re e prom ulgated on A p ril 9, 1951, a r b i t r a r i l y

e s ta b l i s h e d th e c o n d itio n s o f work in th e p e tro leu m

in d u s try and p re s c r ib e d th e rem unera tion to be re c e iv e d

by p e tro leu m workers® Mien th e c o l l e c t iv e agreem ent d ic ­

ta te d by th a t dec ree ex p ired two y e a rs l a t e r , th e government

n e g o t ia t in g w ith th e in d u s try th ro u g h i t s la b o r co n fed e ra ­

t io n , M0S1T, reached an agreem ent w ith th e in d u s try which

was imposed upon a l l em ployees, re g a rd le s s o f t h e i r un ion

a f f i l ia t io n ® The same p ro ced u re was u t i l i z e d by th e CNT

in 19560

The revenues c o l le c te d by th e government from th e

in d u s try by means o f ro y a l ty paym ents, income ta x e s and th e

s a le o f dom estic cu rren cy a t in c re a se d r a t e s , d e c lin e d

c o n s id e ra b ly r e l a t i v e to th e sh a re o f company p r o f i t s

fo rm erly d e riv e d by th e government® The AD regim e had

ex ac ted p e tro leu m revenues av e rag in g more th an 60 p e r cen t

o f th e in d u s t r y 's met p r o f i t s and th e m i l i t a r y ju n ta had

managed to secu re more than 50 p e r c e n t, b u t P erez Jim enez

allow ed th e companies to re m it to th e t r e a s u ry an average

o f on ly about 45 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r n e t incom ese As a

r e s u l t , th e government countenanced a lo s s o f revenues

amounting to more than $1 b i l l i o n , i f one a p p lie s th e SO­

SO form ula p re s c r ib e d by law .^

D esp ite th e f a c t t h a t on ly a sm all p o r t io n o f th e

a re a encompassed by th e p re v io u s ly g ra n te d p e tro leu m con­

c e s s io n s had e i t h e r been ex p lo red o r e x p lo ite d by th e

p e tro leum com panies, and a lth o u g h th e quantum o f proved

re se rv e s in th e o ld co n cess io n a rea s had grown a p p re c ia b ly ,

b o th in a b s o lu te term s and r e l a t i v e to th e volume o f

p ro d u c tio n , P erez Jim enez, in 1955, dec ided to s e l l new

concessionso During th e n ex t two y e a rs , he g ran ted

new fo r ty -y e a r co n cess io n s to fo re ig n p roducing companies

and to a few dom estic com panies. S ince alm ost a l l o f th e

a re a covered by th e new c o n c ess io n s la y n ea r th e proved

a re a o f th e M aracaibo B asin th e average p r ic e - - $3,00

p e r ac re p lu s a perm anent o n e - s ix te e n th p a r t i c ip a t in g

r o y a l ty was unduly low. The co n cess io n a re a covered

more th an 1 ,250,000 a c re s , s ig n i f i c a n t p o r t io n s o f which

were so ld to newly formed companies owned by c lo s e f r ie n d s

and r e l a t iv e s o f th e d i c t a t o r . The %in s id e r s " u s u a l ly

8 , B e tan c o u rt, V enezuela, pp , 688-90,

so ld t h e i r concessions^ a t a s u b s ta n t i a l p r o f i t , , to fo re ig n o

companieso^ '

The co n cess io n payments augmented n a t io n a l revenues■j A

by about 2*12 b i l l i o n b o l iv a r s a Moreover, th e im petus

which th e g ra n t o f th e co n cess io n s gave to c a p i t a l in v e s t ­

ment and to p ro d u c tio n in th e petro leu m in d u s try served

n o t on ly to augment c o n s id e ra b ly th e governm ent8s revenues

b u t a lso to s t im u la te th e p riv a te ly -o w n e d e n te rp r is e s 'w h ic h

were most dependent upon th e p e tro leu m sec to r,, In c lu d in g

co n cess io n paym ents, p e tro leu m revenues re m itte d to th e

government d u rin g th e y e a rs 1951-1957 produced about two-

th i r d s o f a l l government incom ee T o ta l government income

from th e p e tro leu m s e c to r was approx im ately 17*38 b i l l i o n

b o liv a rs (more than $5 b i l l i o n )

The mining in d u s try , l i k e th e p e tro leu m in d u s try ,

was la rg e ly in th e hands o f fo re ig n in v e s to r s , was e x p o r t-

o r ie n te d , and ex perienced ra p id growth* The t o t a l v a lu e

o f mining p ro d u c tio n ro se from 20 m il l io n b o liv a rs in 1950

to a reco rd 383 m il l io n b o liv a rs in 1957 0 But th e c o n t r i ­

b u tio n o f th e m ining s e c to r to th e g ro ss dom estic p ro d u c t

rem ained low — Q02 p e r c e n t in 1950 and 1«6 p e r c e n t in

1957o Most o f th e growth was a t t r i b u t a b l e to th e

9„ I b id *, p p e 657-90*

10o U nited N a tio n s , Economic B u l le t in fo r L a tin

11* Ib id * * po 31*

developm ent o f i ro n o re e x tra c tio n ^ an a c t iv i t y c o n t ro l le d

by th e s u b s id ia r ie s o f th e U nited S ta te s S te e l and B e th le ­

hem S te e l C o rp o ra tio n s$ which ex p o rted n e a r ly a l l o f th e

h ig h -g rad e o re s they produced . I ro n o re p ro d u c tio n s which

com prised bu t o n e - fo u r th o f th e v a lu e o f th e m in e ra l o u tp u t

in 1950$ accounted fo r about n in e - te n th s o f i t in 1957.

Me anw hilea th e v a lu e o f com m ercial diamonds mined in Vene­

z u e la in c re a se d from 4 m il l io n to 9 m il l io n b o l iv a r s , and

th a t o f g o ld , from 3 m il l io n to 7 m il l io n .

Government income from th e ex p o rt o f i ro n o re was

sm a ll. I n d ic a t io n s are t h a t th e regim e was n o t app ly ing

th e p ro v is io n s o f th e law which re q u ire d th e payments o f

50 p e r c e n t o f th e n e t p roceeds o f a l l m in e ra l e x p lo i ta ­

t i o n in to th e n a t io n a l t r e a s u r y . A lthough f iv e m il l io n tons

o f i ro n o re were expo rted in 1954, f o r example, t r e a s u ry

r e c e ip ts were o n ly $3.5 m il l io n , o r on ly $0.70 p e r t o n . ^

The two m ajor e x t r a c t iv e in d u s t r ie s accounted fo r

about o n e - fo u r th o f th e g ro ss n a t io n a l investm en t made

d u rin g th e p e r io d 1950-1957. The revenues o b ta in e d from

them by th e government enab led i t to p ro v id e n e a r ly 60 p e r

c e n t o f th e g ro ss n a t io n a l investm en t in f ix e d a s s e ts ,

ex c lu d in g th e c o n tr ib u t io n made by th o se two s e c to r s .

12. I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, Table S . l , p . 4 6 3 .,

13. B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, p . 633.

14. I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p . 85.

Manuf ac tu r in g

The governm ent, beg inn ing in 1S55, .a l lo c a te d a

s iz e a b le p ro p o r tio n o f i t s ex p e n d itu re s to th e developm ent

o f in d u s try , c o n c e n tra tin g most o f th a t investm en t in th e

m anufactu ring s e c to r e The v a s t m a jo r ity o f th e p u b lic

investm en t in m anufactu ring was a l lo c a te d to th e c o n s tru c ­

t io n o f government-owned s t e e l and p e tro ch em ica l p l a n t s .

Both were p o o rly p lanned and were b u i l t by fo re ig n

c o n tra c to r s a t p r ic e s in f l a t e d so as to a llow fo r

unconscionab le enrichm ent o f p u b lic o f f i c i a l s a t th e

expense o f th e t r e a s u ry . As a r e s u l t , th e two p la n ts made

l i t t l e sh o r t- te rm c o n tr ib u t io n to p ro d u c tio n and th e

ex p e n d itu re s in v o lv ed f a r exceeded th e r e a l v a lu e o f th e

investm en t th ey re p re se n te d .

In 1955, th e government c o n tra c te d w ith an I t a l i a n

f irm , F ia t , fo r th e c o n s tru c tio n o f an iro n and s t e e l p la n t

to be s i tu a te d n ea r P uerto O rdaz, a long th e Orinoco R iv e r ,

I t was to be owned and o p e ra ted by th e n a t io n a l governm ent,

Three y e a rs l a t e r th e volume o f im ports o f iro n and s t e e l

p ro d u c ts ro se to 1 .5 m il l io n tons and in 1957 p ro d u c tio n

had n o t y e t begun. The c o s t o f th e p r o je c t was about

$360 m il l io n .

15. U nited N a tio n s , Economic Commission fo r L a tin America, Economic Survey o f L a tin America. 1957 (E/CN.12 /489 / Rev. 1) (New York, 1959;, p . 100.

The p e tro c h e m ic a l p la n t was on ly p a r t l y o p e ra t iv e

a t th e end o£ 1957o N early o n e - fo u r th o f th e t o t a l c o s t

o f th e p r o je c t -*• e s tim a te d a t $300 m il l io n - - had been

sp en t on th e i n i t i a l p h ases , which c o n s is te d o f c o n s tru c ­

t io n o f ro ad s , p o r ts and o th e r a u x i l ia ry f a c i l i t i e s and

a f e r t i l i z e r p l a n t . In 1957, th e f i r s t u n i t s o f th a t

p la n t began o p e ra t io n s , u s in g n a tu ra l gas fo r f u e l ,

A pproxim ately 15,000 to n s o f n itro g e n o u s f e r t i l i z e r were

p roduced . The o th e r phases were n o t com pleted u n t i l a f t e r

th e o u ste r, o f th e r e g im e ,^

Although in d u s try was em erging from th e i n i t i a l

s ta g e s o f developm ent th e m anufactu ring segment, by 1958,

accounted fo r on ly 11 p e r c e n t o f th e g ro ss n a t io n a l

p ro d u c t. T ra d i t io n a l consumer goods in d u s t r i e s , which had

accounted fo r 71 p e r cen t o f th e t o t a l v a lu e o f dom estic

m anufactured goods in 1948, ex p erien ced a d e c lin e to 59 p e r

c e n t by 1958, Meanwhile, th e v a lu e o f th e p ro d u c tio n o f

in te rm e d ia te goods in c re a se d from 27 p e r c e n t to 38 p e r c e n t

o f th e t o t a l . C a p ita l goods p ro d u c tio n rem ained alm ost

s ta t io n a r y , r e l a t i v e to t o t a l m anufactu ring p r o d u c t io n ,^

The o v e r a l l r i s e in i n d u s t r i a l p ro d u c tio n was r a p id ,

b u t th e most a c c e le ra te d growth o ccu rred in th o se in d u s t r ie s

o r i n d u s t r i a l t r a d e s which were accorded s p e c ia l ad v an tag es,

16, I b i d , , p , 96.

1 7 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Bank, pp . 94-95 .

For exam ples th e m ilk p a s te u r iz a t io n p la n ts and the sugar

r e f i n e r i e s t h e form er p ro te c te d by im port q u o ta s 9 and th e

l a t t e r , by p ro d u c tio n quo tas and p r ic e - f ix in g - - were

re s p o n s ib le f o r most o f th e 100 p e r c e n t in c re a s e inI Q

p ro d u c tio n ex p erien ced by th e food p ro c e s s in g in d u stry *

The government p o l ic y o f encourag ing im port

s u b s t i tu t io n , p r in c ip a l ly by th e im p o s itio n o f h ig h

t a r i f f s on most n o n -d u rab le consumer goods, and th e f a c t

th a t th e dom estic m arket was becoming la rg e enough to

j u s t i f y lo c a l p ro d u c tio n o f many com m odities, se rved to

a t t r a c t p r iv a te c a p i t a l and m anageria l t a l e n t to p ro te c te d

in d u s tr ie s * Most o f th e su p e rv iso ry p e rso n n e l and s k i l le d

la b o r came from abroad, s in c e V enezuelans lacked th e

o p p o r tu n ity to le a rn th e n ec e ssa ry s k i l l s * The d i c t a t o r ,

p r e f e r r in g to prom ote th e im m igration o f Europeans who

a lre ad y p o ssessed such s k i l l s , p e rm itte d thousands o f

I t a l i a n s , Span iards and Germans to e n te r V enezuela each

year* The p r in c ip a l lu r e , b o th fo r fo re ig n c a p i t a l and

f o r im m igrants, was th e r e p u ta t io n which V enezuela had

acq u ired as a p la c e where one cou ld ra p id ly ac q u ire w ealth*

D ire c t f in a n c ia l a id to p r iv a te in d u s try was s l ig h t* The

p r in c ip a l government agency fo r th e developm ent o f

in d u s try , th e V enezuelan Development C o rp o ra tio n , d r a s t i c a l l y

c u r ta i l e d i t s len d in g o p e ra t io n s * , The I n d u s t r i a l Bank,

18* Ib id .

c re a te d by th e AD regime to make in d u s t r i a l developm ent

lo a n s $ was a b o lish e d 0 As a r e s u l t g on ly about tw e n ty -f iv e

I n d u s t r i a l lo an s were g ran te d each y e a r and th e t o t a l

annual amount o f th e loans was on ly about 25 m il l io n

b o liv a rso However9 th e f a i l u r e o f th e regim e to ex tend

t a r i f f p r o te c t io n and loans to c a p i t a l goods in d u s t r ie s

was la rg e ly a r e s u l t o f th e f a c t t h a t th e com m ercial

t r e a t y w ith th e U nited S ta te s p ro h ib i te d th e e x te n s io n

o f t a r i f f p ro te c t io n to firm s whose p ro d u c ts were com peti-19t iv e w ith American p ro d u c ts .

C o n s tru c tio n

The c o n s tru c tio n in d u s try ex p erien ced g re a t

p ro s p e r i ty under th e d ic ta to r s h ip , p a r t i c u l a r l y d u rin g th e

y e a rs 1955-1957. P r iv a te p r o je c ts w orth $1 b i l l i o n and

p u b lic works valued a t p e a r ly $3 b i l l i o n were u n d er- 20ta k e n . The in te n s e a c t i v i t y was r e f le c te d in th e sub<=

s t a a t i a l en largem ent o f c o n t r a c to r s 0 in v e n to r ie s o f c a p i t a l

equipm ent. Both p u b lic and p r iv a te p r o je c ts were la rg e ly

c o n c e n tra te d in th e c o a s ta l re g io n .

The governm ent sp e n t n e a r ly o n e - th ird o f i t s

revenues on p u b lic c o n s tru c t io n p r o j e c t s . 21 The e a r ly

19. A lexander, The V enezuelan D em ocratic Revolu­t i o n . pp . 194-212. . .

20. U nited N a tio n s , Economic B u l le t in fo r L a tin America. V, p . 37. .

2 1 . I b id .

fo cu s was on th e m aintenance and improvement o f lan d , sea

and a i r t r a n s p o r ta t io n , bu t by 1955 th e em phasis s h i f te d

to th e c o n s tru c tio n o f heavy in d u s t r i e s , u rban housing ,

o f f i c e b u ild in g s , and t o u r i s t f a c i l i t i e s . During th e

second phase o f th e p u b lic works program th e pace bee aw e,

so ra p id and th e p r o je c ts so c o s t ly th a t c u r r e n t revenues

w ere in ad eq u a te to pay fo r them. As a r e s u l t th e government

r e s o r te d to th e q u e s tio n a b le p r a c t i c e o f pay ing c o n tra c to r s

in s h o r t- te rm n o te s , which th ey f re q u e n tly were fo rc ed t o ..

s e l l to fo re ig n f in a n c ia l i n s t i t u t i o n s a t a d is c o u n t.

A lthough some o f th e p r o je c t s , such as th e highways

and th e s t e e l and p e tro ch em ica l p la n ts , proved to be o f

c o n s id e ra b le economic u t i l i t y , a l l too o f te n th e p u b lic

works e re c te d by th e regim e were showy, p o o rly p lanned ,

h a s t i l y ex ecu ted , and n o t very u s e fu l . With th e ex c ep tio n

o f a few m ajor p r o je c t s , such as th e C aroni h y d ro e le c tr ic

p l a n t , th e n a t io n a l s t e e l m i l l , and th e G uarico dam, th e

p u b lic works a c t i v i t y was c o n c e n tra te d in C aracas and a

few o f th e m ajor c i t i e s o f th e w este rn c o a s ta l zone.

F re q u e n tly , c o n s tru c tio n c o s ts were e x c ess iv e because o f th e

g r a f t and k ick b ack s in v o lv ed in th e n e g o t ia t io n o f c o n tra c ts

w ith c o n s tru c t io n f irm s . Among th e more e x tra v a g a n t,

c o s t ly a id lo w -p r io r i ty p r o je c ts were th e two t e l e f e f i e o s .

th e m i l i ta r y f a c i l i t i e s , th e tw elve luxu ry h o te ls , and th e

*}*)r a c e tr a c k b u i l t in and around C aracas. P rim ary examples

o f im proper p lan n in g were th e apartm ent b u ild in g s and

highways c o n s tru c te d by th e regim e. The 209000 housing

u n i t s p ro v id ed by th e regim e were g ro s s ly d e f ic ie n t in

th a t they lack ed th e f a c i l i t i e s e s s e n t i a l to th e h e a l th

and com fort o f th e working c la s s fa m il ie s fo r whom th ey

were built® and th e highway system was b u i l t to connect

th e f e d e ra l d i s t r i c t w ith th e w este rn p e tro leu m zone

r a th e r than to in te g r a te th e e n t i r e n a t io n a l econom y .^

Power

The p ro d u c tio n o f e l e c t r i c a l power fo r p u b lic use

in c re a se d immensely between 1950 and 1958. A ll o f th e

in c re a s e in o u tp u t was p ro v id ed by therm al p la n t s . The

p u b lic supply o f e l e c t r i c a l energy, which amounted to on ly

552,000 KwH'in 1950, was in c re a se d to 2 .25 m il l io n KwH by

1958. In 1955, p u rsu an t to i t s N a tio n a l E l e c t r i f i c a t i o n

P lan , th e government began to assume a la rg e sh a re o f th e

burden o f expanding th e n a t io n 's e l e c t r i c a l energy f a c i l i ­

t i e s . T h e re a f te r , th e regim e a l lo c a te d 1 p e r c e n t o f i t s

ex p e n d itu re s fo r t h a t p u rp o se . By th e end o f 1957 govern­

ment-owned g e n e ra tin g f a c i l i t i e s accounted fo r n e a r ly one-

t h i r d o f th e n a t io n a l c a p a c ity . The l a r g e s t g en e ra tin g

p la n ts c o n s tru c te d by th e regim e were th e 90 ,000-k ilo w a tt

22. I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p . 85.

tm i t mmdertaken a t P u erto G abello in 1935, and th e Caronx

h y d ro e le c tr ic p la n t , th e l a r g e s t in V enezuela. The Garomf

p la n t , com pleted in 1958, has a 300$0 0 0 - k i lo w a tt c a p a c ity

and fu rn is h e s power fo r th e n a t io n a l s t e e l m il l and i t s

s a t e l l i t e tow ns.

However, th e government program was im properly

p lanned and p o o rly ex ecu ted 0 A lthough th e p u b lic supply

o f e l e c t r i c a l energy in c re a se d a t th e r a t e o f 12 p e r cen t

p e r y e a r , th e demand fo r e l e c t r i c i t y co n tin u ed to grow a t a

f a s t e r p ac e . Only th e la r g e r c i t i e s and towns were p rov ided

e l e c t r i c i t y . Many o f th e p u b lic f a c i l i t i e s were im properly

managed and in e f f i c i e n t l y o p e ra te d „ D u p lic a tio n o f s e rv ic e s

f re q u e n tly r e s u l t e d from th e f a c t t h a t semi-autonomous

companies were p la c e d in charge o f th e s e v e ra l g e n e ra tin g

p la n ts and were su b je c te d to v ery lo o se c o n t ro l by th e

V enezuelan Development C o rp o ra tio n . As a r e s u l t , p r iv a te ly -

owned companies were s t i l l g e n e ra tin g approx im ately two-

th i r d s o f th e e l e c t r i c a l energy in 1958. But much o f th e

p r iv a te supply was g en e ra ted and u t i l i z e d by th e p e tro leu m' ? A in d u s try .

. T r a n sp o r ta tio n

The n a t io n a l government sp e n t approx im ately one-

f i f t h o f i t s budgeted funds on th e developm ent o f t r a n s p o r ta ­

t i o n and com m unications. Of th e two s e c to r s , t r a n s p o r ta t io n

24. U nited N a tio n s , Economic Commission fo r L a tin America, Economic Survey o f L a tin America. 1958 (E /C l<,1 2 / 498 / Rev. 1) (M exico, 1959), p . 92.

was g iven a much h ig h e r p r i o r i t y e During th e l a s t fo u r

y e a rs o f h is regim e, P erez Jim enez sp en t an average o f

$200 m il l io n an n u a lly on th e c o n s tru c tio n and m aintenance

o f t r a n s p o r ta t io n f a c i l i t i e s o Of t h a t amount, approx im ately

78 p e r c e n t was expended on th e c o n s tru c t io n and m aintenance

o f highways and b r id g e s , p r im a r i ly in th e c o a s ta l region*

The regim e sp e n t an annual average o f on ly abou t $28

m il l io n on th e sta te -o w n ed r a i l r o a d system , th e on ly

s u b s t a n t i a l r e s u l t be ing th e P u e rto C ab e llo -B arq u isim eto

lin e* L esse r sums — $13 m il l io n and $7 m il l io n — were

sp en t to improve a i r p o r t and p o r t f a c i l i t i e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y , 25

In g e n e ra l, th e government ach ieved mixed r e s u l t s

in th e t r a n s p o r ta t io n s e c to r . The highways system , which

connected th e w este rn and c e n t r a l a rea s o f th e c o a s ta l

zone, se rved to reduce, th e tim e and expense in v o lv ed in

th e t r a n s p o r ta t io n o f goods between th e urban a re a s , b u t

i t a lso o p e ra ted to r e s t r i c t economic developm ent to a

r e l a t i v e l y sm a ll a re a . The r a i l r o a d s , alm ost a l l o f which

were government-owned, ex perienced a s te ad y d e c lin e in

t r a f f i c and r e c e ip t s . The on ly m ajor l in e c o n s tru c te d by

th e governm ent, because o f th e d e a r th o f revenue and

t r a f f i c p o te n t i a l along i t s ro u te , proved to be uneco­

nom ical, The a i r p o r t c o n s tru c tio n a c t i v i t i e s o f th e regim e

w ere, p e rh ap s , th e most s u c c e s s fu l . By 1958 th e n a t io n

25, I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p p , 244-45,

p o sse ssed a i r p o r t f a c i l i t i e s adequate to hand le a l l

n a t io n a l and in te r n a t io n a l p assen g e r and f r e ig h t t r a f f i c „

The program s u n d ertak en fo r th e improvement o f p o r t

f a c i l i t i e s were c a r r ie d o u t on such a la rg e s c a le th a t

f r e ig h t c a p a c i t ie s were c o n s id e ra b ly in excess o f r e q u ir e -?6ments even d u rin g th e p e r io d s o f h e a v ie s t cargo t r a f f i c 0

The government o b ta in e d la rg e p r o f i t s from i t s

p a r t i c ip a t io n in th e Grancolom bian M srchant F le e t , a

sh ip p in g e n te r p r i s e formed by V enezuela, Colombia, and

Ecuador s h o r t ly a f t e r the, co n c lu s io n o f th e Second World

War, But in 1953 V enezuela w ithdrew from th e p a r tn e r s h ip ,

recovered i t s sh a re o f th e s h ip s , and proceeded to c r e a te

i t s own com m ercial f l e e t , managed by th e government-owned

V enezuelan N av ig a tio n Comp any» This n o t on ly d ep riv ed th e

government o f i t s sh a re o f th e r a p id ly in c re a s in g p r o f i t s

o f th e in te r n a t io n a l e n te r p r i s e , bu t a lso produced a

s iz e a b le d r a in on th e t r e a s u r y 0 In 1954, fo r exam ple, th e

V enezuelan company ex p erien ced a n e t lo s s o f n e a r ly $3

m ill io n , w h ile th e Grancolom bian M erchant F le e t had a" 9 7g ro ss income o f 10 m il l io n Colombian p e s o s c

A g r ic u ltu ra l Development

The a g r i c u l tu r a l s e c to r , in g e n e ra l, re c e iv e d a low

p r i o r i t y in th e developm ent schemes o f th e d ic ta to r* The

26„ I b id *. pp . 246-47, 267-68, 273-74.

27. B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp . 635, 8 68 .

regim e never a l lo c a te d as much as 10 p e r c e n t o f i t s

budgeted e x p e n d itu re s to p r o je c ts designed to in c re a s e

and improve p ro d u c tio n , As a r e s u l t , th e average annual

in c re a s e in th e v a lu e o f a g r i c u l tu r a l p ro d u c tio n was on ly

6 05 p e r c e n t . The average annual r a t e o f growth o f dom estic

c a p i t a l in v estm en t in a g r ic u l tu r e was a sc an t 0 ,5 p e r c e n t .

P u b lic in v estm en t in a g r ic u l tu r e accrued alm ost e x c lu s iv e ly

to th e b e n e f i t o f a r e l a t i v e l y sm all number o f p ro d u c e rs ,

Government program s fo r th e developm ent o f a g r i ­

c u l tu r e were designed to s t im u la te th e p ro d u c tio n o f

com m ercial c ro p s , which re q u ire d a r e l a t i v e l y sm all la b o r

fo rc e because th ey were no rm ally c u l t iv a te d and h a rv es ted

by machines on th e la rg e t r a c t s owned o r p o sse ssed by th e

w ealthy r u r a l e l i t e . S e v e ra l commodity program s were

designed to en ab le com m ercial farm ers and s to c k b re ed e rs

to meet th e r i s i n g demand o f in d u s try fo r t h e i r p ro d u c ts

and to d is p la c e co m p e titiv e im p o rts , Among th e d ev ices

employed were p r ic e su p p o rts , government p u rch ases o f

su rp lu s e s , p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s , t a r i f f s and im port q u o ta s .

Commercial a g r i c u l t u r i s t s were th e p r in c ip a l b e n e f ic ia r ie s

o f th e c a p i t a l - i n t e n s iv e c o lo n iz a t io n p r o je c t s , such asy y

th o se o f G uarico and Turen, Government a s s is ta n c e and

th e growth o f demand enab led p ro d u cers o f d a iry p ro d u c ts ,

28, U nited N a tio n s , S t a t i s t i c a l O ff ic e , The Growth o f World In d u s try , 1938-1961 (ST/STAT/Ser, P /2 ) (New York, 1963, pp , 829-30, . . :

meat and c e r t a in in d u s t r i a l crops such as su g ar ean e9

c o t to n 9 tobacco and sesame, to ach iev e s iz e a b le in c re a s e sOQ

in p ro d u c tio n .

Howevers th e grow th o f com m ercial a g r ic u l tu r e

was re ta rd e d because o f th e f a i l u r e o f th e government to

i n i t i a t e program s designed to improve e f f ic ie n c y and reduce

c o s t s . The governm ent n e g le c te d to p ro v id e adequate

research ^ e d u c a tio n a l and e x te n s io n s e rv ic e s . R esearch

a c t i v i t i e s were conducted on a very l im ite d s c a le in a

c e n te r s i tu a te d a t Maracay and in a few o u t s t a t io n s , a l l

o f which were u n d e rs ta f fe d and p o o rly f in a n c e d . The

p o o rly com pensated re s e a rc h s t a f f was unab le to conduct

lo n g -ra n g e re s e a rc h p r o je c t s and to t r a i n re s e a rc h

s c i e n t i s t s . Government n e g le c t o f ed u ca tio n c re a te d a

s c a r c i ty o f ex p erien ced p erso n s w ith m anageria l s k i l l s

and a s e r io u s sh o rtag e o f p roven knowledge o f modern

p ro d u c tiv e te c h n iq u e s , d e f ic ie n c ie s which were b u t p a r t l y

a l le v ia te d by th e im m igration o f Europeans who p o ssessed

th e n e cessa ry te c h n ic a l and m anageria l s k i l l s . The

governm ent d id n o t b u ild enough access roads and p u b lic

tru n k roads were g eo g ra p h ic a lly co n fin ed to th e t r a d i ­

t i o n a l a rea s o f a g r ic u l tu r a l a c t i v i t y . T h ere fo re , th e

la c k o f th e means to t r a n s p o r t t h e i r crops q u ic k ly and

29, I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p p , 139-42,

90

cheap ly to m arket fo rced com m ercial p ro d u cers to c u l t iv a te

o n ly th e t r a c t s s i tu a te d n ea r th e p r in c ip a l ro a d se

The im proper p lan n in g o f government a s s is ta n c e

program s c o n tr ib u te d to th e c r e a t io n o f em barrassing

su rp lu se s o f r i c e and su g ar d u rin g th e f i n a l y e a rs o f th e

regim e and rendered p ro d u cers o f some o f th e o th e r cash ,

crops un ab le to c a p tu re la r g e r sh a re s o f th e dom estic

marketo The volume o f p ro d u c tio n o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l ex p o rt

c rops - - c o f fe e and cacao - - rem ained v i r t u a l l y unchanged,

d e s p i te th e f re q u e n tly la rg e w orld demand, p a r t l y because

o f th e f a i l u r e o f th e government to p ro p e r ly p la n and make

tim e ly a p p l ic a t io n o f in c e n tiv e s to producers®^®

S u b s is te n ce a g r ic u l tu r e occup ied th e v a s t m a jo rity

o f th e r u r a l la b o r f o r c e 0 But th e su b s is te n c e farm er was

s y s te m a tic a l ly excluded from p a r t i c ip a t io n in th e c o lo n i­

z a t io n p r o je c t s , was den ied p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s , and was

d ep riv ed o f e d u c a tio n a l o p p o r tu n i t ie s and th e r e s e a rc h and

e x te n s io n s e rv ic e s n ec essa ry to enab le him to e f f i c i e n t l y

c u l t i v a t e th e s ta p le crops re q u ire d to feed a fa s t-g ro w in g

p o p u la tio n . The in d if f e r e n c e d isp lay e d by th e regim e tow ard

su b s is te n c e a g r ic u l tu r e had th e d u a l e f f e c t o f n e c e s s i ­

ta t in g in c re a se d im ports o f b a s ic fo o d s tu f fs and o f

reducing th e su b s is te n c e farm er to such a d e p lo ra b le le v e l

o f p o v e rty and i l l i t e r a c y th a t he was u s u a lly re q u ire d to

30, I W . , pp . 139-51.

r e s o r t to farm ing p r a c t ic e s which s e r io u s ly reduced th e

f e r t i l i t y o f th e s o i l . The a g r i c u l tu r a l c r e d i t ag en cies

e s ta b l is h e d by th e AD regim e fo r th e pu rpose o f f u rn is h ­

in g p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s to th e sm all farm er abandoned th a t

p o l ic y and adopted th e p r a c t i c e o f g ra n tin g lo an s to

com m ercial fa rm ers . Many m ortgages g iven by s u b s is te n c e

farm ers to secu re loans g ran te d by th e AD regim e were

fo re c lo s e d . The M in is try o f A g ric u ltu re e v ic te d many

bona f id e occupan ts from p u b lic lan d s and f re q u e n tly so ld

o r le a se d th e lan d s from w hich th e se sm all farm ers had

been e v ic te d to members o f th e landed e l i t e , th e reb y

en ab lin g them to employ th e form er owners and te n a n ts a t 31minimal w ages.

Few o f th e la n d le s s su b s is te n c e farm ers b e n e f i te d

from the d i c t a t o r ”s p o o rly -c o n ce iv ed , c o s t ly and

in e f f ic ie n t ly - e x e c u te d p la n s fo r b r in g in g new lands in

th e i n t e r i o r under c u l t i v a t io n . At th e end o f 1950 th e re

were n e a r ly 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 .ac re s o f i r r i g a t e d land in V enezuela

and P erez Jim enez had access to a com prehensive tw en ty -y ear

p la n c a l l in g fo r th e c o n s tru c t io n o f s ix m ajor i r r i g a t i o n

p r o je c t s . During th e n ex t seven y ea rs he undertook th e

c o n s tru c tio n o f on ly two o f them, com pleting n e i th e r ,

d e s p i te th e ex p e n d itu re o f approx im ately $135 m il l io n on

31. I b id . « pp . 160 - 6 5 .

th em ,,^ 6b re o v e r3 he p a rc e le d o u t most o f th e a v a ila b le

i r r i g a t e d lan d s in la rg e t r a c t s to a sm all number o f

hacendados and European im m igrants, in c o n tra v e n tio n o f

th e p re v io u s government p o l ic y , whereby u n d e rp r iv ile g e d

V enezuelans were to r e c e iv e th e land* A g r ic u ltu ra l s e t t l e ­

ments e s ta b l i s h e d by th e government were expensive and

were i n e f f i c i e n t l y o p e ra te d . P re lim in a ry ex p e n d itu re s were

e x c e ss iv e . P lan n in g was in a d eq u a te , in th a t n ecessa ry s o i l

and crop re s e a rc h d id no t p reced e th e s e le c t io n o f p r o je c t

s i t e s , s e t t l e r s were s e le c te d in a haphazard fa sh io n , and

c l e a r g o a ls and p o l ic ie s were n o t e s ta b l i s h e d . The

a d m in is tra tio n o f th e p r o je c ts was in e p t because o f th e

h ig h tu rn o v e r o f p e rso n n e l and th e appointm ent o f m i l i ta r y

o f f i c e r s to key m anageria l p o s i t io n s . The m orale o f th e

s e t t l e r s was low as a r e s u l t o f th e government * s re lu c ta n c e

to t r a n s f e r r e s p o n s ib i l i t y to th e c o lo n is t s , and d e lay s

in th e conveyance o f t i t l e , A lthough th e absence o f

re c o rd s p re c lu d e s a p r e c is e e v a lu a tio n o f th e p ro d u c t iv i ty

o f th e s e t t le m e n t p r o je c t s , i t may be sa id th a t , in g e n e ra l,

th e y ie ld s o b ta in ed were unduly lo w ,^

P a r t ic ip a n ts in th e c o lo n iz a t io n p r o je c ts , and most

o f th e o th e r members o f th e farm p o p u la tio n o f V enezuela

were u n ab le to secu re th e needed p ro d u c tio n c r e d i t s from

32, B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, pp , 621-22,

33, I b id , , pp , 611-15,

th e th re e government agencies empowered to g ra n t them* The

A g r ic u l tu r a l and L iv es to ck Bank (BAP), e s ta b l is h e d in 19439

was a l lo c a te d l e s s funds fo r lo an s each y e a r , and th e new

loan p o lic y adopted by th a t agency c a l le d fo r a sharp

re d u c tio n in th e number o f loans and a s iz e a b le in c re a s e

in t h e i r average amount. The BSP sh a rp ly c u r ta i l e d i t s

a c t i v i t i e s and reduced th e number o f i t s f i e l d o f f i c e s .

E v en tu a lly th e BAP was g ra n tin g n e a r ly a l l o f i t s

p ro d u c tio n lo a n s to th e w ealthy com m ercial p ro d u cers who

cou ld a f fo rd to go to th e c a p i t a l to n e g o t ia te them.

The o th e r c r e d i t agencies - - th e V enezuelan Development

C o rp o ra tio n and th e N a tio n a l A grarian I n s t i t u t e a lso

u t i l i z e d t h e i r a l l o t t e d funds fo r th e b e n e f i t o f t h a t

c l a s s ? th e form er c o n c e n tra tin g on th e g ra n t o f c r e d i t s

to p ro d u cers o f sugar and r i c e , and th e l a t t e r g ra n tin g

modest lo an s to th e more a f f lu e n t farm ers who were p e rm itte d

to c u l t iv a te lan d s i r r i g a t e d by th e governm ent„

34 0 I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, pp„ 166-67,

CHiFTER ¥

PUBLIC WELFARE

The government p a id l i t t l e a t t e n t io n to th e s o c ia l

and c u l tu r a l needs o f th e m asses. D esp ite th e doub ling o f

p u b lic revenues and th e phenomenal p o p u la tio n in c re a s e 9

government program s fo r th e prom otion o f p u b lic w e lfa re

were g e n e ra lly c u r t a i l e d . The sh a re o f th e n a t io n a l

budget a l lo c a te d to s o c ia l and c u l t u r a l program s d e c lin e d

c o n s id e ra b ly .

P e rez Jim enez n ev e r developed an in te l l ig e n ts ,

co o rd in a te d p la n fo r th e improvement o f p u b lic h e a l th

s e rv ic e s . In r u r a l a rea s and in many towns and v i l l a g e s

th e p eop le d id n o t have access to p u b lic h o s p i ta ls and

c l i n i c s . The peo p le o f th e m ajor c i t i e s 9 where m ost o f th e

p u b lic m edical f a c i l i t i e s were c o n s tru c te d , were v ic tim iz e d

by th e f a i l u r e o f th e regim e to ad eq u a te ly p ro v id e fo r th e

t r a in in g o f p h y s ic ia n s and n u r s e s . The r e s u l t was a s t e a d i ly

mounting d e f i c i t o f p r o fe s s io n a l p e rso n n e l needed to s t a f f

th e p u b lic h o s p i ta ls and c l i n i c s .

The U n iv e rs ity C ity m u l t i - c l in i c h o s p i ta l i n

C aracas fu rn is h e s an e x c e l le n t i l l u s t r a t i o n o f th e i n d i f ­

fe re n c e and incom petence which c h a ra c te r iz e d th e

94

governm ent6 s approach to p u b lic h e a l th problem s o f th e

natio iio On December 2, 1954, P erez Jim enez in a u g u ra ted

t h a t s t r u c tu r e , which had been p lanned n e a r ly a decade

e a r l i e r » The low p r i o r i t y accorded to th e p r o je c t i s

r e f le c te d by th e f a c t t h a t fo u r y e a rs had been p e rm itte d to

e la p se b e fo re th e l a s t s ix o f th e e lev en s to r i e s o f th e

b u ild in g were completed* The governm ent8s f a i l u r e to

prom ote th e ed u c a tio n o f an adequate number o f d o c to rs ,

n u r s e s ; and a d m in is tra to rs produced th e t r a g ic s p e c ta c le o f

w e ll-e q u ip p ed , 1 ,115-bed h o s p i ta l s ta n d in g v acan t fo r more

th a n th re e y e a rs f o r want o f t r a in e d p e r s o n n e l^

H eg lec t o f th e ed u c a tio n o f d o c to rs and n u rse s

c re a te d a n a tio n -w id e sh o r ta g e o f t r a in e d m edical p e rso n n e l

By 1954, th e co u n try was in d i r e need o f a minimum o f

1 0 ,0 0 0 more n u r s e s 0 The d e f i c i t o f t r a in e d n u rse s was

ag g rav a ted by th e f a i l u r e o f th e government to p ro v id e

adequate com pensation fo r n u r s e s 0 Thus, th e re were on ly

1 ,285 t r a in e d n u rses and n e a r ly o n e - fo u r th o f them were n o t

p ra c t ic in g * Moreover, most o f th o se who were p r a c t ic in g

t h e i r p ro fe s s io n were employees o f th e foreign-ow ned

e x t r a c t iv e in d u s tr ie s * The sad r e s u l t was t h a t com petent

n u rs in g c a re was g e n e ra lly u n a v a ila b le to th e more th a n 90

p e r c en t o f th e p eo p le who were n o t e l i g i b l e to re c e iv e

m edical c a re from th e fo re ig n companies* Hie d e f i c i t o f

96

p h y s ic ia n s was even more acmte$, u n le s s th e p o t e n t i a l

p a t i e n t happened to l i v e in a la rg e c i t y s s in c e a m a jo r ity

o f th e n a t io n ”s 1 ,0 0 0 d o c to rs p r a c t ic e d t h e i r p ro fe s s io n

i n C aracas and most o f th e rem ainder re s id e d in th e o th e r

la rg e c i t i e s 0

There was a s te ad y d e c lin e in th e number o f

h o s p i ta l beds a v a i la b le to th e people.,, Ih e re a s in 1950

th e re had been an average o f one bed p e r 290 in h a b i ta n ts ,

by 1953 th e re was o n ly one bed a v a i la b le fo r each 395

p e rso n s 0 Moreover, th e many V enezuelans who d id n o t r e s id e

in th e l a r g e s t c i t i e s lacked access to h o s p i ta l s , were n o t

covered by s o c ia l In su ran ce , and. were n o t e n t i t l e d to th e3m edical c a re fu rn ish e d by th e e x t r a c t iv e i n d u s t r i e s „

The c o s t o f p h a rm a ceu tica l s u p p lie s in c re a se d by

n e a r ly o n e - th ird between 1948 and 1955e^ But th e government

made no e f f o r t to e s t a b l i s h p r ic e c e i l in g s on d ru g s »

B e ith e r d id i t assume p a r t o f th e burden thus imposed upon

th e incomes o f p eo p le who needed m edication,,

B udgetary a l lo c a t io n s fo r p u b lic h e a l th s e rv ic e s

were markedly reduced0 The 1950 sh a re o f th e budget was

2 0 Wayne G0 T ay lor and John 1 indeman. The C reo le P etro leum C o rp o ra tio n , in V enezuela (W ashington; N a tio n a l P lan n in g A sso c ia tio n , 1955), pV 740-

3 S U nited N a tio n s , Bureau o f S o c ia l A f f a i r s ,

ST/SOA/33) (New York, 1957), p p ; 44, 47.

4 . B e tan co u rt, V enezuela, p . 8 6 6 .

97

o n ly 15 p e r c e n t , bmt th e regim e s y s te m a tic a l ly reduced

t h a t p ro p o r tio n so th a t by f i s c a l 1957-58 a sc a n t 6 p e r

c e n t o f th e t o t a l p u b lic expend itu res was devoted to p u b lic5h e a l th p rogram s0 The s c a r c i ty o f funds ren d ered th e

M in is try o f H ea lth u nab le to e f f e c t iv e ly combat t r o p ic a l

d isease so

The f a i l u r e o f th e government to m arkedly improve

and expand s a n i ta r y s e rv ic e s se rv ed to o f f s e t th e su b s ta n ­

t i a l g a in s ach ieved by th e AD regim e in low ering th e in f a n t

m o r ta l i ty r a t e and le n g th en in g l i f e ex p ec tan cy 0 D uring th e

f i n a l four y e a rs o f th e d ic ta to r s h ip , th e government sp e n t

approx im ately $30 m il l io n each y e a r on w ate r and sewage

f a c i l i t i e s fo r th e c i t i e s 0 A lthough alm ost a l l o f th e

funds were sp e n t in C aracas and M aracaibo, th e r e s e r v o i r s ,

aqueducts and sewage l in e s c o n s tru c te d th e re were n o t

adequate to meet th e needs o f th e two c i t i e s . Three y e a rs

a f t e r th e overth row o f th e d i c t a t o r , d e s p i te th e in c re a se d

em phasis p la c e d upon th e p ro v is io n o f such f a c i l i t i e s by

su c ce sso r reg im es, n e a r ly h a l f o f th e C aracas r e s id e n ts

s t i l l had no runn ing w ater in t h e i r homes, a d e f ic ie n c y whichfiwas f a r more acu te in o th e r c i t i e s and tow ns.

The number o f d ea th s p e r 100,000 peo p le in c re a se d

from 753 in 1950 to 762 in 1957. S ig n i f ic a n t ly , d ea th s from

5. I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, Table S .20, p . 481.

6 . I b i d . . pp . 44, 65.

98

m a ln u tr i t io n in c re a se d from 14 to 27 p e r 100,000 d u rin g

t h a t p e r io d , and th o se caused by in f lu e n z a ro se from 12 to

30o However, th e m o r ta l i ty r a t e s fo r s y p h i l i s , tubereu=

lo s i s and m a la r ia d e c lin e d s h a rp ly .

The S o c ia l In su ran ce Act o f 1940 e s ta b l is h e d a

program o f m edical c a re fo r u rban w o rk ers . Coverage

in c lu d ed s ic k n e s s , m a te rn ity and in d u s t r i a l a c c id e n ts .

The S o c ia l In su ran ce I n s t i t u t e was c re a te d to a d m in is te r

th e program . But i t was n o t u n t i l 1944 t h a t payments

were made to urban la b o re rs in p r iv a te in d u s try , th e on ly

c la s s covered by th e a c t . The in su ran c e scheme re q u ire d

eq u a l c o n tr ib u t io n s by em ployers and employees and c a l le d

fo r g rad u a l e x te n s io n o f coverage th ro u g h o u t th e co u n try .

By th e end o f 1950, approx im ately 157,000 w orkers were

making th e re q u ire d c o n tr ib u t io n — 2 ,9 p e r c e n t o f th e i r

co n d en sa tio n — to th e I n s t i t u t e ,

The P erez Jim enez regim e, d e s p i te th e huge in c re a s e

o f p u b lic revenues d u rin g i t s te n u re , ex tended coverage to

o n ly 6 1 ,0 0 0 new w orkers and f a i l e d to p ro v id e th e funds

n ec e ssa ry to su p p o rt th e program . At th e end o f 1957 on ly

218,000 w orkers were in su re d , a mere 3 ,6 p e r c e n t o f th e

7 , I b id , « p , 381,

99

n a t io n a l p o p u la tio n ,,^ M oreover9 th e coverage was n o t

broadened so as to cover lo n g -te rm r i s k s 9 In 19529 a t o t a l

c o n t r ib u t io n e q u iv a le n t to 10 p e r c e n t o f th e s a l a r i e s o f

th e covered employees was e s s e n t i a l to en ab le th e I n s t i t u t e

to p ro v id e th e s p e c if ie d b e n e f i ts to p ro te c te d p e rs o n s »

T his meant t h a t a government c o n t r ib u t io n o f $5 m il l io n

was re q u ire d $ in a d d i t io n to th e $12 m il l io n which th e

em ployers and employees rem itted * But th e government

a p p ro p r ia tio n fo r th e program ; h a rd ly o n e - fo u r th o f th a t

re q u ire d ; was b a re ly enough to pay a d m in is tra t iv e co s ts*

T hat t h i s d e tr im e n ta l tre n d was p e rm itte d to c o n tin u e i s

ev idenced by th e f a c t t h a t th e government c o n tr ib u t io n to

th e program , 2 p e r c e n t o f i t s t o t a l budget in f i s c a l

1952-1953, d e c lin e d to 1*6 p e r c e n t o f th e budgeted expend i­

tu r e s by f i s c a l 1957-1958

P u b lic ed u c a tio n re c e iv e d a c r ip p l in g blow a t th e

hands o f th e d ic ta to r* At th e very tim e a c o n c e r te d and

p e rv a s iv e e d u c a tio n a l e f f o r t was most needed, P erez Jim enez

8 * ^G radual E x ten s io n o f S o c ia l In su ra n ce Schemes in L a tin American C o u n tr ie s , 81 I n te r n a t io n a l Labour Review* Septem ber, 1958 , pp* 270-72*. . -

9* I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p* 481; B e tan co u rt, Vene­z u e la . p* 616* .

10* George I* Sanchez, The Development o f E ducation in V enezuela. U* S * .O ffice o f E ducation B u l le t in No* 7 (W ashington: U* S* Government P r in t in g O ff ic e , 1963)* S p e c if ic d a ta m entioned in th e i n s t a n t s e c t io n , u n le s s

100

d isp la y e d in d if f e r e n c e and o u t r ig h t o p p o s it io n tow ard th e

developm ent o f education^ By th e end o f h is regime* th e

r e s u l t s o f f i f t e e n y e a rs o f arduous e f f o r t had been

v i r t u a l l y o b l i t e r a t e d and V enezuelan p u b lic ed u c a tio n la y

p ro s t r a te , , The d i c t a t o r had f a i l e d to g ra p p le w ith th e

problem posed by th e d is p ro p o r t io n a te s iz e o f th e sc h o o l-

age p o p u la tio n produced by th e p o p u la tio n explosion ,,

Moreover* he had n o t sought to meet th e in c re a s in g demand

fo r s k i l l e d te c h n ic ia n s and su p e rv iso ry p e rso n n e l by

ta k in g p o s i t iv e s te p s to t r a i n ind igenous w orkers.

Were i t n o t fo r th e f a c t th a t p r iv a te e d u c a tio n a l

in s t i tu t io n s * alm ost a l l o f w hich were su p p o rted and

o p e ra ted by th e C a th o lic Church* moved a g g re s s iv e ly to

f i l l th e v o id c re a te d by th e d e c l in e o f p u b lic education*

th e p l ig h t o f form al ed u c a tio n a t a l l l e v e ls would have

been t e r r i b l e to behold,, However* adm irab le though t h e i r

e f f o r t s were* th e p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s co u ld do l i t t l e

more th an b o o st fo rm al ed u c a tio n to th e approxim ate le v e l

i t had a t ta in e d a t th e end o f th e AD regime,, T herefore*

form al education* fo r two fundam ental reasons* was i n d i r e

s t r a i t s i n 1958= During th e decade which fo llow ed th e

o u s te r o f th e dem ocratic government th e p o p u la tio n had

in c re a se d by approx im ately o n e - th ird ,, Also* d e s p i te th e

c o n s id e ra b le p ro g re ss made in th e developm ent o f ed u c a tio n

o th e rw ise in d ica ted * were o b ta in ed from th i s docum ent.

by th e AD governm ents th e n a t io n had been ex trem ely d e f i ­

c ie n t in t h a t f i e l d in 1948„

The p u b lic u n iv e r s i t i e s re c e iv e d th e s p e c ia l

a t t e n t io n o f P erez Jim enez3 f o r t h e i r s tu d e n t b o d ies were

la rg e ly composed o f s tu d e n ts o f lo w e r-c la s s o r ig in who

grasped every o p p o r tu n ity to m an ife s t t h e i r v io le n t o p p o s i­

t io n to th e regime^ In r e t a l i a t i o n th e d ic ta to r s soon

a f t e r coming to power* employed a v a r ie ty o f r e p re s s iv e

m easures in o rd e r to e l im in a te o p p o s it io n from th a t so u rc e 0

He Imposed h ig h t u i t i o n r a t e s upon th e p u b lic u n iv e r s i t i e s

(w hich had t r a d i t i o n a l l y p ro v id ed f r e e in s t r u c t io n ) in an

e f f o r t to r e s t r i c t e n ro llm e n t0

S e iz in g upon s tu d e n t d em o n stra tio n s as a p re te x t*

th e d i c t a t o r p roceeded to su p p ress u n iv e r s i ty autonomy

and to in te rv e n e in th e a f f a i r s o f th e C e n tra l U n iv ersity *

th e fo c a l p o in t o f s tu d e n t .opposition ,,' On O ctober 17*

1951* he e s ta b l i s h e d a s o - c a l le d Reform Council* c o n fe rr in g

upon i t f u l l power to r e g u la te th e a d m in is tra t io n o f a l l

p u b lic u n iv e r s i t ie s o P ro fe s s o rs and s tu d e n ts who r e s i s te d

t h a t measure were e x p e lle d from th e u n iv e r s i t ie s * im prisoned

and* on occasion* d r iv e n in to e x i l e 0 Those m easures

co in c id e d w ith th e c lo s in g o f th e u n iv e r s i ty fo r a y e a r .

When i t f i n a l l y reopened* academic freedom ceased to e x i s t e

S e c re t p o l ic e ag en ts i n f i l t r a t e d th e a d m in is t ra t iv e and

f a c u l ty o f f ic e s * and th e classroom s in o rd e r to spy upon

th e a c t i v i t i e s o f th e s tu d e n ts * p ro fe s s o r s , and

102

a d m in is tra to rs o Before long th e government had e s ta b l i s h e d

r i g i d c o n tro l over th e C e n tra l U n iv e rs ity , O vert demon­

s t r a t i o n s o f h o s t i l i t y tow ard th e government became

in f re q u e n t and g e n e ra lly in e f f e c tu a l and s tu d e n t o p p o s it io n ,

fo r th e most p a r t , was m an ife s ted by o c c a s io n a l c la n d e s t in e11a c ts o f d i s r e s p e c t .

The r e s t r i c t i o n s p la c e d upon p u b lic h ig h e r educa­

t i o n se rved to reduce enro llm ents to such an e x te n t t h a t

p r iv a te o rg a n iz a tio n s were a b le to e n te r th e f i e l d . In

19539 two p r iv a te u n iv e r s i t i e s were e s ta b l i s h e d in C aracas,

Andres B e llo U n iv e rs ity , ad m in is te red by th e J e s u i t s 9 and

th e U n iv e rs ity o f S an ta M aria , a n o n s e c ta r ia n i n s t i t u t i o n ,

fu rn ish e d a s t r i k in g c o n t r a s t to th e p u b lic i n s t i t u t i o n s

in t h a t th e y were amply endowed, th ey p ro v id ed in s t r u c t io n

o f e x c e l le n t q u a l i ty , and th ey o p e ra ted in a s ta b le and

re s p o n s ib le fa sh io n , v i r t u a l l y f r e e o f p o l i t i c a l f a c t io n a l ­

ism , But t h a t was u n d e rs ta n d ab le , s in c e the v a s t m a jo rity

o f th e s tu d e n ts who a tte n d e d them were from m iddle and

u p p e r -c la s s f a m il ie s .

Secondary ed u c a tio n , a lth o u g h r a r e ly su b je c te d to

o u t r ig h t r e p re s s io n , re c e iv e d l i t t l e a s s is ta n c e from th e

government,- The t o t a l en ro llm en t in secondary sch o o ls

doubled , bu t th e p ro p o r tio n o f s tu d e n ts e n ro lle d in p u b lic

11, F ra n c isc o De V enanzi, 11 The Role o f th e Autonomous S ta te U n iv e rs ity , *! The C aribbean: V enezuelan Development, A Case H is to ry (The C aribbean C onference S e r ie s , ¥ o l , H I I ) , pp,. . 52-53, .

i n s t i t u t i o n s d e c lin e d from more th an th r e e - f o u r th s in

1948 to s l i g h t l y more th an o n e -h a lf in 1957o In th e

l a t t e r y e a r9 secondary schoo l en ro llm en t in p u b lic and

p r iv a te i n s t i t u t i o n s to ta le d o n ly about 50,000«

Elem entary ed u c a tio n s u f fe re d more from th e n e g le c t

o f th e governmento The lo n g -ran g e consequences were more

d e v a s ta t in g a t th a t l e v e l th an In o th e r s e c to r s o f th e

e d u c a tio n a l system* In 1950, n e a r ly 500,000 sch o o l-ag e

c h i ld re n - - th o se aged seven to fo u r te e n — o r , ap p ro x i­

m ately onem half o f th o se who were re q u ire d by law to a t te n d

sch o o l, were e n r o l l e d . in p u b lic and p r iv a te e lem en tary

schools*1 By 1957 th e t o t a l en ro llm en t had n o t y e t reached

700,000, w ith th e r e s u l t t h a t n e a r ly 500,000 — 40 p e r

c e n t — o f th e c h i ld re n o f schoo l age were n o t e n ro lle d

in school* 4 more p i t i f u l consequence was th a t th e re were,

by 1957$ more than two m il l io n i l l i t e r a t e ad u lts* This

r e f le c te d a r i s e in th e p ro p o r tio n o f a d u lt i l l i t e r a c y12from 33 to 57 p e r c e n t d u r in g th e d ic ta to r s h ip *

P u b lic e lem en tary schoo l a tten d a n ce was reduced

because o f th e la c k o f sch o o ls and w idespread p o v e rty and

m a ln u tr i t io n , e s p e c ia l ly in r u r a l a rea s * Many s tu d e n ts

who e n ro lle d d id n o t com plete more th an one o r two y ea rs

o f in s tru c t io n * By th e end o f 1957 more th a n h a l f o f th e, r ~ r - T i-"1 T|ii 'n tii im .

12o Lorenzo Mbnroy, "V enezuelan E ducation P o l i c y ,” The C aribbean : V enezuelan Development« A Case H is to ry (T h e , C aribbean C onference S e r ie s , Vol* X II I , ed , 4*V Curtis W ilgus G a in e s v il le ; U n iv e rs ity o f F lo r id a P re s s , 19SB), p * 37*

104

s tu d e n ts were e n ro lle d i n th e f i r s t two g rades and one-

f o u r th o f th e f i r s t - g r a d e s tu d e n ts were r e p e a te r s „^

The average number o f te a c h e rs p e r 100 s tu d e n ts in

th e p u b lic p rim ary sch o o ls d e c lin e d from 3 in 1950 to 2 C7

in th e 1957-1958 schoo l y e a r s The r a t i o in p r iv a te i n s t i t u ­

t io n s , meanwhile, had r i s e n from 4:100 to 4*5:100° S im ila r

t re n d s o ccu rred in th e secondary schoo ls°

The growing sh o rtag e o f te a c h e rs in p u b lic prim ary

and secondary sch o o ls bore a more o r l e s s d i r e c t r e l a t i o n ­

sh ip to th e d e c lin e in en ro llm en t in p u b lic te a c h e r - t r a in in g

i n s t i t u t i o n s r e l a t i v e to th e demand fo r te a c h e r s «, The

N a tio n a l P ed ag o g ica l I n s t i t u t e , charged w ith th e du ty o f

p re p a r in g secondary and norm al schoo l te a c h e r s , s u f fe re d a

d e c lin e in en ro llm en t from 611 in 1950 to 322 in 1957-1958„

E nro llm ent in th e p u b lic norm al sc h o o ls , which t r a in e d

e lem en tary schoo l te a c h e rs , showed a s l i g h t in c re a s e - - from

3 ,200 in 1949-1950 to 3 ,600 in 1957-1958*

The c o n s tru c tio n o f new b u ild in g s f o r p rim ary and

secondary schoo ls was n e g le c te d by th e government* The

t o t a l number o f p rim ary sc h o o ls , p u b lic and p r iv a te , was

175 fewer in 1958 th an in 1950, a lth o u g h p r iv a te i n s t i t u ­

t io n s had been a b le to e f f e c t a n e t in c re a s e o f 680 p rim ary

sch o o ls d u r in g t h a t period* The n e t in c re a s e o f p u b lic

secondary sch o o ls was on ly 8, as compared to 174 in th e

13 * I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, pp* 322-23*

105

p r iv a te s e c to r e The number o f p r iv a t e ly “Owned norm al

s c h o o ls fu n c tio n in g a t th e end o f th e p e r io d was 48 more

than in 19509 b u t 3 o f th e 13 p u b lic i n s t i t u t i o n s fu n c­

tio n in g in 1950 had been c lo se d by 19580 In 1958$

V enezuela had o n ly 9$000 sch o o ls o f a l l ty p es in o p e ra tio n s

b u t o f t h a t number on ly 10 p e r ce n t were housed in adequate

b u i ld in g s » Hie rem ainder were fo rc ed to u t i l i z e re n te d

b u ild in g s o r o th e r s t r u c tu r e s which were t o t a l l y u n su ite d' , 1 Ato th e p ro p er perform ance o f th e e d u c a tio n a l fu n c tio n ,

P erez Jim enez pu rsu ed an e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t p o lic y

concern ing th e c o n s tru c tio n o f e d u c a tio n a l f a c i l i t i e s a t

th e C e n tra l U n iv e r s ity , A pparen tly anxious to p r o je c t an

image o f h im se lf as a p a tro n o f c u l tu r e , he had s e v e ra l

lu x u r io u s b u ild in g s b u i l t on th e grounds o f th e U n iv e rs ity

C ity , which f re q u e n tly became th e s i t e o f in te r n a t io n a l

conferenceso Hie d i c t a to r succeeded in e r e c t in g an

im posing and m o d e rn is tic p h y s ic a l p la n t a t th e U n iv e rs ity

C ity , a u s e fu l n a t io n a l a s s e t . But, n o tw ith s ta n d in g h is

fre q u en t c la im o f f u l l c r e d i t f o r th e p r o je c t , th e b a s ic

id e a and much o f th e p la n n in g o r ig in a te d w ith Romnlo B etan­

c o u r t d u rin g th e e a r ly p o s t-w a r y e a r s , B e tan co u rt had

p e rc e iv e d th e need to r e p la c e th e overcrowded and

14, Xp.id.o a p<> 45,

106

In ad eq u a te dow atom f a c i l i t i e s and had i n i t i a t e d th e

p la n n in g o f th e U n iv e rs ity C ity p r o j e c t 0; ^

R ural ed u c a tio n s u f fe re d a sev e re s e tb a c k 0 In

g e n e ra l9 th e f a r th e r one l iv e d from th e la rg e r u rban concern™

t r a t io n s ? th e more l ik e ly i t was t h a t h is c h i ld re n would be

u nab le to a t te n d sch o o l, because o f th e la c k o f schoo ls

and te a c h e rs in many a rea s 0 The r u r a l sc h o o lc h ild re n who

were fo r tu n a te enough to have access to sch o o ls s t a f f e d by

t r a in e d te a c h e rs g e n e ra lly were hampered in t h e i r q u e s t fo r

knowledge because o f tihe p re v a le n c e o f sm a ll, i l l - e q u ip p e d

r u r a l e lem en tary schoo ls conducted by th e few p o o r ly -

t r a in e d and u n d erp a id te a c h e rs who were w i l l in g to forego

th e h ig h e r wages and b e t t e r w orking c o n d itio n s which

p re v a i le d in urban sch o o l sy stem s» The regim e b u i l t few

new and adequate r u r a l s c h o o ls , D esp ite th e need fo r a

cu rricu lu m and s ta n d a rd s t a i lo r e d to r u r a l req u irem e n ts ,

th e governm ent, in 1955, imposed upon r u r a l e d u c a tio n th e

same s ta n d a rd s o f i n s t r u c t io n and th e same c u r r i c u la

as th o se which e x is te d in th e u rban s c h o o ls c Secondary

ed u c a tio n was alm ost n o n -e x is te n t i n r u r a l a rea s „ R ural

norm al sch o o ls and r u r a l m iss io n s were e lim in a ted ,,

V o ca tio n a l ed u c a tio n ex p erien ced a f a i r l y ra p id

r a t e o f grow th, in a b s o lu te term s „ However, d e s p i te th e

15o' Ronald H ilto n , $iE duca tion in th e C aribbean : Government P o l i c i e s , !’ The C aribbean : Contemporary E duca tion (The C aribbean C onference S e r ie s , V ol. X$ ed . Ae C u r t is W ilgus; G a in e s v il le : U n iv e rs ity o f F lo r id a P re s s , I9 6 0 ), ppo 40-41„ -

107

In c re a s e in en ro llm en t in p u b lic i n s t i t u t i o n s s th e voca­

t io n a l t r a in in g sch o o ls were p roducing few er and few er

g rad u a tes r e l a t i v e to th e demand f o r th e s k i l l s th ey ta u g h t„

In o th e r words, th e in c re a s e in economic a c t i v i t y produced

req u irem en ts fo r s k i l l e d te c h n ic ia n s and su p e rv iso ry

p e rso n n e l in th e com m ercial and i n d u s t r i a l s e c to r s o f th e

economy which th e i n s t i t u t i o n s were u nab le to meet 0

The growing d e f i c i t o f V enezuelans who p o sse sse d

th e r e q u i s i t e s p e c ia l iz e d s k i l l s r e ta rd e d th e developm ent

o f th e economyo The vo id was f i l l e d , to a c o n s id e ra b le

e x te n t , by educated im m igran ts0 In C aracas and M aracaibo,

where th e e d u c a tio n a l system s were more s a t i s f a c to r y than

in o th e r a re a s , th e d e a r th o f V enezuelan e n t r e p re n e u r w ith

com m ercial t r a in in g le d to th e u n fo r tu n a te s i t u a t i o n w herein

approx im ately th r e e - f o u r th s o f a l l b u s in e ss e n te r p r i s e s

were o p e ra te d by a l i e n s . The im m igrant i n f i l t r a t i o n o f

u rban commerce even ex tended to th e s e m i- s k i l le d jo b s .

For example, many o f th e b e t t e r h o te ls in C aracas h ire d

a l ie n s as maids and w a i te r s 0

The low p r i o r i t y g iv en to th e developm ent o f p u b lic

ed u ca tio n was r e f le c te d in th e p ro p o r tio n o f th e n a t io n a l

e x p e n d itu re s devo ted to t h a t end . The budgetary a l lo c a t io n

fo r ed u ca tio n s te a d i ly d e c lin e d r e l a t i v e to th e t o t a l

n a t io n a l b u d g e t. By f i s c a l 1957-1958 o n ly 4 ,5 p e r c e n t was

in v e s te d in e d u c a tio n , a sharp d e c lin e from th e 13 p e r c e n t

a l lo c a te d fo r th a t pu rpose in f i s c a l 1949-1950,

108JSsImJSmmisBfflsot

The government o£ P erez Jim enez d id n o t beg in to

u n d ertak e housing and u rban developm ent program s on a

s ig n i f i c a n t s c a le u n t i l 1954. But d u rin g th e ensu ing th re e

and o n e -h a lf y e a r s s n e a r ly 8 p e r c e n t o f th e governm ent1s

ex p e n d itu re s were made f o r such p u rp o ses^ T w o-th irds o f

th e housing e x p e n d itu re s were devoted to th e c o n s tru c t io n

o f housing in m e tro p o lita n C aracas and alm ost a l l o f th e

ba lance was expended on p r o je c ts s i tu a te d in th e o th e r

m ajor c i t i e s . ^ P u b lic e x p e n d itu re s f o r housing in th e

r e s t o f th e n a t io n were ex trem ely sm a ll.

The housing problem c o n fro n tin g th e government in

1950 had been ex trem ely s e r io u s . Of th e 900)000 d w ellin g

u n i t s th en in e x is te n c e alm ost h a l f were sh ack s , More th an

th r e e - f o u r th s o f th e shacks were s i tu a te d in r u r a l a re a s .

T w o-th irds o f th e d w ellin g s had no d i r e c t w ater su p p ly 9

n e a r ly 60 p e r c e n t lack ed s a n i ta r y f a c i l i t i e s ) more th an

o n e -h a lf had d i r t f lo o r s , o n e -h a lf were overcrow ded, and1 7more th an o n e - th i rd had th a tc h e d r o o f s .

D esp ite th e g ra v i ty o f th e s i t u a t i o n and th e

ag g rav a tio n produced by th e s te a d i ly in c re a s in g m ig ra tio n

to th e c i t i e s and by th e a c c e le ra te d growth o f th e n a t io n a l

p o p u la tio n due to im m igration and n a tu r a l in c re a s e , l i t t l e

16, U nited E a tio n s , Economic B u l le t in f o r L a tin A m erica, V,. p , 35, .

17, I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p , 360,

was done to a l l e v i a t e i t d u rin g th e n ex t th r e e y e a r s 0 By

1953 an e s tim a te d 3 8 »5 p e r c e n t o f th e in h a b i ta n ts o f

C aracas, th e n a c i t y o f 807,000 p eo p le , dw elled in

im provised shacks on s te e p s lo p e s and a long ra v in e s sub­

je c te d to sea so n a l floods* About 82 p e r c e n t o f th e shacks

lack ed runn ing w ate r and 71 p e r c e n t had no s a n i ta r y f a e i l i -18 ' t ie s * Presum ably th e housing s i t u a t i o n was a t l e a s t

as grave elsew here*

As p re v io u s ly m entioned, th e government undertook

th e c o n s tru c t io n o f a c o n s id e ra b le number o f fam ily u n i t s

d u rin g th e p e r io d 1954=1957* The W orkers8 Bank, th e

p r in c ip a l agency in charge o f th e ex e cu tio n o f th e housing

program , g r e a t ly in c re a se d i t s a c t i v i t i e s in th e C aracas

area* I t s housing and slum c le a ra n c e p r o je c ts in v o lv ed th e

d e m o litio n o f shantytow ns and th e f o r c ib le movement o f th e

slum d w e lle rs in to th e apartm ent b u ild in g s which had been

b u i l t fo r them* During t h a t fo u r-y e a r p e r io d n e a r ly 20,000

u n i t s , s i tu a te d in 179 apartm en t b u ild in g s ( c a l le d su p e r­

b lo c k s ) , were b u i l t in C aracas and La G u aira a t a c o s t o f

more than $200 m illio n * But th e p r o je c ts b e n e f i t te d few

o f th e people* They were b u i l t a t e x c e ss iv e c o s t because

o f th e g r a f t involved* Government r e te n t io n o f ow nership

o f most o f th e p r o je c ts o p e ra ted to i n f l a t e management

18* A nfbal B u itr^ n , Camsas v e fe c to s d e l exodo r u r a l en V enezuela (W ashington; Pan American Union, 1955),Po 187*

/

110

and m aintenance expenses s in c e th e occupan ts had l i t t l e

in c e n tiv e to m a in ta in o r Improve t h e i r d w e ll in g s . Because

th e government f re q u e n tly found i t im p o ssib le to c o l l e c t

th e h ig h re n ts i t charged fo r th e ap a rtm en ts , m onthly

r e n ta l r e c e ip ts seldom exceeded $200,000, s c a rc e ly one-

t h i r d o f th e ex p e n d itu re re q u ire d fo r t h e .m aintenance and

a d m in is tra tio n o f th e su p e r-b lo ck s a

The urban, housing c o n s tru c te d in 1956 and 1957

c o n s is te d alm ost e n t i r e ly o f s p e c ta c u la r m u ltip le -d w e llin g

s t r u c t u r e s <, These e d i f ic e s g e n e ra l ly had more th an te n

s t o r i e s bu t f re q u e n tly lacked e le v a to r s e rv ic e and running

w atero They were so la rg e and im personal t h a t th e occu­

p a n ts were unhappy l iv in g in them. But th e m ost im p o rtan t

consequence o f th e c o n s tru c t io n o f th e su p e r-b lo ck s was

th e tendency to r e in fo rc e th e tr e n d o f m ig ra tio n by r u r a l90la b o re rs to th e c a p i t a l and th e o th e r la rg e c itie s®

While s iz e a b le sums were being expended on housing

and urban developm ent in th e m ajor c i t i e s very l i t t l e was

sp e n t fo r th o se pu rposes in th e sm a lle r c i t i e s and towns

and few r u r a l d w e llin g s were c o n s tru c te d under th e au sp ices

o f th e N a tio n a l A grarian I n s t i t u t e , th e governm ent agency

c re a te d in 1949 to d i r e c t a g ra r ia n reform® In f a c t , between

1945 and 1958 on ly $7 m il l io n was sp e n t by th e V enezuelan

19® I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, pp® 363-64®

20o A lexander, The V enezuelan D em ocratic Bevolu- SiSBs PP= 274-75= . -

governm ent on th e e o n s tra c t io n o f 1*950 r u r a l dw ellings*

most o f which were com pleted by 1950 0 ^

21o I n te r n a t io n a l Bank* p 0 365,

GHJUPT1R VI

THE M E D FORCES

P erez Jim enez, r e a l iz in g t h a t th e su p p o rt o f th e

armed fo rc e s was th e s in e qua non fo r r e te n t io n o f power,

s t ro v e to a s su re t h e i r co n tinued obed ience to h is commands c

S ince th e army was th e l a r g e s t o f th e armed s e rv ic e s and

was b e s t f i t t e d to su p p ress u p r is in g s , th e d i c t a t o r

pu rchased th e a l le g ia n c e o f I t s s e n io r o f f i c e r s by show ering

them w ith p r iv i l e g e s , p o l i t i c a l appointm ents and o p p o r tu n i­

t i e s fo r th e i l l i c i t a c q u is i t io n o f w e a lth 0 The n av a l,

a i r fo rc e and ju n io r army o f f i c e r s were k ep t in l in e by th e

a l lo c a t io n o f approx im ately 10 p e r c e n t o f th e annual

budgets to f in a n c e th e m o d ern iza tio n o f th e armed fo rc e s

and a com prehensive s e t o f s o c ia l and economic b e n e f i ts

f o r th e o f f i c e r corps* The armed fo rc e s , c o n s is t in g o f

approx im ately 17,000 o f f i c e r s and men, c o n s t i tu te d an

e f f i c i e n t and w ell-eq u ip p ed fo rc e by L a tin American 1

stan d ard so

M odern ization o f th e Armed Forces

The armed fo rc e s u t i l i z e d a major p o r t io n o f t h e i r

budgetary a l lo c a t io n s f o r th e procurem ent o f u p - to -d a te

1 0 W illiam S0 S tokes, L a tin American P o l i t i c s (New Yorks Thomas Y0 C row ell C©e, 1959), ppO 110, 129; I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p e 4810

112

113

m il i ta r y equipm ent0 The la rg e item s acq u ired by them were

f re q u e n tly o f l i t t l e u t i l i t y g c o s t ly and v e ry expensive

to m a in ta in 0 P rim ary examples o f w a s te fu l p rocurem ent were

th e j e t a i r c r a f t , th e d e s tro y e rs and th e tan k s purchased

by V enezuela from th e U nited S ta te s and W estern European

n a t io n s =>

The a i r fo rc e acq u ired a la rg e number o f j e t p la n e s

and a few p r o p e l le r - d r iv e n and ro ta ry -w in g a i r c r a f t 0 P erez

Jim enez purchased tw elve HC anberra’1 j e t bombers and tw en ty -

fo u r ’’Vampire” j e t f ig h te r s from G reat B r i ta in d u rin g th e

p e r io d 1951-1954o In 1955 he c o n tra c te d w ith th e U nited

S ta te s A ir Force fo r th e p u rch ase o f tw enty-tw o F-86F

”Sabre” j e t f ig h te r s fo r $8 m il l io n 0 O cc as io n a lly s he

p u rch ased a i r c r a f t s u i t a b le fo r th e perform ance o f t r a n s p o r t

and c o a s ta l p a t r o l m is s io n s ,"

The navy purchased a number o f destroyers® p a t r o l

b o a ts and o th e r v e s s e ls . By O ctober9 19569 tw en ty -n in e

v e s s e ls had been d e liv e re d by European sh ip y a rd s . The most

expensive and l e a s t u s e fu l o f th e new v e s s e ls were th e

s ix radar-equipped® 193 00-ton d e s tro y e rs p u rchased from

I t a l y fo r $35 million® and th e th r e e 29600-ton d e s tro y e rs

acq u ired from G reat B r i ta in a t a c o s t o f $25 m il l io n ,

Among th e sm a lle r and more u s e fu l v e s s e ls were tw elve

2, H ispan ic American R ep o rt, March; 1955; p , 74 and Hovember9 1955; p , 471,

114

French-made p a t r o l b o a ts9 purchased fo r $3C5 m illio n *

O s t e n s i b l y a l l o f th e a d d it io n s to th e f l e e t were

aeqm ired fo r th e purpose o f in c re a s in g th e e f f e c t iv e n e s s

o f p a t r o l s o f th e c o a s ta l w afers so as to reduce sm uggling

and " p ro te c t" th e p e tro leu m i n s t a l l a t i o n s in th e even t o f 3

war*

The army re c e iv e d modern tan k s and a r t i l l e r y p ieces*

l i g h t equipment* sm all arms and ammunition* and o th e r

m a te r ie l * The war m a te r ie l p u rchased by i t was u s u a lly

acq u ired from th e U nited S ta te s governm ent» G ran ts and

lo a n s o f m a te r ie l were n o t made by th e U nited S ta te s to

th e V enezuelan army o r to e i t h e r o f th e o th e r two branches

o f th e armed f o r c e s 0

The U nited S ta te s fu rn is h e d s u b s ta n t ia l a s s is ta n c e

i n th e t r a in in g o f V enezuela0 s m i l i ta r y personne l* The

e ig h ty o f f i c e r s and e n l i s te d men^ who s ta f f e d th r e e

m i l i ta r y m issions and th e m i l i t a r y sch o o ls in th e U nited

S ta te s p ro v id ed t r a in in g and ad v ice to th e o f f i c e r s o f

th e V enezuelan armed fo rc e s which enab led them to improve

th e e f f ic ie n c y o f t h e i r commands * The V enezuelan govern­

ment b u i l t upon th e e d u c a tio n a l fo u n d a tio n l a i d by th e

3* I b id *. May* 1954* p* 22; U p ril, 1955* p* 122; March* 1956* p* 74; May* 1956* p . 182; Eovember* 1956* p* 485*

4 0 U0 So* Congress* House* Committee on F o re ign A ffa irs* H earings. M utual S e c u r ity Act o f 1957. 8 5 th C ong.* 1 s t S e ss„* 1957* P a r t 5* p . 927.

115

U nited S ta te s e The seven Armed Forces I n s t i t u t e s e s ta b ­

l is h e d by th e regim e t r a in e d 1$500 c a d e ts each y e a r a t a

c o s t o f more th an $3 m il l io n . In 1955s th e Supreme School

fo r th e Armed F orces e n ro lle d th e f i r s t group o f f i e l d -

g rade o f f i c e r s in i t s advanced c o u rse , Am o f f i c e r s 8 b a s ic

co u rse was added to th e cu rricu lu m in 1957,^

Concom itant w ith th e o th e r program ss th e government

in a u g u ra ted a number o f c o n s tru c tio n p r o je c ts designed to

p ro v id e f a c i l i t i e s fo r th e tra in in g s , h e a l th and r e c r e a t io n

o f th e armed f o rc e s . The M in is try o f Development su p e rv ised

th e c o n s tru c t io n o f a l 900Oabed9 1 7 -s to ry m i l i t a r y h o s p i ta l

in th e v i c i n i t y o f C aracas , N early $3 m il l io n was in v e s te d

in th e expansion o f th e a r t i l l e r y f i r i n g ra n g e s . The

Supreme School fo r th e Armed Forces was b u i l t to p ro v id e

f a c i l i t i e s fo r th e p ro v is io n o f b a s ic and advanced t r a in in g

o f o f f i c e r s o f th e th r e e b ran ch es . More th a n $40 m il l io n

was in v e s te d on th e c o n s tru c tio n o f a d ry dock a t P u e rto

Cabell© 8 a f a c i l i t y which th e navy was p e rm itte d to

u t i l i z e , ^ But many o f th e p r o je c ts were c o s t ly and o f

l i t t l e u t i l i t y . N o tab le examples o f th e squandering o f

p u b lic funds on un n ecessary p r o je c t s were th e o f f i c e r s 8

c lu b and th e p a rad e p la tfo rm which th e governm ent b u i l t in

C aracas , The $10 m il l io n M il i ta ry C irc le^ a p a l a t i a l

5 , B etancourtg V enezuela, p , 596; H ispan ic American R ep o rt. Decembers 1954s Po 21,

6, I b id . . O ctober 19549 p , 22; and December, 1954,p , 21,

116

s t r u c tu r e w hich c o n s is ts o f h a l l s fo r r e c r e a t io n , s p o r ts

and b an q u e ts , as w e ll as lu x u r io u s h o te l f a c i l i t i e s , i s

rep u ted to be th e w o r ld 's most s p e c ta c u la r o f f i c e r s ' club*

The p arad e p la tfo rm , b u i l t a t a c o s t o f $500,000, served

as a rev iew ing s ta n d fo r th e d i c t a t o r and h is h ig h -ran k in g7

o f f i c e r s d u rin g th e annual m i l i ta r y p a ra d e s0

The d i c t a t o r 's p la n s to in s u re th e su b se rv ien ce o f

th e o f f i c e r s in c lu d ed a .v a r ie g a te d system o f rew ards and

punishm ents 0 H igh-rank ing army o f f i c e r s were ap po in ted to

th e c a b in e t , were p la ce d in charge o f many n o n -m ili ta ry

ag en c ies and were p e rm it te d to p a r t i c i p a t e in th e management

o f v a r io u s government e n t e r p r i s e s 0 Many o f th o se who h e ld

such o f f i c i a l p o s i t io n s were a ffo rd e d o p p o r tu n i t ie s fo r

e n r ic h in g them selves a t th e expense o f th e n a t io n a l t r e a s u r y e

1 However, th e ju n io r army o f f i c e r s and th e n av a l and a i r

fo rc e o f f i c e r s were excluded from th e lu c r a t iv e p o s it io n s*

They f re q u e n tly were sp ie d upon by agen ts o f th e s e c r e t

p o l ic e and o f M il i ta ry I n t e l l i g e n c e * Those who were

im p lic a te d in th e o c c a s io n a l, s h o r t - l iv e d in s u r r e c t io n s

a g a in s t th e d ic ta to r s h ip ex p erien ced s w if t r e t r ib u t io n *

By 1956, more th a n two hundred o f f i c e r s o f th e armed fo rc e so

were in p r is o n o r in ex ile*

7* B e tan co u rt. Venezuela* pp* 595, 864-65*

8* I b id *, p* 594*

The Mission, o f th e Army

The MLmister o f th e I n t e r i o r , Latireano T a l l e n l l l a

Lanz$ a p t ly s ta te d th e reg im e9 s co n cep tio n o f th e p o s i t io n

o f th e army in V enezuela in a speech he d e l iv e re d in

C aracas in J u ly , 19520 "The Army i s th e N atio n and

V enezuela i s th e p ro d u c t o f th e armed e f f o r t o f i t s s o n s ,"

he saido The d i c t a t o r h im se lf s a id th a t th e army® s m ission

was " to p re s e rv e th e t r a d i t i o n s , th e d ig n i ty and th e v a lu esQ

o f V enezuela,,"

In p r a c t i c e , t h i s meant t h a t th e army was to obey

w ith o u t q u e s tio n th e o rd e rs o f th e T ach ira c l iq u e , headed

by P erez J imenez 0 The army was to e lim in a te , armed

in s u r r e c t io n s by means o f in t im id a t io n and v io len ceo The

d i c t a t o r h e ld annual m i l i ta r y p a rad es in C aracas d u rin g

"Armed Forces Week" in o rd e r to im press upon th e p eo p le

th e power o f th e armed fo rc e s and t h e i r lo y a l ty to him*

Those who p e r s i s te d in t h e i r p la n s fo r armed r e v o l t were

g iven a d em o n stra tio n o f th e speed and e f f ic ie n c y w ith

w hich t h e i r modern t r a in in g and equipm ent cou ld be

employedo

9 0 Pepper B0, p p 0 138, 1670

.CHAPTER VII

FOREIGN RELATIONS

The P erez Jim enez regim e d isp la y e d c o o ln e s s s

b o rd e rin g on o m trig h t an im o sity ; toward th e dem ocratic

governm ents o f L a tin America b u t m ain ta ined am icable r e l a ­

t io n s w ith th e U nited S ta t e s 0 The In c o n s is te n c y can ;

p ro b ab ly be ex p la in ed by th e economic r e a l i t i e s o f th e

t im e s 0 The L a tin American re p u b lic s had l i t t l e com m ercial

in te rc o u rs e w ith Venezuelao T h ere fo re ; th e d i c t a t o r had

no com pelling reaso n to co n cea l from them h is d i s t a s t e fo r

dem ocracy9 However; th e f a c t t h a t th e U nited S ta te s was

V en ezu e la 's p r in c ip a l t r a d in g p a r tn e r and th e so u rce o f

most o f th e fo re ig n c a p i t a l in v e s te d in th e V enezuelan

economy im p elled th e d i c t a t o r to le n d h is su p p o rt to th e

g lo b a l p o l i c ie s o f th e U nited S t a t e s » The government o f

th e U nited S ta te s $ d e s iro u s o f in s u r in g th e co n tin u ed flow

o f V enezuelan p e tro leu m and i r o n o re to h er in d u s t r ie s ;

anx ious to p r o te c t th e la rg e c a p i t a l investm en t o f i t s

c i t i z e n s ; and p le a se d by th e d i c t a t o r 's su p p o rt fo r i t s

anti-C om m unist fo re ig n p o lic y ; was p o w erfu lly m o tiva ted to

m a in ta in f r ie n d ly r e la t io n s w ith th e V enezuelan reg lm e0

A lthough th e U nited S ta te s government was aware o f the .

ty r a n n ic a l n a tu re o f th e P erez Jim enez regim e, as ev idenced

by th e d e n ia l o f c i v i l l i b e r t i e s and th e n e g le c t o f th e

118

119

b a s ic needs o f th e V enezuelan people* i t chose to g iv e i t s

t a c i t su p p o rt to th e d ic ta to r s h ip d u rin g th e p re s id e n c y

o f Dwight D0 Eisenhow er,

At th e tim e P erez Jim enez became d i c t a t o r o f Vene­

zuela* Chile* C o sta Rica* Cuba* Guatemala* Mexico*

N icaragua* and Uruguay had no d ip lo m a tic r e l a t i o n s w ith th e

V enezuelan governm ent. Of th a t group* o n ly C o sta R ica and

Uruguay p e r s i s t e d in t h e i r d e n ia l o f re c o g n it io n u n t i l th e

u l t im a te overth row o f th e m i l i ta r y d ic ta to r s h ip ,

Chile* re ly in g upon th e d i c t a t o r 's p rom ise o f f r e e

e le c tio n s* e s ta b l i s h e d r e la t io n s w ith V enezuela in

September* 1951, But th e se r e l a t i o n s were never v ery

f r ie n d ly . The C h ilean Congress* in December* 1953$

advocated a b o y co tt o f th e Tenth In te r-A m erican Conference*

which met th re e months l a t e r in C aracas, because o f th e

V enezuelan governm ent's p e r s i s t e n t d e n ia l o f c i v i l l i b e r ­

t i e s , 4 t th e end o f 1957* C h ile severed r e l a t io n s fo llow ing

th e a r r e s t and ex p u ls io n o f i t s a t ta c h e in C aracas fo r

a l le g e d p o l i t i c a l in te rv e n t io n .

The Cuban government i n i t i a l l y g ran te d asylum to

V enezuelan e x i le s and p e rm itte d them to p u b l ic ly c r i t i c i z e

th e V enezuelan governm ent. But* in March* 1952* fo llow ing

th e o u s te r o f P re s id e n t Prxo S ocorras by F u lgeneio B a t i s ta

and th e i n s t a l l a t i o n o f a m i l i t a r y d ic ta to rs h ip * V enezuela

120

e s ta b l i s h e d d ip lo m a tic r e la t io n s w ith Cuba® P erez Jim enez

and B a t is ta rem ained on f r ie n d ly terms®

M e x ic o g ra n te d asylum to p o l i t i c a l , e x i le s th ro u g h ­

o u t th e d ic ta to r s h ip a lth o u g h h e r government resumed

d ip lo m a tic r e l a t io n s w ith V enezuela s ix months b e fo re th e

V enezuelan e le c t io n s o f 1952® Mexico was th e p r in c ip a l

base o f th e exiles® The l i b e r a l p re s s p u b lish e d th e a n t i -

government propaganda su p p lie d by th e and th e e x ile d

leaders®

G uatem ala0 s Arbenz reg im e9 in 1954$ accused Perez

Jim enez o f c o n s p ir in g to overth row i t s governm ent9 b u t

th e ch a rg es were denied® A fte r th e overth row o f Arbenz

mid th e e s ta b lish m e n t o f th e m ilita ry -b a c k e d government

o f C arlo s C a s t i l lo Armas$ th e d i c t a t o r q u ic k ly e s ta b l is h e d

r e la t io n s w ith Guatemala®

N icaragua and V enezuela exchanged am bassadors in

June* 1952$ and th e H icaraguan d ic ta to r* A n astasio Somoza

and P erez Jim enez became good friends® When N icaragua

launched i t s in v a s io n o f C osta Rica* a V enezuelan a i r fo rc e

squadron flew over San Joses, en ro u te to Nicaragua® C osta

R ica accused V enezuela o f c o m p lic ity in th e aggression* bu t

th e government r e p l ie d th a t th e squadron was m erely t r a n s -1p o r t in g c a d e ts to Managua fo r tra in in g ® The f a c t th a t

C o sta R ica had b o y co tte d th e In te r-A m erican C onference in

1® B etancourt* Venezuela® pp® 861-64®

121

C aracas s h o r t ly b e fo re th e in c id e n t and had f re q u e n tly

p ro te s te d th e a r b i t r a r y m easures o f th e d ic ta to r s h ip may

w e ll have m otivated i t*

R e la tio n s w ith A rg en tin a were c o r d ia l d u rin g th e

d ic ta to r s h ip o f Juan P eron0 In fac t,- s h o r t ly b e fo re

P e ro n 8s o u s te r , P ire z Jim enez caused h is N a tio n a l C onfedera­

t io n o f Workers to a f f i l i a t e i t s e l f w ith th e P e r o n is t

r e g io n a l la b o r o rg a n iz a t io n , ATLAS c T heir f r ie n d s h ip

co n tin u ed even a f t e r th e overth row o f Perotio P eron , in

August, 1956, was g ran te d p o l i t i c a l asylum fo r h im se lf andS ' /some o f h is su p p o r te rs by P erez Jim eneze T h e re a f te r , he

was p e rm itte d to open ly engage ’ in p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y and

th e Venezuelan p re s s was re q u ire d to make no m ention of i t c

When A rgen tina p r o te s te d in Jan u ary , 1957, P eron was

p u b l ic ly fo rb id d en to co n tin u e h is su b v e rs iv e a c t i v i t i e s

a g a in s t th e A rgen tine governm ent. But, s ix months l a t e r ,

A rg en tin a p re se n te d to V enezuela docum entary ev idence

th a t Peron was u s in g h is sa n c tu a ry as a base fo r th e

d i r e c t io n o f v io le n c e a g a in s t th e government w hich rep la ced

him, and demanded h is ex p u ls io n from V enezuela0 When th e

d ic t a t o r re fu se d to ta k e a c t io n a g a in s t Peron, A rgen tina

in te r r u p te d d ip lo m a tic r e la t io n s w ith V enezuela and, in

J u ly , 1957, p re s e n te d i t s ca se to th e O rg an iza tio n o f

American S ta te s , The ev idence d is c lo se d th a t P eron had

v io la te d th e C aracas Convention o f 1954, which p ro h ib ite d

a p o l i t i c a l e x i le from ad v o catin g th e u se o f fo rc e a g a in s t

122{ / th e government o f h is nation ,, But Feron was allow ed to

conduct h is propaganda campaign u n t i l th e overth row o f

P erez Jim enez, As l a t e as Decembers, 1957, F eron and h is2fo llo w ers h eld a la rg e m eeting in C aracas ,

The f r ie n d s h ip o f P erez Jim enez fo r d i c t a to r s

was a lso ev idenced by h is c lo s e r e l a t io n s w ith Rojas

P i n i l l a o f Colombia^ Manuel O dria o f P eru , and R a fae l

T r u j i l lo o f th e Dominican R ep u b lic , The p a t t e r n was th e

same in each e a se . He was d ec o ra ted and honored by each

o f them and he r e c ip ro c a te d . The th r e e c h ie f e x e c u tiv e s

exchanged s t a t e v i s i t s w ith him.

In 1957, P erez Jim enez launched h is own economic

a id program fo r L a tin America, I t invo lved th e n e g o t ia t io n

o f b i l a t e r a l agreem ents w ith n e ig h b o rin g c o u n tr ie s fo r

th e p ro v is io n o f p u b lic g ra n ts and loans to f in a n c e th e

c o n s tru c tio n o f housing , th e improvement o f u rban a reas

and th e improvement o f su r fa c e t r a n s p o r ta t io n . In

Jan u ary , Colombia was g ran te d $1 m il l io n to f in a n c e th e

c o n s tru c tio n o f a 1 5 -s to ry apartm ent b u ild in g . In March,

th e d i c t a to r agreed to len d Ecuador $37 m il l io n to enab le

i t to u n d ertak e an u rban developm ent p r o je c t and to b u ild

some roads in ju n g le a re a s . During th e month o f J u ly ,

P araguay , Panama and Peru n e g o tia te d w ith V enezuela fo r

loans to f in an c e s im ila r p r o je c t s . In Septem ber, Ecuador

2, H ispan ic American R ep o rt, O ctober, 1956 March, 1958,

r e c e iv e d 'a $12 m il l io n lo a n . D aring th e fo llo w in g month;

Paragmay sough t a c r e d i t o f $30 m il l io n to f in a n c e th e

expansion o f h e r m erchant f l e e t and th e c o n s tru c t io n o f

roadso P lan s fo r th e E cuadorian p r o je c ts were com pleted

in November; and c o n t ra c ts were drawn up d u rin g th a t

month which c a l le d fo r lo w - in te r e s t lo an s to Paraguay and

H a i t i , During th e month o f December? P erez Jim enez

p re se n te d to h is Congress a com prehensive program whereby

n a tio n s o f L a tin America would be g ran te d te n -y e a r loans- ' " 3

a t 6 p e r c e n t i n t e r e s t .

R e la tio n s w ith th e U nited S ta te s

The e l e c t o r a l fa rc e p e r p e t r a te d by P erez Jim enez

in December? 1952; and th e p o l i t i c a l ev en ts o f th e subse­

quen t sp r in g l e f t no doubt t h a t V enezuela was ru le d by a

m i l i ta r y d ic ta to r s h ip . Y et th e Eisenhower a d m in is tra tio n

chose to t a c i t l y su p p o rt th e reg im e. When BUIton E ise n ­

hower made h is o f f i c i a l South American to u r in June? 1953;

h is f i r s t o f f i c i a l a c t was th e p r e s e n ta t io n o f a p e rso n a l

message and an autographed p ic tu r e s e n t by P re s id e n t

Eisenhower to P erez Jim enez, L ater? he accep ted an honorary

deg ree ten d ered him by th e C e n tra l U n iv e rs ity ; w hich had

o n ly r e c e n t ly been p e rm itte d to re o p e n ,^ In November?

3 , See th e is s u e s o f H isp an ic American R eport fo r th e p e r io d March; 1957; th rough February? 1958,

124

1954, P re s id e n t Elsenhower evidenced app roval o f th e

d i c t a t o r 0s p o l i t i c a l and economic p o l ic ie s when he bestowed

wpen P erez Jim enez th e Legion o f M erit, accompanied by a

c i t a t i o n which p ra is e d th e d i c t a t o r fo r ’’e s p e c ia l ly

m e r ito r io u s conduct in th e f u l f i l lm e n t o f h i s h ig h fu n c ­

t io n s and fo r h is anti=Gommunist a t t i tu d e ,,

However, th e fo re ig n a id program fo r V enezuela was

m arginalo The m i l i ta r y a s s is ta n c e rendered by th e U nited

S ta te s c o n s is te d o f th e s a le o f equipm ent and th e p ro v is io n

o f in s t r u c t io n to th e armed fo rc e s by th e th re e m issions

in V enezuela and by m i l i ta r y sch o o ls s i tu a te d in th e

U nited S ta te s , Economic a id c o n s is te d o f g ra n ts and loans

o f a t o t a l v a lu e o f approx im ately $15,5 m il l io n . The

I n te r n a t io n a l C oopera tion A d m in is tra tio n g ran te d V enezuela

$1 m il l io n f o r th e prom otion o f h e a l th and s a n i t a t io n

and th e E xport-Im port Bank p ro v id ed $14,5 m il l io n in " " " ' £

c r e d i t s to f in a n c e s e v e ra l c o n s tru c t io n p r o j e c t s .

Economic r e l a t i o n s between th e two governm ents were

ex trem ely c o r d ia l . They were governed by a com m ercial

t r e a ty n e g o tia te d in 1952, The o n ly major co m p lica tio n

a ro se as a r e s u l t o f th e p e re n n ia l in tro d u c t io n in th e

U nited S ta te s C ongress o f l e g i s l a t i o n c a l l in g f o r th e

m andatory r e s t r i c t i o n o f pe tro leu m im p o rts . However, th e

5 , I b id ,« December, 1954, p , 23,

6, U, S, C ongress, S en a te , Committee on F ore ign R e la t io n s , U nited S ta te s ° L a tin American R e la t io n s «. 86 th Cong,, 2d S e s s , , I960, S e p t, 125, p p , 502, 505, 648, 680-81,

Venezuelan government and th e I n te r n a t io n a l ; p e tro leu m

in t e r e s t s were a b le to secu re th e d e fe a t o f th e s e m easurese

But when th e o i l f i e l d s o f th e M iddle E ast began p roducing on

a la rg e s c a le a f t e r th e end o f th e Suez c r i s i s , th e w orld

supp ly o f p e tro leu m became so g re a t and th e M iddle E ast

p ro d u c t so co m p e titiv e , th a t th e U nited S ta te s , l a t e in

1957, induced th e in te r n a t io n a l companies to v o lu n ta r i ly

r e s t r i c t th e q u a n t i ty o f V enezuelan p e tro leu m im ported

in to th e U nited S ta t e s „

V enezuela and th e S o v ie t Bloc

V enezuela had minimal c o n ta c ts w ith th e n a tio n s o f

th e Communist bloc® D iplom atic r e la t io n s were e s ta b l is h e d

w ith Y ugoslav ia in June, 1951, bu t a y ea r l a t e r r e la t io n s

w ith S o v ie t R u ss ia and C zechoslovak ia were sev ered on th e

grounds th a t t h e i r la rg e embassy s t a f f s in C aracas were

engaging in su b v e rs iv e a c t i v i t i e s Q Trade w ith Communist

n a t io n s was ex ceed in g ly s m a ll» A pparently th e v a lu e o f

ex p o rts to them d id n o t exceed $2 m il l io n and th e v a lu e o f■ " 7im ports was l e s s than $15 m illio n * T h ere fo re , V enezuela’ s

com pliance w ith 1951 U nited B a tio n s r e s o lu t io n s c a l l in g

fo r p r o h ib i t io n o f th e shipm ent o r resh ipm ent o f m unitions

and s t r a t e g i c m a te r ia ls to Asian t e r r i t o r y h e ld by Communist

pow ers, was bu t a token gestu re* Perhaps th e fundam ental

126

reaso n fo r th e sm all volume o f tr a d e w ith th e Communist

b loc was th a t V enezuela’ s dominant ex p o rt commodity,

p e tro leu m , was co m p e titiv e w ith R ussian crude o i l .

The U nited N ations

V enezuela p a r t i c ip a t e d in th e a c t i v i t i e s o f th e

U nited N ationso In most in s ta n c e s , h e r d e le g a t io n to th e

G eneral Assembly su p p o rted th e r e s o lu t io n s espoused by th e

U nited S ta te s 0 D uring th e Korean War she c o n tr ib u te d

$100,000 w orth o f m edical su p p lie s to th e U nited N ations

command and, p u rsu a n t to a G eneral Assembly r e s o lu t io n ,

p la c e d an embargo on tr a d e w ith th e Communist co m b atan ts„

V enezuela d id n o t, however, send any tro o p s o r war m a te r ie l0 ^

P e r io d ic a l ly a s s a i le d f o r i t s u se o f p o l i c e - s t a t e

methods, th e V enezuelan government was ab le to th w a rt th e

e f f o r t s o f i t s d e t r a c to r s to have th e S ec re ta ry -G en e ra l

conduct an in v e s t ig a t io n o f i t s sy s te m a tic in frin g em e n t o f

th e U nited N ations D e c la ra tio n o f Human R ig h ts c The

e f f o r t s o f such o rg a n iz a tio n s as th e I n te r n a t io n a l League

fo r th e R igh ts o f Man and th e I n te r n a t io n a l C o n fed e ra tio n

o f F ree Trade Unions (ICFTU) to secu re passag e o f G eneral

Assembly r e s o lu t io n s ce n su rin g th e V enezuelan government

met th e same fa te*

8, H ispanic American R eport. November, 1951, p 0 220

127

The nem esis o f th e d ic ta to r s h ip was th e I n t e r -

n a t io n a l Labomr Offlee@ th e la b o r o rgan o f th e U nited

N a tio n s„ As th e re a d e r w i l l r e c a l l , th e ILO m issio n w hich

v i s i t e d V enezuela in 1949 had, d u rin g th e fo llo w in g y e a r ,

p u b lish e d i t s r e p o r t on th e s ta tu s o f la b o r in V enezuela.

The co n c lu s io n s o f th e m issio n and th e subsequen t i n t e n s i ­

f i c a t i o n o f government r e p re s s io n o f th e la b o r movement

induced ILO a f f i l i a t e s to r e g i s t e r numerous p r o te s t s w ith

th e p a re n t o rg a n iz a t io n . The c r i s i s came when th e

P etro leum Committee o f th e ILO h e ld i t s annual m eeting in

C aracas in A pril-M ay, 1955. Many o f th e European a f f i l i a t e s

o f ICFTU b o y co tted th e m eeting, and th e AFL and CIO d id n o t

send r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s . At th e opening s e s s io n , a tte n d e d by

P erez Jim enez, Id r la n u s Vermuelem, a Dutch u n io n le a d e r

and member o f th e govern ing board o f th e ILO, se v e re ly

c a s t ig a te d th e h o s t government fo r i t s r e p re s s io n o f la b o r .

The enraged d esp o t r e a c te d s w i f t ly . P u rsu an t to h is o rd e rs

th e s e c r e t p o l ic e e x p e lle d Vermuelen from V enezuela. The

Committee th e reupon suspended i t s s e s s io n s on th e grounds

th a t th e governm entg.s a c t io n je o p a rd iz e d th e p e rso n a l

s a f e ty and freedom o f speech o f th e d e le g a te s . The m eeting

la s ad journed on May 2, b e fo re any o f th e item s on th e

agenda had been co n s id e red , because o f th e d i c t a t o r 6s

r e f u s a l to a llow Vermuelen to r e tu r n from C uracao. That

same day P erez Jim enez announced th e w ithdraw al o f V enezuela

128

from th e XLOs whose le a d e rs had su p p o rted th e a c t io n tak en

by th e Committeeo^

The O rg a n iza tio n o f American S ta te s s e le c te d C aracas

as th e s i t e f o r th e Tenth In tersA m erican Conferences which

was to be h e ld in March, 19540 Three months b e fo re th e

opening o f th e co n fe ren ce , th e Uruguayan S enate and th e

C h ilean Congress c a l le d fo r a b o y co tt u n le ss P erez Jim enez

should r e le a s e a l l p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e r s mid p e rm it p o l i t i c a l

e x i le s to r e tu rn home in s a f e ty 0 S h o rtly a f te rw a rd s ,

d o u b tle ss in "an e f f o r t to underm ine th e p o s i t io n o f h is

c r i t i c s , th e d i c t a t o r announced th a t 800 p o l i t i c a l p r is o n e rs

would be re le a s e d by th e end o f 1953 under a g ra n t o f

amnesty and assu red fo re ig n newspapermen th a t t h e i r

d isp a tc h e s would be n e i th e r cen so red nor de layed d u rin g

th e co n fe re n c e c The con ference opened a t th e appo in ted

tim e and was a tte n d e d by r e p re s e n ta t iv e s o f a l l b u t one o f

th e member n a t io n s 0 C osta R ica b o y co tted th e m eeting

because o f th e p o l i t i c a l r e p re s s io n in Venezuela* The most

notew orthy r e s u l t s o f th a t g a th e r in g were th e p assag e o f

a r e s o lu t io n sponsored by, th e U nited S ta te s - - condemn­

in g in te r n a t io n a l Communisms, and a L a tin American r e s o lu t io n

9* I b i d . , Juneg 1955, p» 219.

129

c a l l i n g fo r a hem ispheric e f f o r t to so lv e economic

problem s o V enezuela supported b o th r e s o lu t io n s „

Two y e a rs l a t e r , a t a C onference o f American

P re s id e n ts , P erez Jim enez c a l le d f o r th e c r e a t io n o f an

In ter-A m erican Economic Development Fund and o f fe re d to

c o n t r ib u te $33 m il l io n in p u b lic funds to i n i t i a t e i t 0

He proposed th a t each member o f th e OAS c o n tr ib u te 4 p e r

c e n t o f i t s annual budget to th e fund . But th e more

a f f lu e n t n a t io n s were r e lu c ta n t to commit them selves and

no c o n c re te a c t io n was ta k en on th e p ro p o sa l. F in a lly ?11in Septem ber, 1957, th e d i c t a to r w ithdrew th e p ro p o s a l.

The In te r-A m erican R ural Normal School, s i tu a te d

in th e S ta te o f T aeh ira , began o p e ra t io n s l a t e in 1954.

T eachers from e ig h te e n n a tio n s were s e le c te d by th e GAS

to undergo tw o-year s p e c ia l iz e d co u rse s o f in s t r u c t io n

d esigned to en ab le them to improve th e q u a l i ty o f

i n s t r u c t io n ren d ered to r u r a l s c h o o lte a c h e rs in t h e i r

r e s p e c t iv e c o u n t r ie s . P u rsu an t to m agreem ent w ith th e

GAS, V enezuela had p ro v id ed th e la n d , th e b u ild in g s and

3 ,000 books. The GAS agreed to pay th e s a l a r i e s o f

i n s t r u c to r s , to fu rn is h th e n ec e ssa ry equipm ent and to

e s t a b l i s h a m e rit s c h o la rsh ip p r o g r a m .

10.. I b id . - Jan u ary , 1954, p . 22; A p ril, 1954, p . 23.

11. I b id . . August, 1956, p . 342; November, 1957,p . 47 5 o

12. I b id . . Septem ber, 1954, pp . 23-24 .

130

The dom estic p r a c t i c e s .o f th e regim e were

o c c a s io n a lly b rough t to th e a t t e n t io n o f th e CMS bu t no

a c t io n was ever ta k e n a g a in s t V enezuela, The most s e r io u s

a c c u sa tio n le v e le d a t th e d ic ta to r s h ip was made to th e

C ouncil o f th e OAS in J u ly 9 19570 At t h a t tim e A rgen tina

p re se n te d ev idence th a t V enezuela was t o l e r a t in g p o l i t i c a l

a c t i v i t y by th e e x - d ic ta to r , Juan Perom, in v io la t io n o f a

1954 conven tion re g u la t in g th e term s o f p o l i t i c a l a s y l u m , ^3

O ccasional p r o te s t s by r e g io n a l o rg a n iz a t io n s 9

such as th e OEIT, co n cern in g th e d e n ia l o f human r ig h t s ,

met th e same f a t e . But th e ORIT was re p a id in f u l l m easure

by P erez Jim enez and h is f r ie n d , T r u j i l l o , in December,

19570 At t h a t tim e , th e r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s o f th e two

d ic t a to r s ve to ed a p ro p o sa l t h a t th e OAS make t h a t re g io n a l

la b o r o rg a n iz a tio n i t s o f f i c i a l la b o r agency. The Vene­

zu e lan d espo t a ttem p ted to j u s t i f y th e v e to by ch a rg in g

th a t th e ORIT was an e x tre m is t o rg a n iz a tio n and th a t i t

had been g u i l ty o f in te rv e n t io n in V enezuela’ s dom estic

p o l i t i e s o

V enezuela’ s fo re ig n commerce r e f le c te d th e ra p id ,

s u s ta in e d growth o f th e p ro d u c tio n and ex p o rt o f pe tro leum ,

and consequent h ig h r a t e o f in v estm en t. The v a lu e o f

13, I b id , , August, 1957, p . 364,

14, I b id , « Jan u ary , 1958, p , 672,

im ports a lso ro se c o n s id e ra b ly . The v a lu e o f ex p o rts

in c re a se d from $1$354 m il l io n in 1950 to $3S2©6 m il l io n in

1957, V enezuela im ported com m odities w orth $671 m il l io n

in 1950s b u t by 1957 th e v a lu e o f im ports amounted to

$1,942 m il l io n . The term s o f t r a d e rem ained v i r t u a l l y

unchanged, s in c e b o th ex p o rt p r ic e s and im port p r ic e s

ex p erien ced a r i s e o f about 25 p e r c e n t ,^ ^

The ex p o rt tr a d e o f V enezuela was dom inated by

th e e x t r a c t iv e i n d u s t r i e s , "Petroleum accounted fo r 96 p e r

c e n t o f th e v a lu e o f ex p o rts in 1950 and 92 p e r c e n t th e re o f

in 1957, Iro n o re e x p o r ts , a lm ost n i l in 1950, in c re a se d

to such an e x te n t t h a t by 1957 th ey accounted fo r 5 p e r

c e n t o f th e t o t a l v a lu e o f e x p o r ts , Pfost o f th e rem aining

v a lu e was su p p lied by th e two t r a d i t i o n a l ex p o rt commodi-16t i e s , c o f fe e and cacao ,

G ap ita l-g o ed s im ports in c re a se d r a p id ly . In 1957

th ey accounted fo r 43 p e r c e n t o f th e v a lu e o f im p o rts ,

as opposed to 24 p e r c e n t in 1950, The p e tro leu m in d u s try ,

w hich im ported c a p i t a l goods e q u iv a le n t to 10 p e r c e n t o f

th e v a lu e o f im ports in 1950, by 1957 had in c re a se d i t s

im ports to such an e x te n t th a t th ey eq u a lle d 25 p e r cen t

o f th e t o t a l . D uring th e same p e r io d consumer goods

15, I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p , 102,

132

d e c lin e d from 34 to 17 p e r c e n t and in te rm e d ia te p ro d u c e rs8

goods d e c lin e d from 42 to 41 p e r c e n t o f th e v a lu e o f 17im portso

The U nited S ta te s was th e p r in c ip a l t r a d in g p a r tn e r

o f V enezuela, I t absorbed most o f th e petro leu m , 75 p e r

c e n t o f th e cacao , 90 p e r c e n t o f th e c o ffe e and a l l o f

th e i r o n o re ex p o rted by Venezuela,, A pproxim ately 60 p e r

c e n t o f V enezuela8s im ports came from th e U nited S ta te s ,

V ir tu a l ly a l l o f th e rem aining fo re ig n tra d e was w ith th e

o th e r n a tio n s o f th e W estern Hemisphere and w ith W estern

A pproxim ately tw o - th ird s o f th e t o t a l fo re ig n

investm en t in V enezuela d u rin g th e d ic ta to r s h ip o r ig in a te d

in th e U nited S ta te s , U m ost a l l o f . th e rem ain ing fo re ig n

c a p i t a l came from th e M otherlands and G reat B r i t a in ,

A pproxim ately 90 p e r c e n t o f a l l f o re ig n c a p i t a l was

in v e s te d in th e two m ajor e x t r a c t iv e in d u s t r i e s .

D ire c t p r iv a te in v estm en t from th e U nited S ta te s ,

to t a l in g $993 m il l io n a t th e end o f 1950, in c re a se d to

$2,684 m il l io n a t th e end o f 1957. The p e tro leu m in d u s try

claim ed more than 80 p e r c e n t o f th e U nited S ta te s in v e s t ­

ment d u rin g th a t p e r io d and U nited S ta te s c a p i t a l a lso

17. Shoup, e t a l . . p . 80.

18. Benham and H olley , p . 157.

133

ac co m ted fo r most o f th e fo re ig n investm en t in o th e r

in d u s t r ie s and in commerce»

The V enezuelan government succeeded in a t t r a c t i n g

fo re ig n c a p i t a l th rough a v a r ie ty o f inducem ents 0 In d u s try

was favored w ith exem ption from* o r th e r e d u c tio n o f

im port d u t ie s on raw m a te r ia ls and c a p i ta l equipm ent,

h ig h p r o te c t iv e t a r i f f s and low ta x r a t e s „ But th e

g r e a t e s t s in g le inducem ent was t h a t accorded to th e

p e tro leu m in d u s try by th e s a le o f th e v a s t new p e tro leu m

co n cess io n s in 1956 and 1957« The h ig h p r o f i t s acc ru in g

to th e in d u s try as a r e s u l t o f th e v a rio u s government

m easures se rv ed as a pow erfu l a t t r a c t i v e fo rc e fo r new 19in v e s tm e n ts„

19o I n te r n a t io n a l Bank, p 0 86; U nited R a tio n s , D epartm ent o f - Economic and S o c ia l A f f a i r s , F o re ig n C a p ita l ih L a tin America (E/GN012/313) (New York, 1955), pp» 144- 45©" " -

CHIPTER V III

THE DECLINE MD FILL OF PEREZ JIMENEZ

SID THE AFTERMATH

The m anifo ld abuses o f power p e rp e t ra te d by th e

d ic t a to r and h is a s s o c ia te s s t i r r e d up w idespread r e s e n t -V

ment among th e p e o p le 0 The o f f i c i a l c o r ru p tio n , th e

n e g le c t o f p u b lic w e lfa re , th e d e n ia l o f fundam ental

p o l i t i c a l l i b e r t i e s , and th e growing m a ld is t r ib u t io n o f

income se rved to c r y s t a l l i z e and in te n s i f y o p p o s it io n .

By 1957, th e r u r a l p o p u la tio n 38 p e r c e n t o f

th e n a t io n a l la b o r fo rc e - - was re c e iv in g on ly 9 p e r cen t

o f th e t o t a l p e rso n a l income, arid th e average income o f

th e r u r a l fam ily was on ly $500 p e r y e a r .^ The low er-incom e

groups d eep ly re se n te d th e governm ent1s n e g le c t o f t h e i r

h e a l th , e d u c a tio n a l and housing needs and th e c o n c e n tra ­

t io n o f economic developm ent p r o je c t s in th e c a p i t a l

c i t y

C ity -d w e lle rs , to o , became angered by th e p r a c t ic e s

o f th e regim e. Urban w orkers, p a r t i c u l a r l y in C aracas,

re se n te d th e in c re a s in g co m p e titio n fo r s k i l l e d and sem i­

s k i l l e d jo b s which r e s u l t e d from th e s te ad y in f lu x o f

135

educated im m igran ts<, and th e p a r t i a l i t y e x h ib ite d by th e

government tow ard th e fo re ig n in v e s to r s and th e s e n io r

army o f f i c e r s 0 The m iddle c la s s became alarm ed a t th e

w ho lesa le c o r ru p tio n and te r ro r is m and was d is t r e s s e d by

th e c o n tin u a l expansion o f ex p o rts o f V enezuela8 s p r in c ip a l

m in e ra l reso u rces*

Leaders o f th e outlaw ed p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , bo th

in th e underground and in e x i l e , co n tin u ed t h e i r e f f o r t s

to underm ine th e regim e, a ided by th e u n iv e r s i ty s tu d e n ts

and by th e workers* Members o f th e ou tlaw ed la b o r

o rg a n iz a tio n s i n f i l t r a t e d th e governm ent la b o r co n fed e ra ­

tion* The u n iv e r s i ty s tu d e n ts , having formed a c la n d e s t in e

U n iv e rs ity F ro n t a t th e end o f 1955, s tag ed o c c a s io n a l

an ti-g o v ern m en t d em o n s tra tio n s* But th e a c t i v i t i e s o f

th o se groups d id n o t produce m easurab le r e s u l t s u n t i l

1957 when u n fo re seen even ts o ccu rred which se rv ed to sw ell2th e ranks o f th e © ppositiono

On May 1, 1957, th e C a th o lic Church, which had

p re v io u s ly m ain ta ined p o l i t i c a l n e u t r a l i t y , spoke o u t

a g a in s t th e d ic ta to r s h ip . The Archbishop o f C aracas,

Mansignor R afae l A ria s , c i r c u la te d a p a s to r a l l e t t e r

c a s t ig a t in g th e governm ent fo r i t s c o r ru p tio n and

im m o ra lity , and d e p lo rin g th e in e q u a l i ty o f income, th e

r i s i n g unemployment, th e low le v e l o f wages, th e dssence

2, Lieuwen, pp , 98-101,

.136

o f s u f f i c i e n t schools* and o th e r s o c ia l and economic e v i l s

wrought by th e d ic ta to rs h ip , , He demanded th a t V enezuelan

la b o r be g iven a f a i r sh a re o f th e growing n a t io n a l income

and a s s e r te d t h a t t h a t could on ly be accom plished by f r e e

la b o r u n ions and by th e ad o p tio n o f a re s p o n s ib le a t t i t u d e

by em ployers. The imm ediate resp o n se o f th e d ic t a t o r was

th e c o n f is c a t io n o f two is s u e s o f ha R e lig io n , th e Caracas

newspaper o f th e Church* and th e a r r e s t o f i t s ed ito r* a

p r ie s t* fo r p r in t in g e d i t o r i a l s c r i t i c a l o f th e reg im e,

Pedro E s tra d a made v e i le d t h r e a t s to th e Archbishop in an

e f f o r t to g e t him to r e t r a c t h is c r i t ic is m * b u t to no a v a i l .

The p u b l ic a t io n s o f th e a rch d io cese th e r e a f t e r co n tin u ed3to a s s a i l th e government fo r i t s abuse o f pow er.

The courageous s ta n d o f th e Archbishop se rv ed to

re ju v e n a te th e p o l i t i c a l o p p o s it io n . E x iled le a d e rs o f AD

and URD mounted an in te n s iv e an ti-g o v ern m en t campaign in

th e fo re ig n p re s s and succeeded in sm uggling in to Vene­

z u e la a growing volume o f l e a f l e t s and p e r io d ic a ls p o in tin g

o u t th e abuses o f th e reg im e, D uring th e summer* r e p re s e n ta ­

t iv e s o f a l l o f th e m ajor p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s ou tlaw ed by

P erez Jim enez formed a c la n d e s t in e o rg an iza tio n * th e

P a t r i o t i c Junta* to work fo r th e v io le n t overth row o f

3 , Pedro T elehert* Economic P o lic y R ev o lu tio n and

M is s is s ip p i P ress* 1939)* p , 32, -

137

th e d ic ta to r* , The S tuden t F ro n t q u ic k ly a l l i e d i t s e l f

w ith th a t g roup .

Meanwhile, resen tm en t had been b u ild in g up w ith in

th e armed f o r c e s 0 J u n io r o f f i c e r s o f th e array who were n o t

p a r t o f th e T ac h ira c l iq u e were opposed to th e c o r ru p tio n

and m is ru le w ith which t h a t sm all re g io n a l group o f f i e l d -

g rade and g e n e ra l o f f i c e r s were so in t im a te ly involved*,

The n av a l and a i r fo rc e o f f i c e r s had become in c re a s in g ly

d i s s a t i s f i e d w ith th e predom inance o f th e army*, Having

had more c o n ta c t w ith th e dem ocratic concep ts espoused by

t h e i r c o u n te rp a r ts in th e U nited S ta te s and having had

l i t t l e co n n ec tio n w ith th e c o r ru p t and i r r e s p o n s ib le

p r a c t ic e s o f th e governm ent, th ey com prised th e p rim ary

so u rce o f o p p o s it io n w ith in th e armed fo rc e s . A re p o r te d

source o f i r r i t a t i o n to th e c la s s -c o n s c io u s o f f i c e r s o f

a l l b ranches o f th e armed fo rc e s was th e crude a ttem p t by

P erez Jim enez to em ulate Berom by re q u ir in g them to m ingle

w ith non-com m issioned o f f i c e r s a t form al s o c ia l func tions.^"

The P le b e s e i te and I t s E f fe c ts

The p r e s id e n t i a l term o f P erez Jim enez was to end

in A p ril, 1958. Having no in te n t io n o f r e l in q u is h in g th e

o f f i c e , he was co n fro n ted w ith th e s e r io u s problem o f how

to ach ieve continu ism o under some sem blance o f l e g a l i t y .

4 . J u le s Dubois, O p era tio n Araeriea: The Communist C onspir acy in L a tin America (Mew York: W alker.and Company, 19o3l; » p . 181; .Lieuwen, pp . 100-101.

138

<St th e end o f July., 1957, Congress announced t h a t e le c t io n s

would be h eld on December 15 b u t i t soon became ev id en t

th a t th e d i c t a t o r would n o t a llow r e a l o p p o s it io n to h is

can d id acy 0 The news media were fo rb id d e n to p u b l is h any

e l e c t o r a l news o th e r th an th a t r e le a s e d by th e government

and cam paigning was p ro h ib ite d * W ithin a month, R afael

C a ld e ra , whose 11 sym bolic0 cand idacy had been prom oted by

th e P a t r i o t i c J u n ta , was a rre s te d * Many s tu d e n ts were

a r r e s te d fo r p r in t in g l e a f l e t s demanding th e d e c la r a t io n

o f a g e n e ra l am nesty and th e h o ld in g o f f r e e e le c tio n s*

D esp ite fo re ig n c r i t i c i s m o f h is r e p re s s iv e

p o l ic ie s P erez Jim enez m ain ta ined s t r i c t c e n so rsh ip o f

p o l i t i c a l news and c o n f is c a te d is s u e s o f fo re ig n p u b l ic a ­

t io n s which c o n ta in ed c r i t i c a l rem arks co n cern in g h is

government* Even Time su f fe re d a ban on th e c i r c u l a t i o n o f

s e v e ra l is s u e s a f t e r i t p u b lish e d a r t i c l e s concern ing th e

C h u rch -S ta te c o n f l ic t* ^

In O ctober, P erez Jim enez c a n c e lle d th e scheduled

e le c t io n s and o rd e red a p le b e s c i te , w herein th e p eop le were

to d ec id e th e q u e s tio n o f w hether he should co n tin u e to be

t h e i r p re s id e n t* Pedro E s tra d a and members o f th e T ach ira

c l iq u e were re p o r te d to have opposed such a p ro ced u re and

5* A lexander, The V enezuelan Dem ocratic Revolution* p* 49; Mew York Times* August 5, 1 9 5 7 ,-p* 5, and August 28, 1957, p . 9*

6* H ispan ic American Report* November, 1957, p* 476; December, 1957, p* 538*

139

th e e x te n s io n o f s u f f ra g e to a l ie n s who had re s id e d In

V enezuela fo r more th an two y e a r s . But I n t e r i o r M in is te r

V a l l e n l l l a Lanz-, s a id to be th e ,p ro p o n e n t o f th e p le b e s c l te7arrangem ent, p r e v a i le d .

The u n iv e r s i ty s tu d e n ts o f C aracas s ta g e d a fo u r-

day s t r i k e in p r o t e s t o f th e fo rthcom ing p le b e s c l te .

More th an 7,O©0 o f them ab sen ted them selves from c la s s e s

u n t i l November 25, On th a t d a te th e C e n tra l U n iv e rs ity

and Andres Be|,lo U n iv e rs ity reopened , b u t l e s s th a n one-

f i f t h o f th e s tu d e n ts were p r e s e n t . D em onstrations

o ccu rred on th e grounds o f th e U n iv e rs ity C ity and an

a ttem p ted march on th e p r e s id e n t i a l p a la c e was h a l te d by

p o l ic e who a r r e s te d many s tu d e n ts and drove th e o th e rs backQ

to th e U n iv e rs ity C ity , Then th e d ic t a t o r c lo se d th e

C e n tra l U n iv e rs ity , On November 28, f i f t y women, d ressed

in mourning c lo th e s , s tag ed a march to p r o te s t th e c lo s in g

and th e w ho lesa le a r r e s t s , b u t were d is p e rs e d by p o l ic e who

u t i l i z e d b la c k ja c k s and te a r g a s ,^

The p le b e s c l te was th e beg inn ing o f th e end fo r th e

d ic ta to r s h ip . Urban la b o re rs were in f u r ia te d because th e

government g ran ted su f f ra g e to a l i e n s . Government employees

7 , S zu lc , p p , 296=99,

8, S, W alter W ashington, "S tu d en t P o l i t i e s in L a tin America: The V enezuelan Exam ple,M F o re ig n A f f a i r s , XXXVII ( % r l l , 1959), 469, . -

9 , New York Times, November 30, 1957, p , 22,

140

and th e te n a n ts o f th e su p e r-b lo c k ss o rd e red to produce

th e i r n e g a tiv e b a l lo t s th e day a f t e r e l e c t io n s , re se n te d

th a t crude e f f o r t to in c re a s e th e s iz e o f th e a f f irm a tiv e

vote* So f a r c i c a l was th e p le b e s c i te th a t o n ly two hours

a f t e r th e p o l l s c lo se d , th e government was ab le to r e le a s e

f i n a l re tu rn so The r e tu rn s were s a id to r e v e a l th a t th e

d ic t a to r had re c e iv e d 85 p e r c e n t o f th e v o te , which

a l le g e d ly to ta le d 2 07 m illion,* '®

D iss id e n t o f f i c e r s o f th e armed fo rc e s began to

p lo t th e overth row o f th e regim e, working in d ep en d en tly

o f th e P a t r i o t i c J u n ta and th e U n iv e rs ity F ro n t, On

Jan u ary 1, 1958, th e a i r fo rc e s tag ed a r e v o l t in Maracay,

But lo y a l army u n i t s q u ic k ly su p p ressed i t , thanks to :p o o r

c o o rd in a tio n between th e a i r fo rc e r e b e ls and t h e i r a l l i e s

in th e army and navy, and th e f a c t th a t th e s e c r e t p o l ic e

had d isco v e red th e p lo t and had a r r e s te d th e army g en e ra l

and th e a i r fo rc e c o lo n e l who were th e le a d e r s , fo rc in g

th e o th e r p l o t t e r s to a c t ahead o f sch ed u le .

But c i v i l i a n and m i l i ta r y o p p o s it io n co n tin u ed to

g a in in s t r e n g th . Hundreds o f s tu d e n ts , r e s id e n ts o f th e

su p e r-b lo ck s and o th e r c i t i z e n s r io te d s p o ra d ic a l ly in

C aracas , The Church became more a c t iv e in i t s o p p o s it io n

to th e regim e and th e V atican , r e a c t in g to th e im prisonm ent

o f f iv e p r i e s t s ( in c lu d in g th e e d i to r o f La R e lig io n ) fo r

10, Hew York Times, December 15, 1957, p , 20; December 16, 1957, p , 5,

141

a lle g e d c o m p lic ity in th e a b o r tiv e mprisings, th re a te n e d to

excommunicate a l l who were re s p o n s ib le fo r t h e i r in c a r ­

c e r a t io n , The im prisonm ent o f many o f f i c e r s o f th e armed

fo rc e s caused o th e rs to oppose th e d i c t a t o r . But th e

p a th s o f th e c i v i l i a n and m i l i ta ry o p p o s it io n had n o t y e t

converged .

The n ex t move was made by th e army g e n e ra ls . On

Jan u ary 9 S they induced P erez Jim enez to d is s o lv e h is

c a b in e t and to e x i le th e h a ted V a l l e n i l l a and E s tra d a ,

The n ex t days, t h e le a d e rs o f th e a b o r tiv e r e v o l t and th eZ /f iv e p r i e s t s were re le a se d . Then P erez Jim enez3 ap p a re n tly

in o rd e r to p la c a te th e navys ap p o in ted a member o f th e

m i l i ta r y o p p o sitio n ^ Rear A dm iral Wolfgang L a rra z a b a l,

C h ief o f S ta f f o f th e Wavy, L a r ra z a b a l5s b ro th e r , C a rlo s ,

became th e new M in is te r o f Economy, For th e tim e being ,

however, P erez Jim enez was ab le to r e t a i n power. A scer­

ta in in g th a t h is M in is te r o f D efense, G eneral Romulo

Fernandes, was p lo t t i n g to o u s t him, th e d i c t a t o r , on

Jan u ary 13, d ep o rted him and tw enty o f h i s s u p p o r te r s .

Meanwhile, th e P a t r i o t i c J u n ta was e f f e c t iv e ly

m o b iliz in g o p p o s it io n . S tu d en ts r io te d and b u s in e ss and

p r o fe s s io n a l men c i r c u la te d p e t i t i o n s demanding dem ocratic

governm ent. On January 13$ s tu d e n ts led thousands o f p eop le

in r i o t s a g a in s t th e C aracas p o l ic e , who r e t a l i a t e d by

u s in g b la c k ja c k s and th e f l a t s o f machetes on them. A n ti-

government s tu d e n t r i o t s sp read to fo u r o th e r c i t i e s and

142

were jo in e d by h ig h schoo l s tu d e n ts e P o lic e methods

became more severe*

The P a t r i o t i c J u n ta c a l le d fo r a g e n e ra l s t r i k e

which was to b eg in on Jan u ary 21 and to co n tin u e u n t i l

th e d ic ta to r s h ip shou ld be overthrown* On Ja n u a ry 20

th e S tuden t F ro n t s ta g e d a s t r i k e in which C aracas

u n iv e r s i ty s tu d e n ts p a r t ic ip a te d * The g e n e ra l s t r i k e in

C aracas p a ra ly z e d t r a f f i c $ fo rced b u s in e sse s and schoo ls

to c lo s e ; and caused new spapers to cease p u b lic a tio n *

News o f th e e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f th e s t r i k e sp read to th e o th e r

la rg e c i t i e s and economic a c t i v i t y th e re came to a v i r t u a l

s t a n d s t i l l * Heavy f ig h t in g e ru p te d between c i v i l i a n s ,

army u n i t s and p o l ic e in C aracas and in th e o i l c e n te rs

s i tu a te d in th e S ta te o f Eulia* C a s u a l t ie s mounted as th e

p o l ic e c a r r ie d o u t o rd e rs to shoo t d em o n stra to rs on s ig h t*

The Communists o p p o r tu n is t i c a l ly jo in e d th e o p p o sitio n *

On Jan u ary 22 th e navy th re a te n e d to bombard th e

c a p i t a l i f P ^rez Jim enez d id n o t resig n * D uring th e e a r ly

morning hours o f Jan u ary 23, he f le d to th e Dominican

Republic* A ju n ta composed o f two c i v i l i a n s and o f f i c e r s

re p re s e n tin g th e th re e branches o f th e armed fo rc e s assumed11d i r e c t io n o f th e government*

11* H ispan ic American Report* March* 1958* op*29=31*

143

The_Legacy o f P ic t a to rs liiR

The fundam ental s o c ia l and economic problem s which

have a lre a d y been m entioned c o n s t i tu te d th e most s e r io u s

c h a lle n g e to th e governm ents w hich were to fo llo w th e

d ic ta to rs h ip o Indeed^ a t th e tim e o f t h i s w r i t in g , much

s t i l l rem ains to be done in th o se a re a s . S ev ere ly

d im in ish in g th e e f f ic a c y o f th e program s u n d ertak en by

su ccesso r governments to so lv e th e s e problem s has been th e

p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y fo r w hich th e regim e o f P erez Jim enez

must b e a r a la rg e m easure o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y .

A f in a n c ia l problem o f monumental p ro p o rtio n s

co n fro n ted th e ju n ta . When th e s e c r e t p u b lic works budget

was examined i t was d isco v ered th a t th e d i c t a t o r had

in c u rre d c o n tr a c tu a l o b l ig a t io n s t o t a l i n g approx im ately

$1 .4 b i l l i o n , p ay ab le over th e n ex t s ix y e a r s . At th e

end o f f i s c a l 1957=*1958, n e a r ly $500 m il l io n w orth o f th e

d e b ts became p ay ab le and th e government had g rave d i f f i c u l t y

in s a t i s f y in g them. As l a t e as J u ly 1, 1962, $400 m il l io n

w orth o f th e o b l ig a t io n s were s t i l l o u ts ta n d in g . The

f in a n c ia l problem was aggrava ted by th e f a c t t h a t th e

m i l i ta r y , accustomed to re c e iv in g s p e c ia l tre a tm e n t from

th e governm ent, expected i t to spend s iz e a b le sums on12p r o je c ts b e n e f ic ia l to th e armed fo rc e s .

12. Mew York Times. A p ril 1, 1958, p . 4; August 5, 1962, p . 31. . , ;

144

The Communists9 a t l e a s t a t th e o u ts e t , assumed a

p o s i t io n o f p o l i t i c a l in f lu e n c e d is p ro p o r t io n a te to t h e i r

a c tu a l members la rg e ly because o f th e to le ra n c e e x h ib ite d

tow ard th e PEP by P e rez Jim enez„ Communists had become

u n iv e r s i ty p ro fe s s o r s and j o u r n a l i s t s , and had r i s e n to

p o s i t io n s o f prom inence in la b o r o rg a n iz a t io n s . Members

o f th e outlaw ed PCV had c re a te d a d is c ip l in e d and e f f e c t iv e

underground o rg a n iz a tio n , which th e P a t r i o t i c J u n ta had

r e l i e d upon to h elp i t o u s t th e d i c t a t o r . Communists in

th e mob which a s s a u lte d th e s e c r e t p o l ic e h e a d q u a rte rs in

C aracas a f t e r th e d e p a r tu re o f th e d i c t a t o r had been ab le

to d e s tro y f i l e s c o n ta in in g th e names o f Communist

in fo rm ers and sp ie s u t i l i z e d by th e reg im e. T h ere fo re , th e

Communists were ab le to p re s e n t them selves as heroes o f

th e r e v o lu t io n . The s t r e n g th o f th e Communists was

r e f le c te d in th e r e s u l t s o f th e g e n e ra l e le c t io n s held in

December, 1958. R eunited under th e PCV banner, th ey

amassed 6 p e r c e n t o f th e t o t a l v o te and p o lle d n e a r ly

h a l f o f t h e i r v o te s in C a racas . They were a b le to e le c t

th r e e s e n a to rs and seven d e p u tie s to th e Congress and f iv e

s t a t e l e g i s l a t o r s . T heir sh a re o f th e t o t a l v o te t r e b le d

th a t acq u ired by them in th e 1946 e l e c t io n s . ^

13. Dubois, p . 182; A lexander, The V enezuelan

145

The p o l i t i c a l in f lu e n c e o f th e s tu d e n ts o f p u b lic

u n iv e r s i t i e s and t h e i r v o ic e in a d m in is tra t iv e d e c is io n - ­

making ro se to unpreceden ted h e ig h ts . In th e eyes o f th e

p u b lic th ey had p lay ed a p rim ary ro le in th e overth row o f

th e d ic ta to r s h ip . S tu d en ts k i l l e d du ring th e s tru g g le

a g a in s t th e regim e were viewed as m a rty rs . U n fo r tu n a te ly s

t h e i r in f lu e n c e became so g r e a t t h a t th ey were ab le to

induce th e government to f i r e p ro fe s s o r s w ith whom th e y

were d i s s a t i s f i e d and to impose t h e i r w i l l upon th e

u n iv e r s i ty a d m in is t ra t io n . Many o f th e s tu d e n ts - -

e s p e c ia l ly th o se o f low-income fa m ilie s - - have espoused

M arx ist concep ts and have r e s o r te d to v io le n c e and d is o rd e r14to ach ieve t h e i r ends.

The Waees o f -C o lla b o ra tio n

The U nited S ta te s , fo llo w in g th e o u s te r o f th e

d i c t a t o r , reached th e n a d ir o f i t s p o p u la r i ty among th e

p eo p le o f V enezuela. C it iz e n s o f a l l c la s s e s harbored

resen tm en t tow ard th e Amerlcan~owned e x t r a c t iv e in d u s t r ie s

and tow ard th e U n ited S ta te s government fo r p o l i t i c a l and

economic re a s o n s . T h ere fo re , i t i s n o t s u rp r is in g th a t

when V ice P re s id e n t R ichard Nixon v i s i t e d th e co u n try

fo u r months a f t e r th e o verth row o f P e re z Jim enez he became

th e fo c a l p o in t o f h o s t i l i t y tow ard th e U nited S ta te s .

A lthough Communists may have been im p lic a te d in th e a t ta c k

14. H ashington , pp . 467-68.

146

made on Mr0 Nixon and h is w ife as they rode th ro u g h th e

s t r e e t s o f C aracas $ th e in c id e n t appears to have been

a m a n ife s ta tio n o f in te n s e n a tio n a lism ,,

R eference has a lre ad y been made to th e p r e f e r e n t i a l

tre a tm e n t accorded by th e d ic ta to r s h ip to th e American-

dom inated p e tro leu m in d u s try and to th e two U nited S ta te s

c o rp o ra tio n s which e x t ra c te d V enezuelan iro n o re fo r

exporto V enezuelan n a t i o n a l i s t s d e p le te d th e g ra n t o f th e

v a s t new o i l c o n c e ss io n ss th e lo s s o f ta x revenues produced

by non-enforcem ent o f th e 50-50 form ula, and th e a n t i - l a b o r

c o l la b o r a t io n between th e p e tro leu m companies and th e

governmento They were a lso d is tu rb e d by th e a c c e le ra te d

a l ie n a t io n o f V enezuelan iro n o re and by th e f a c t t h a t th e

com pensation re c e iv e d by th e government fo r th e e x tra c te d

o re was r id ic u lo u s ly low*

F u rth e r cause fo r g riev an ce were th e p o l i c i e s and

a c tio n s o f th e Eisenhower a d m in is tra tio n d u rin g th e l a t t e r

y e a rs o f th e d ic ta to rs h ip * The f r ie n d s h ip e x h ib ite d by

th e p re s id e n t and by h is b ro th e r toward th e d i c t a t o r was

b u t one cause o f re se n tm en t, a l b e i t a major one* More

re c e n t was th e p u b l ic a t io n by th e Communists o f a l e t t e r

s a id to have been found in th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e s e c re t

p o lic e* That l e t t e r 9 dated Jan u ary 10, 1958, and a l le g e d ly

w r i t te n by F le tc h e r Warren, th e form er U nited S ta te s

Ambassador to V enezuela, to Pedro E s tra d a , c o n g ra tu la te d

147

him f o r having s u c c e s s fu l ly q u e lle d th e January 1 r e v o l t .

A f u r th e r p o te n t i a l sou rce o f . i r r i t a t i o n was th e a l le g a t io n

th a t th e U nited S ta te s had g r a tu i to u s ly g ran te d v is a s to

P erez Jim enez and E s tra d a , a charge which was shown to be

f a l s e when, s h o r t ly a f t e r th e Nixon v i s i t , th e j u n ta

adm itted i t had g ran te d d ip lo m a tic p a s s p o r ts to them.

The im p o s itio n o f th e **voluntary** r e s t r i c t i o n s on im ports

o f fo re ig n p e tro leu m on th e e a s te rn seaboard o f th e U nited

S ta te s in J u ly , 1957, and th e e x te n s io n o f th o se r e s t r i c t i o n s

to th e e n t i r e n a t io n a t th e end o f th a t y e a r , produced a

c u r ta ilm e n t o f p ro d u c tio n and a consequent d e c lin e in

p u b lic revenues a t a tim e when th e V enezuelan government15co u ld l e a s t a f fo rd a re d u c tio n in re v e n u e s .

/ /The F a te o f P erez Jim enez

The ju n ta q u ic k ly i n s t i t u t e d le g a l a c t io n a g a in s t

P erez Jim enez. - In F ebruary , 1958, i t is su e d a d ec ree

a u th o r iz in g th e s e iz u re o f a l l o f th e V enezuelan a s s e ts

h e ld by him o r by members o f h is fam ily . By June ,

approx im ate ly $200 m il l io n w orth o f p ro p e r ty s ta n d in g in

h is name had been s e iz e d b u t e s tim a te s o f h is p e rso n a l

fo r tu n e ranged as h ig h as $300 m il l io n . Meanwhile, th e

ju n ta fo rm ally d ism issed him from th e army, th e re b y d ep riv in g

him o f th e re tire m e n t and o th e r b e n e f i ts which m ight

15. H ispan ic American R eport. J u ly , 1958, pp . 264-65. - :............... : : : • " . . .

16. I b id . . August, 1958, p . 325.

148

o th e rw ise accrue to him0 During th e sp r in g th e a t to rn e y

g e n e ra l began to g a th e r ev idence in su p p o rt o f c r im in a l

ch a rg e s , in c lu d in g murder and em bezzlem ent, w hich were to

be b rough t a g a in s t him. But i t was n o t u n t i l Ju ly , 1959,

t h a t form al charges o f m urder, embezzlement, and abuse o f

power were f i l e d in th e Supreme C ourt o f J u s t i c e . The

widow o f Delgado Chalbaud f i l e d form al charges a g a in s t him

fo r th e murder o f her husband.

P erez Jim enez a f t e r spending two months in th e

Dominican R epub lic , was g ran te d a v is a a llo w in g him to

e n te r th e D hited S ta te s and to rem ain on a d ay -to -d a y

p a ro le b a s is . Two weeks a f t e r a r r iv in g he pu rch ased a

$400,000 mansion in Miami B e a c h .^ But P e rez Jim enez*s

e x i le was n o t to be th e c a re f r e e e x is te n c e en joyed by so

many L a tin American d i c t a t o r s . T rouble began f iv e months

a f t e r h is o u s te r when th e ju n ta revoked h is d ip lo m a tic

p a s s p o r t . In March, 1959, th e U nited S ta te s Im m igration

S e rv ice o rd e red him to le av e th e c o u n try . He was, however,

g ran ted an e x te n s io n o f h is v is a pending an ap p ea l to th e

Board o f Im m igration A ppeals.

Thus m a tte rs r e s te d u n t i l August, 1959. Then th e

V enezuelan h ig h c o u r t fo rm a lly re q u e s te d th a t he be

e x t r a d i te d fo r t r i a l on th e p re v io u s ly m entioned ch a rg es .

The Board o f Im m igration Appeals suspended p ro ceed in g s

17. I b id . . June, 1958, p . 210.

149

pending f i n a l a c t io n upon th e e x t r a d i t io n r e q u e s te Perez

Jim enez had been a r r e s te d but was re le a s e d under a bond

approved by th e Miami d i s t r i c t c o u r t which e n te r ta in e d

V enezuela*s reques t „

In Septem ber, I960, th e d i s t r i c t c o u r t h e ld a

h e a rin g concern ing th e fo u r murders and th e embezzlement

o f $13 m il l io n , fo r which V enezuela demanded h is e x t r a ­

d itio n ,, Evidence b ea rin g upon th e two is s u e s in th e ca se —•

w hether g u i l t was p ro b ab le and w hether th e a l le g e d crim es

were n o n - p o l i t i c a l in n a tu re —■ was in tro d u c e d . A tto rneys

fo r th e p e t i t i o n e r p re se n te d ev idence in d ic a t in g th a t th e

g ro ss p e rso n a l a s s e ts o f P e rez Jim enez had amounted to

$33,730 in 1949 and th a t he had re c e iv e d government

com pensation to t a l in g $337,000, b u t t h a t he had d e p o s ite d

and in v e s te d a t l e a s t $13*5 m i l l io n * ^

Nine months l a t e r , th e d i s t r i c t c o u r t o rd e red h is

e x t r a d i t io n fo r t r i a l o f th e em bezzlem ent charge alone*

The accused was re le a s e d on a $100,000 bond pending an

ap p ea l to th e c i r c u i t c o u r t o f appeals* In December, 1962,

th e a p p e l la te c o u r t a ffirm ed th e r u l in g o f th e d i s t r i c t

c o u r t and had P erez Jim enez co n fin ed in th e Miami j a i l .

There he rem ained u n t i l th e Supreme C ourt den ied h is re q u e s t

fo r th e g ra n t o f c e r t i o r a r i based upon th e c o n te n tio n th a t

18* New York Times» September 6, I960, p* 5*

150

embezzlement by a c h ie f o f s t a t e i s a " p o l i t i c a l " o f fe n se ,

f o r w hich e x t r a d i t io n canno t be o rd e re d ,

P erez Jim enez rem ained in j a i l u n t i l A ugust, 1963,

when he was flown to V enezuela to s tan d t r i a l fo r em bezzle­

m ent, The e x t r a d i t io n t r e a ty , which p ro h ib i te d t r i a l on

charges o th e r th a n th o se encompassed by th e e x t r a d i t io n

o rd e r , re q u ire d th a t V enezuela d ism iss th e o th e r c h a rg e s .

The e x - d ic ta to r rem ained in p r is o n u n t i l A p ril, 1965, when

he f i n a l l y was b rough t to t r i a l , fa c in g a maximum o f19t h i r t e e n y e a r s im prisonm ent upon c o n v ic tio n .

The f a t e o f th e d i c t a t o r may w e ll se rv e as a s te r n

le s so n to members o f th e armed fo rc e s who have a s p ir a t io n s

s im ila r to th o se he had. In any even t one may hope th a t

V enezuela w i l l never ag a in ex p e rien ce a trag e d y such as

th a t v i s i t e d upon i t by Marcos P erez Jim enez,

19, "P erez Jim enez1s Day in C o u rt," Time. A p ril 16, 1965, p , 40, . . - ,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

P u b lic Documents

U nited N a tio n s3 Bureau o f S o c ia l A f f a i r s 0 R eport on th e World S o c ia l S i tu a t io n (E/CN05 / 3 2 4 / ^ C T r W ^ 3 3 ) , New York, 1 9 5 7 T

o D epartm ent o f Economic A f f a i r s , F o re ig n C a p ita l in L a tin America (E/CN.12/360; -ST/ICA/28) New York, 1955,

“TST/ECA/Ser, 1 /1 ) , New York, 1951<

, Economic Commission fo r L a tin America, Economic B u l le t in fo r L a tin America, ? (March, 1966), 2 1 -6 l0

Economiclev, 1 ) , Mexico, 1959,

S t a t i s t i c a l O ff ic e , The Growth o f World In d u s try ,1938-1961 (ST/STAT/Ser. P72TI New York, 1963.

U, S, House o f R e p re s e n ta tiv e s , Committee on F o re ig n• A f f a i r s , H earings on th e Mutual S e c u r ity Act o f , 1957, 8 5 th Cong,, 1 s t S e s s , , 1957,

U, S, S enate , Committee on F o re ig n R e la t io n s , U nited S ta te s - L a tin American R e la t io n s , R eport No, 125, 86 th Cong,, 2d S e s s , , I960 ,

Books

A lexander, R obert J , NewB runsw ick ,.N , J , s R utgers U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1957«

The V enezuelan D em ocratic R e v o lu tio n , NewBrunswick, N, J , s R utgers U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1964c

151

152

A llen , R obert Lt S o v ie t Inflm ence in L a tin Americas The >mie R e la t io n s , Washingtons P u b lic

A ffa irs P re s s , 1959,

A rc ln ie g a s , Germmi0 The S ta te o f L a tin &Aerlca« T ran s­la te d by H a r r ie t Be OniSe New Yorks A lfred A, Knopf Coo9 19520 •

Benham, F re d e r ic C0$ and H o lley , H0 A0 -A: S hort In troducitJ to th e Economy o f . L a t in America. Londons Oxford U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1960o

B e rn s te in , H arrye V enezuela and Colombia*(The Modern N ations in H is to r ic a l P e rs p e c tiv e , Noa S-605) Englewood C l i f f s , N0 Jo t P r e n t ic e -H a l l , I n e 0,1964.

B e tan c o u rt, Romulo = Veneznelas P o l i t i c a v P e t r o le o . Mexicos Fondo de G m ltura Economica, 19560

y * ' S_____ Romulo B etancourts P o s ic io n v D o c tr in a . 2d edo r e v is e d .. C aracas % E d i to r ia l C o r d i l le r a , 1959,

B u itro n , A nfbal. Causas y e fe c to s d e l exodo r u r a l enWashingtons Pan American Union, 1955.

C o n sid in e , John J . N e w ______ ___Yorks Dodd, Mead & C o., 1958,

New

Dubois, J u l e s ,in Latirx J

_________ The Communist C onspiracyU.o lew Yorks W alker & C o ., 1963.

Dupouy, W alte r. La c la s e media en V enezuela. V ol. V. o f M a te r ia le s p a ra e l e s tu d io de l a c la se ,America L a t in a . E d ited by Theo Crevenna. tons Pan American Union, 1951.

Fagg, John E. L a tin Americas Macmillan C o., 1963.

Fanning, Leonard M.

Washing

New York

Yorks McGraw-Hill P u b lish in g C o., 1955.

H i l l , George W, V enezuela. Carac as IE d i t o r i a l - V argas, 1958<

I n te r n a t io n a l Bank fo r R e c o n s tru c tio n and D evelopm ent.The Economic Development o f V enezuela. B altim ores Johns H opk ins^U niversity P re s s , 1961.

153

Jam ess P re s to n E0 L a tin America. 3d ed„ rev ised * Hew York; The Odyssey P r e s s 9 19590

Johnson, John J* The M il i ta ry and S o c ie ty in L a tinJp>egic.a» S tan fo rd ; S tan fo rd U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1964*

Lieuwen, Edwin* P etro leum in V enezuela . B erkeley ; U n iv e rs ity o f C a l i f o r n ia P re s s , 1954*

V eneztielao London; Oxford U n iv e rs ity P re s s ,1961, . .

Luzardo, R odolfo* H otas h is to r ic o -e c o n o m ic a s . 1928-1963* C aracas; E d i to r ia l 'Sucre, '.1963.

MacDonald, A u stin F* L a tin American P o l i t i c s and Govern­m ent* 2d edo rev ised * New York; Thomas Y0 Crow ell C o,, 1954,

Marquez, Ponpeyo, J H acia donde va e l 23 de enero?C aracas; Pensamient© Vivo, 1959,

M arsland, W illiam D, and Any L, V enezuela Through I t sH is to ry , New York; Thomas Y. C row ell C o,, 1954,

Mecham, J , L loyd, The U nited S ta te s and In te r-A m ericanS e c u r ity , 1889-1960, A ustin : U n iv e rs ity o f Texas P re s s , 196I*

M e r r i l l , John C, A Handbook o f th e F o re ign P r e s s , Baton Rouge: L o u is ia n a S ta te U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1959,

Mumro, Dana G, The L a tin American R e p u b lic s , 3d ed , - r e v is e d , . London; E arrap & Sons, 1961,

N eed ier, M artin G, L a tin American P o l i t i c s in P e r s p e c t iv e , P r in c e to n , N, J , : D* Van N ostrand C o,, 1963,

« (E d ,) P o l i t i c a l Systems o f L a tin Am erica,P r in c e to n , N, J , ; D, Van N ostrand -C o ,, 1964,

P e a s le e , Ams J , Const i t u t io n s o f N at io n s «, V ol, I I I , 2d ed , r e v is e d . The Hague; M artinus N ijh o f f , 1956,

Pepper, B ,, Jo se V ice n te , R econstruce ion in te g r a l de V enezuela, V a len c ia , V enezuela: E d i to r ia l A borigen, 1953,

P ico n , S a la s , M ariano, e t al* V enezuela In d e u e n d le n te , 1810-1960. C aracas: Fundacion Eugenio Mendoza,1962,

154

P o b le te Troncosos, t o i s e s , and B u rn e tt9 Ben G0 The R ise o f th e L a tin American Labor Movement, Hew Yorks Bookman A sso c ia te s , 1960o

Poppinos R o l l ie E0 I n te r n a t io n a lAmericas A H is to ry o f th e SW emeht. 1917=1963. Londons The- F ree P re s s o f G lencoe, 19640

5 C a r l , e t a l . The F is c a l System o f V enezuela. B a ltim o re : Johns Hopkins U n iv e rs ity P re s s , 1959<,

S to k es9 W illiam S0 L a tin American P o l i t i c s . Hew YorksThomas Y„ C row ell Co0s 1959

S zu lc . Tad<. H olt & Coo's 1959

Hew Yorks Henry

............. « The Winds o f R e v o lu tio n . (The P ra eg e rContemporary World S e r ie s g Hoe 9 C) Hew Yorks F re d e r ic k K P ra e g e r , 1963 0

T ay lo rs Wayne C0s and Lindeman, Johno The C reo le P etro leum Coroo r a t i o n in V enezuela Washingtons H a tio n a l P lan n in g A sso c ia tio n , 19550

T e ie h e r t , P ed ro 0 Economic P o lic y R e so lu tio n andI n d u s t r i a l i z a t io n in L a t in America. Oxfords U n iv e rs ity o f M is s is s ip p i P re s s , 1959„

W ilgus, A0 C u rtiso (Eda) The C aribbean : Contem poraryE d u ca tio n . (The C aribbean C onference S e r ie s , Vol

C a in e s v il le s U n iv e rs ity o f F lo r id a P re s s ,

H is to ry . (The C aribbean C onference S e r ie s , ?ol® X II I0) G a in e s v il le : U n iv e rs ity o f F lo r id a P re s s , 1963e

A r t ic le s and P e r io d ic a ls

Avendano, Hernako 85Some A spects o f P etro leum Trade andP ro d u c tio n in V en ezu e la ,11 In te r-A m erican Economic

V II (S p rin g , 1954), 78 -90c

B astos de A v ila , Fernandoo "The F u tu re o f Im m igration to South A m erica," I n te r n a t io n a l Labour Review. LXXVI ( J u ly , .1957), 40^43» - - . .

uB u ild ing Workers in Venezuela^ n I n te r n a t io n a l Labour Review, LV III (A ugust, 1948), 245-46^

C outsoum ariss George* “P o lic y O b jec tiv e s in L a tin American Land Reform, W ith S p ec ia l R eference to V en ezu e la ,81 I n t e r =American Economic A f f a i r s . XVI (Autumn, 1962) 25=40 * • -

C r is ts Raymond E„ “Along th e L lan o s- Aides B order in V enezuela; Then and Now.n G eograph ical Review.XLVI ( % r i l , 1956), 187=208*

“G radual E x ten sio n o f S o c ia l In su ra n ce Schemes in L a t in American C o u n t r i e s I n te r n a t io n a l Labour Review. LXXVIII (Septem ber, ,1958) , *257-83, -

H i l l , George W*, and B e ltra n , G regorio* “Land S e ttlem e n t in V enezuela; - W ith E sp e c ia l R eference to th e Turen P r o j e c t , 18 R ural S ocio logy . KVII (Septem ber, 1952), 229-36* .

H ispan ic American R ep o rt* Vols* I-X I, 1948-1958*

K antor, Harry* “The Development o f Accion D eim cra tica de V en ezu e la ,11 Jo u rn a l o f In te r -A u e r le a n S tu d ie s . I (A p r il , 1959), 237=51* -

L o tt , Leo B» “The 1952 V enezuelan E le c tio n s ; A Lesson fo r - 1957 ,“ . W estern P o l i t i c a l Q u a r te r ly , X ( Septem ber,

1957), 541-58*

Times. .1945=1962,

“P erez Jim eneze s Day in C o u r t ,11 Time* A p ril 16, 1965, p* 40

Rayburn, John C* “R a il T ra n s p o r ta tio n in V enezuela,1835-1955,'? In te r-A m erican Economic A f f a i r s . X (S p rin g , 1957), 23-46*

S erx n er, S tan ley J* “Aceion D em ocratica o f V enezuela; I t s O rig in and D evelopm ent,11 L a tin American Bttnographs* IX, 1959, 1-26* . -

“ S k ipper o f th e D ream boat,“ Time* F ebruary 28, 1955, pp*22=29* , . .

V io lie h , F rancis* “C aracas Face L i f t i n g , “ An e r i c a s * 111(A p r il , 1951), 40-42* . . . . . .

W ashington, S* W alter* “S tuden t P o l i t i c s i n L a tin America;The V enezuelan Exam ple,11 F o re ign A ffa irs* XXXVI(A p r i l , 1959), 463=73, . -

156Pam phlets

Alexamder, R obert J 0 Labotar Movements in L a tin A-nerica, London; Fabian- P u b lic a t Lons 8 1947»

I n te r n a t io n a l Labotar O ff ic e . Freedom o f A sso c ia tio n and C o n d itio n s o f Work in V enezuela . (S tu d ie s and ” R ep o rts ; Hew S e r ie s s Ho. 2iTT* Geneva; La T ribune de Geneves 1950.

, ... . . Freedom o f A sso c ia tio n and C o n d itio n s o f WorkIn V enezuela: - O bservations o f th e Government o f V enezuela on th e R eport o f th e I n te r n a t io n a l Labour O ffic e H iss Io n a , (S tu d ie s and R e p o rts : Hew Series,- Ho o 214 .) Geneva: A tar, 1951.

■....... _ . The Cost o f H edical C a ren (S tu d ie s andR ep o rts : Hew S e r ie s 9 Ho. 5 1 .) Geneva: La T ribune de Geneve9 1959. -

Sanches, George I . The Development o f E duca tion inV enezuela. (H. S. O ffic e o f E ducation B u l le t in No. 7 .) W ashington, B. C .: Government P r in t in g O ffic e , 1963. ,