546:. In power, López Contreras allowed the pardo masses to vent for a few days before clamping down. He had Gómez's properties confiscated by the state, but the dictator's relatives, with some exceptions who left the country, were not harassed. Gómez never married but he had various illegitimate children. Initially, López Contreras permitted political parties to come into the open, but they tended to become rambunctious and he proscribed them, although he did not use strong repressive means (which weren't necessary anyway) as the politicians that led them, called in Venezuelan historiography the "1928 Generation", did not yet have large popular followings. One of the reasons for this hard stance was that, during his first year as president, López Contreras was faced with a labor strike which paralyzed the oil industry in
506:
to the oil companies were hammered out between the government and
American lawyers. The laws were relatively lenient, but Gómez, who had an acute business sense, understood that it was necessary to create incentives for investors in the Venezuelan oil fields, some of which were very accessible but others were deep in jungles. Oil income allowed Gómez to expand Venezuela's rudimentary infrastructure and the overall impact of the oil industry on Venezuela was a modernizing trend in the areas where it operated. But in a wider sense, the Venezuelan people, except for those who worked for the oil companies and lived badly but had a steady income, benefited little or not all from the country's oil riches.
478:
exploration and exploitation, and Gómez established the concessionary system. Venezuela had inherited from Spain the law that the ground surface—presumably, as deep as a plow or a water well went—could belong to individuals but everything under the soil was state property. Thus, Gómez began to grant huge concessions to family and friends. Any one who was close to Gómez eventually would become rich in one way or another. Gómez himself accumulated immense expanses of grasslands for cattle-raising, which had been his original occupation and was a lifelong passion. The
Venezuelan concessionaires leased or sold their holdings to the highest foreign bidders. Gómez, who didn't trust industrial workers or
451:), they were arrested but were soon released. But Gómez was indeed ruthless in throttling all opposition and he allowed a personality cult, but this was as much his doing as that of his sycophants, who were numerous all over Venezuela. Gómez, unlike Guzmán Blanco, never erected a statue of himself anywhere in Venezuela. He was a stickler for legal formalisms, which in essence meant that he introduced new constitutions any time it suited his political ends, although this was also the rule during the 19th century. During his dictatorship, Gómez appointed two figurehead presidents while he kept a tight hold on the armed forces from
557:, received orders to make a report of the situation, which confirmed the workers’ grievances. He also had instructions to declare the strike illegal, (which he did). Government forces made the workers return to their jobs, although after that incident the oil companies did start taking serious initiatives to improve conditions for Venezuelan workers. Among the notable goals of López Contreras was a campaign to eradicate malaria in the llanos. This task was finally accomplished during the following presidency through the use of
42:
619:
596:, a union leader who supported Medina's step-by-step approach and for a time was allied to one of the Machado brothers. Under Medina there was an indirect democracy, which followed the 19th century custom of elections at the municipal council level. But Medina was committed to a still restricted but wider national democratic election. For that he had officialdom in all the Venezuelan states form a pro-government party named Partido Democratico Venezolana or PDV (
366:
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502:. Although the Venezuelan oil boom started around 1918, the year when oil first figured as an export commodity, it took off when an oil well called Barroso blew a 200-foot (60 m) spout that threw up an average of the equivalent to 100,000 barrels a day. It took five days to bring the flow under control. By 1927, oil was Venezuela's most valuable export and by 1929 Venezuela exported more oil than any other country in the world.
439:
telegraphic system. Under these circumstances, the possibility of caudillo uprisings was curtailed. The only armed threat against Gómez came from a disaffected former business partner to whom he had given a monopoly on all maritime and riverine commerce. Although there are many tales of Gómez's cruelty and ruthlessness, they are mostly exaggerations by his enemies. The man who had tried to overthrow him,
522:, who published a book claiming not inaccurately that the Venezuelan War of Independence was really a civil war with the dubious added argument that pardos were a menace to public order and Venezuela could only subsist as a nation ruled by white strongmen. Gómez, for instance, prohibited all immigration from black Caribbean islands. Even though Venezuela's population in his time was 80%
526:, passports, which were first issued under Gómez, identified carriers by the color of skin, which they still did until the 1980s. Venezuela did change considerably under Gómez. It had radio stations in all the important cities. There existed an incipient middle class. But it still had only two or three universities. An estimated 90% of families formed through
505:
It has been said that Gómez did not tax the oil companies and that
Venezuela did not benefit from oil production, but this is only a half-truth. The Venezuelan government derived considerable income from the concessions and from taxes of one sort of another, but the original fiscal laws which applied
438:
One of Gómez's first measures was to start canceling outstanding
Venezuelan international debts, a goal which was soon achieved. Under Gómez, Venezuela acquired all the appurtenances of a regular national army staffed and officered almost entirely by Andeans. At the time, the country had a widespread
509:
Gómez took power in a very poor illiterate country. The white/pardos social divide was still very much in place. When Gómez died in his bed in 1935, Venezuela was still a poor illiterate country and if anything the social stratification had been accentuated. The population had grown from perhaps one
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in charge. Castro had not gone further than the outer
Antilles when Gómez took over the government and forbade Castro from returning. This was the beginning of a regime that lasted until 1935 and is interwoven with the early development of the oil industry, the greatest influence ever on the history
572:
in
Venezuela is rather complex, but a brief overview is that communism never sunk roots in Venezuela and its impact on mainstream politics was minimal. López Contreras tried to create a political movement called Cruzadas Cívicas Bolivarianas (Civic Bolivarian Crusades), but it did not pan out, for
477:
had formed naturally. Venezuelans themselves had tried to extract oil for a small hand-pumped refinery early in the 20th century. When word spread internationally of
Venezuela's oil potential, representatives of large foreign companies came to the country and started lobbying for rights of
542:, succeeded him: a tall, thin, disciplined soldier with a solid education. Before arriving at his post, he served the Gomecista government loyally wherever he was sent, including at one time Venezuela's eastern land's end, a village called Cristobal Colón, across from
588:, who in many ways made a strong foil to his predecessor. He was stout and good natured and did not make excessive demands on himself. Medina Angarita legalized all political parties, including the divided
660:
There was no particular incident that set off the bloodless 1948 coup, which was led by
Delgado Chalbaud. There was no popular opposition. This might have meant that the odds were too great or that the
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After a vote in the same congress for the 1941–1946 term, López
Contreras handed power to his war minister and personal friend, the Andean general
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overtones. Constitutionally, López
Contreras finished Gómez's last term and in 1936 he was elected by the docile congress for the term ending in 1941.
455:, his favorite city, west of Caracas, which he embellished and made the main Venezuelan garrison, a status which it retained until at least the 1960s.
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443:, spent fourteen years in jail. He later claimed that he was in ball and chains during all that time, but he was released by Gómez. His son,
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695:. These were free enough to produce results unacceptable to the government, leading them to be falsified, and to one of the three leaders,
333:
530:. The social progress that did take place was through a spontaneous trend towards modernization in which oil played the central role.
592:: some were hard-line, such as the Machado brothers of a traditional Caracas family; and others, gradualists or conciliatory, led by
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It did not take much geological expertise to know that Venezuela had large petroleum deposits, because the petroleum oozed out from
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masses had not noticed any particular improvement in their lives despite the incessant government propaganda. All prominent
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447:, would later become president of Venezuela. When university students staged a street demonstration in 1928 (
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was a three-year period in Venezuelan history, from 1945 to 1948, under the government of the popular party
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415:. The period also found the country discover its petroleum deposits, which has had a major effect on the
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state in western Venezuela, whose capital was Maracaibo, where the most productive fields were located.
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saw Democratic Action formally elected to office, but it was removed from office shortly after in the
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whatever he did had the taint of his background as a pillar of the Gómez regime. Even the name "
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691:"), a triumvirate of military personnel controlled the government until 1952, when it held
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led the oil strike: Rodolfo Quintero and the oil worker Jesús Faría. The history of
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ancestry, but he was overtly racist and he was much influenced by a historian,
323:
683:
Venezuela saw ten years of military dictatorship from 1948 to 1958. After the
1421:
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López Contreras had created a labor ministry and his representative there,
773:
Venezuela and the Oil Pioneers: Origin and consolidation of an oil company
618:
578:
490:. The one in Aruba was for a time the second largest in the world, after
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194:
699:, assuming the Presidency. His government was brought to an end by the
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was too sick to be cured in Venezuela and he left for Germany leaving
875:
649:, and held the first democratic elections in Venezuelan history. The
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Juan Vicente Gómez and the oil companies in Venezuela, 1908-1935
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were expelled. The other parties were allowed but muzzled.
499:
558:
775:. Caracas: Public Affairs Dept. of Lagoven, S.A. 1988.
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brought an end a three-year experiment in democracy ("
600:). But the real genius at political organization was
514:
was the greatest killer. Gómez himself probably had
759:
Tyrant of the Andes: The Life of Juan Vicente Gómez
421:
722:El gomecismo y la formación del Ejército Nacional
607:
534:López Contreras and Medina Angarita (1935 - 1945)
1419:
728:] (in Spanish). Editorial Ateneo de Caracas.
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726:Gómecism and the formation of the National Army
411:saw several changes in leadership, including a
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808:(in Spanish). Caracas: Empresa El Cojo.
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465:History of the Venezuelan oil industry
349:Death and state funeral of Hugo Chávez
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826:(in Spanish). Madrid: Editorial J.B.
761:. New York: William Morrow & Co.
740:"Román Delgado Chalbaud: Biografias"
703:which saw the advent of democracy.
641:). The party gained office via the
510:million and a half to two million.
140:American Confederation of Venezuela
13:
14:
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679:History of Venezuela, 1948 - 1958
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651:1947 Venezuelan general election
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1428:History of Venezuela by period
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608:El Trienio Adeco (1945 - 1948)
231:Restorative Liberal Revolution
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824:Temas de historia bolivariana
790:. Cambridge University Press.
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473:all over the country and an
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701:1958 Venezuelan coup d'état
685:1948 Venezuelan coup d'état
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127:Viceroyalty of New Granada
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786:McBeth, Brian S. (1983).
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409:the Republic of Venezuela
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555:Carlos Ramírez MacGregor
520:Laureano Vallenilla Lanz
210:Revindicating Revolution
757:Rourke, Thomas (1936).
577:" was suspect with its
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445:Carlos Delgado Chalbaud
407:Between 1908 and 1958,
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441:Román Delgado Chalbaud
339:2004 recall referendum
334:2002–03 general strike
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720:Ziems, Angel (1979).
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236:Liberating Revolution
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528:common-law marriages
459:The discovery of oil
417:economy of Venezuela
371:Venezuela portal
251:Oil industry history
57:Pre-Columbian period
426:In 1908, President
413:coup d'état in 1948
354:Crisis in Venezuela
215:Legalist Revolution
185:1848–1849 civil war
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133:
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94:
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48:
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35:
29:
28:
23:
18:
17:
1280:21st century
949:20th century
883:19th century
823:
814:
805:
796:
787:
781:
772:
767:
758:
752:
743:
734:
725:
721:
715:
682:
666:
662:
659:
638:
634:
626:
625:
583:
563:
552:
537:
508:
504:
475:asphalt lake
468:
437:
425:
406:
314:
313:
267:
266:
222:
221:
170:
169:
138:
137:
113:
112:
76:
673:1948 - 1958
195:Federal War
172:Caudillismo
31:History of
1422:Categories
707:References
590:communists
566:communists
516:Amerindian
287:Carupanazo
49:Chronology
876:Venezuela
292:Porteñazo
277:1958 coup
246:1908 coup
115:New Spain
72:1830–1908
62:1522–1821
33:Venezuela
890:Pre-1800
822:(1954).
804:(1919).
579:clerical
575:crusades
544:Trinidad
297:Caracazo
22:a series
20:Part of
570:Marxism
512:Malaria
492:the one
488:Curaçao
453:Maracay
98:present
91:1953–99
83:1948–58
77:1908–58
67:1821–30
667:adecos
639:adecos
496:Abadan
480:unions
107:Topics
24:on the
971:1930s
966:1920s
961:1910s
956:1900s
940:1890s
935:1880s
930:1870s
925:1860s
920:1850s
915:1840s
910:1830s
905:1820s
900:1810s
895:1800s
872:Years
724:[
663:pardo
548:Zulia
524:pardo
484:Aruba
471:seeps
96:1999–
1407:2024
1402:2023
1397:2022
1392:2021
1387:2020
1382:2019
1377:2018
1372:2017
1367:2016
1362:2015
1357:2014
1352:2013
1347:2012
1342:2011
1337:2010
1332:2009
1327:2008
1322:2007
1317:2006
1312:2005
1307:2004
1302:2003
1297:2002
1292:2001
1287:2000
1271:1999
1266:1998
1261:1997
1256:1996
1251:1995
1246:1994
1241:1993
1236:1992
1231:1991
1226:1990
1221:1989
1216:1988
1211:1987
1206:1986
1201:1985
1196:1984
1191:1983
1186:1982
1181:1981
1176:1980
1171:1979
1166:1978
1161:1977
1156:1976
1151:1975
1146:1974
1141:1973
1136:1972
1131:1971
1126:1970
1121:1969
1116:1968
1111:1967
1106:1966
1101:1965
1096:1964
1091:1963
1086:1962
1081:1961
1076:1960
1071:1959
1066:1958
1061:1957
1056:1956
1051:1955
1046:1954
1041:1953
1036:1952
1031:1951
1026:1950
1021:1949
1016:1948
1011:1947
1006:1946
1001:1945
996:1944
991:1943
986:1942
981:1941
976:1940
564:Two
500:Iran
486:and
874:in
559:DDT
494:in
1424::
742:.
657:.
561:.
498:,
857:e
850:t
843:v
633:(
396:e
389:t
382:v
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