Tomás Straka - Historical Dictionary of Venezuela

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Brief AZ entries describe the main people, events, politics, social issues, institutions, and policies that make the topic unique, and entries are cross-referenced for ease of browsing. Extensive bibliographies are divided into several general subject areas, providing excellent access points for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more. Additionally, maps, photographs, and appendixes of supplemental information aid high school and college students doing term papers or introductory research projects. In short, the historical dictionaries are the perfect starting point for anyone looking to research in these fields.

HISTORICAL DICTIONARIES OF THE AMERICAS

Jon Woronoff, Series Editor

Costa Rica , 2nd ed., by Theodore S. Creedman. 1991.

Honduras , 2nd ed., by Harvey K. Meyer and Jessie H. Meyer. 1994.

Trinidad and Tobago , by Michael Anthony. 1997.

Cuba , 2nd ed., by Jaime Suchlicki. 2001.

Mexico , 2nd ed., by Marvin lisky. 2008.

Haiti , by Michael R. Hall. 2012.

Colombia , by Harvey F. Kline. 2012.

Panama , by Thomas M. Leonard. 2015.

Dominican Republic , by Eric Paul Roorda. 2016.

El Salvador , by Orlando J. Perez. 2016.

Chile , 4th ed., by Salvatore Bizzarro. 2017.

Peru , by Peter F. Klarn. 2017.

Venezuela , 3rd ed. by Toms Straka, Guillermo Guzmn Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cceres. 2018.

Historical Dictionary of Venezuela

Third Edition

Toms Straka, Guillermo Guzmn Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cceres

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

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Copyright 2018 by Toms Straka, Guillermo Guzmn Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cceres

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Straka, Toms, 1972, author. | Guzmn Mirabal, Guillermo, 1967 | Cceres, Alejandro E., 1998

Title: Historical dictionary of Venezuela / Toms Straka, Guillermo Guzmn Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cceres.

Description: Third edition. | Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. | Series: Historical dictionaries of the Americas | Includes bibliographical references. | Revision of: Rudolph, Donna Keyse, 1934. Historical dictionary of Venezuela, 2nd edition, ?1996.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017033067 (print) | LCCN 2017033978 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538109502 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538109496 (hardcover : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: VenezuelaHistoryDictionaries.

Classification: LCC F2304 (ebook) | LCC F2304 .S77 2017 (print) | DDC 987.003dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017033067

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Editors Foreword

Venezuela was colonized in 1522 and remained a Spanish colony until 1811, when it became independent, although it was not a country of its own until 1830. Conditions during Spanish rule were not particularly good, at least not for the decreasing indigenous population, or the blacks, or the whites who were not well off. And it has only improved, for some at least, in fits and starts during the two centuries since then. Indeed, every time things looked good, something happened to upset most plans. The most recent ups and downs came in a relatively brief period of democracy, interrupted by the coming of a military man as ruler (although not in a coup), namely Hugo Chvez, who was fine as long as the oil price was high, because Venezuela has more oil reserves than any other country, but harder to bear with when the price dropped sharply. After Chvez, with his admitted charm and appeal to part of the population, there was his assistant, Nicolas Maduro, less charming, less talented, and without enough money to solve all problems and make everyone happy. Thus, there has been a growing opposition, put down by force, but for how long? What comes next? That is anybodys guess.

Obviously, it will be easier to guessalthough in Venezuela nothing is ever certainthanks to this wonderful Historical Dictionary of Venezuela . It is big, bigger than most volumes in this series and most other sources, and packed with useful information on people, places, institutions, and events. It also has a long and admittedly complicated chronology as well as a list of acronyms without which it is hard to even read about the country. The introduction sums things up nicely and will be especially useful for newcomers. Then there is a large and well-organized bibliography, of items in English and Spanish, pointing to other sources of information. Admittedly, it does not have everything one could want, but it comes very close to that, and there is no real competition elsewhere. So do read about the past and into the present although, as said, the future is anybodys guess and now more so than at most times.

This volume was written not by one specialist but three. They are all related to the Universidad Catlica Andrs Bello of Caracas and have somewhat different backgrounds and orientations in order to cover the ground more thoroughly. Guillermo Guzmn Mirabal is specialized in contemporary and business history. Alejandro E. Caceres teaches postgraduate courses on business and economic history. And Toms Straka is a professor of history and politics as well as an author and columnist and a member of the National Academy of History. Between them they have covered what is a pretty big country, with a population of 31 million, still with access to a lot of oil and with many hardworking and talented people whoif they finally get things rightcould turn Venezuela into a real powerhouse. Let us therefore hope that the next turn is upward.

Jon Woronoff

Series Editor

Acknowledgments

Every book is the result of a collective effort, especially a book with the characteristics and size of this dictionary. Since the first moment, we had the enthusiastic support of colleagues, friends, and family who helped us in the tasks of seeking and processing information; choosing, amid the ocean of possibilities, the entries that were relevant to include; and even reviewing the English language, which is not the mother tongue of any of the three authors. In this sense, we cannot fail to express our gratitude to our colleague Professor Omar Osorio Amoretti of Universidad Simn Bolvar of Caracas, who on several occasions was able to provide valuable help in gathering data; to our colleague Professor Mara Soledad Hernndez of the Universidad Catlica Andrs Bello, who made a significant contribution by putting us on the right track in many respects; to our talented and resourceful assistants Jessica Guilln, Daniela Moreno, Mercedes Sosa, Yrngela Lavorgna, Abraham Salazar, and Juan Fernando Bernardinelli, who provided effective support in many ways; and to Professor Esther Mobilia of Universidad Central de Venezuela, whose permanent assistance was key to getting this work finished on time and in the quality required. Last but not least, we cannot leave out our editor, Jon Woronoff, whose patience and genuine consideration in the face of delays will be always a reason for gratitude. In the same way, his systematic indications allowed us to give form to the manuscript that became this present volume. To all of them, thank you very much.