Rafael Caldera
Encyclopedia
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez (rafaˈel an̪ˈtonjo kalˈdeɾa roˈðɾiɣes; 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009) was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.
Caldera taught sociology
and law
at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI
, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party. He first ran for president unsuccessfully in 1947 and tried again every time it was possible until finally succeeding in 1968, winning by a relatively scant 33,000 votes against a recently divided Acción Democrática party. When he was sworn into office in 1969, it marked the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in Venezuela's history. During his first presidency, Caldera was able to pacify the country by granting an amnesty that allowed guerrilla fighters, who had been operating clandestinely for almost a decade, to reincorporate them to society and participate in politics.
In 1993, Caldera split from COPEI
, the party he had founded, to form a new political party, Convergence
, which, supported by a coalition of many small leftist parties: (MAS
, MEP
, PCV) as well as some centre-right parties (URD, MIN), raised Caldera to the presidency in December 1993. This was a fatal blow to the traditional parties which, leaderless and demoralized, garnered few votes in the election. He won a very narrow victory in that year's presidential election. During his second presidential period, he pardoned Hugo Chávez
, who eventually went on to succeed him in 1999.
. His parents were Tomás Rafael Caldera Izaguirre and Rosa Sofía Rodriguez Rivero. Orphaned at a young age, he was adopted by his aunt Maria Eva Rodriguez Rivero, who was married to lawyer Tomás Liscano, and became part of a wealthy Venezuelan Roman Catholic family. He married Alicia Pietri de Caldera (granddaughter of Juan Pietri, and first-cousins with Arturo Uslar Pietri
and Andres Boulton Pietri) in 1941 with whom he had six children: Mireya, Juan José, Rafael Tomás, Alicia Helena, Cecilia, and Andrés Antonio Caldera Pietri.
Caldera attended elementary school in San Felipe 1921–1922, entered San Ignacio school of the Society of Jesus
in Caracas 1923–1925, in 1926 returned to Yaracuy studying at Padre Delgado school, and secondary education again in Caracas (San Ignacio school) 1927–1931, made his superior studies in this city, at the Central University of Venezuela
(UCV) 1931–1938, obtained a doctorate in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, later was professor of sociology and law in several universities including the UCV, where he was a student leader, which took him into the political world.
Due to his education, Caldera was fluent in languages including French, English, Italian, while being somewhat fluent in German and Portuguese. Caldera was also a leading student on the 19th century humanist and educator Andrés Bello
and wrote multiple books on politics, literature and Christian Democracy
, and was a member of the Venezuelan Academy of the Language
. As such, one of his achievements is the acceptance of millardo ("milliard", 109) by the Royal Spanish Academy in 1995 as an alternative to mil millones (in English: one billion).
Caldera participated in educative and political circles, like the direction of the Venezuelan Institute of Labor rights (1958–1966) and the presidencies of the Venezuelan Association of Sociology (1958–1967), the Christian Democratic Organization of Latin America (1964–1968) and the Worldwide Christian Democratic Union (1967–1968).
Caldera was never judged by his participation on Operation Condor, even though the operation started in Caracas on September 3 1973
on January 13, 1946, with Caldera becoming known as a co-founder of the party. Caldera stood as COPEI's candidate in the 1947 presidential elections
, being defeated by the Acción Democrática (AD) candidate, writer Rómulo Gallegos
. Gallegos was overthrown a few months later by a military junta, headed by Carlos Delgado Chalbaud
, who was later succeeded by the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
.
After the overthrow of Pérez Jiménez and the consequent constitution of a provisional government headed by Wolfgang Larrazábal
in 1958, Caldera was elected Solicitor General of Venezuela, but left this position, to participate in the 1958 Presidential Elections, which were won by Rómulo Betancourt
of Acción Democrática. Nevertheless, Caldera had much influence as a leader in his political party, which was the third strongest political force in the country at the time. Together with Betancourt, Jóvito Villalba
, leader and founder of Unión Republicana Democrática (URD), and other political leaders, he elaborated and signed the Punto Fijo Pact
, (named after Caldera's house, which was the site chosen by the leaders to sign the document). Supporters of the pact claimed that it provided the basis of a democratic coexistence which would hold for the next 40 years, laying the foundations for principles such as free and transparent elections, respect for electoral results, the conformation of checks and balances for the branches of the government, with representation of independent political forces, and the application by those governments of a Common Minimum Program that guaranteed the democratic viability and the development of the country with the due internal consensus.
Caldera was COPEI's unsuccessful candidate for president again in 1963. However, he won the 1968 elections, and was sworn in as president on 11 March 1969. It was the first time in Venezuela's 139 years of independence that an incumbent government peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition. However, COPEI still had a minority in the legislature.
Caldera's first government emphasized the end of the Betancourt doctrine, which denied Venezuelan diplomatic recognition to any regime, right or left, that came to power by military force. Caldera broke the isolation of Venezuela with the rest of Latin America
, recognized the military governments of the region, and made a policy in defense of the insular territories, and the Gulf of Venezuela, and signed the Port of Spain
Protocol with Guyana
, which concerned the Guayana Esequiba
. The president's economic policies were notable for the reinforcement of the power of the employer's association Fedecámaras, and the period of North American economic crisis, that also characterized the first term of Richard Nixon
, with low oil prices, which caused the economic growth of Venezuela to stagnate. Caldera also presided over a period of pacification of the country, making a ceasefire with the left armed groups, which were then integrated into the political life, and legalising the Communist Party of Venezuela
in spite of the opposition of Acción Democrática.
Caldera also reformed the 1961 Constitution to remove a ban on election to public office for people who had been sentenced to more than three years in prison, which had been specifically designed to politically disqualify General Marcos Pérez Jiménez
, by means of its retroactive application. Caldera closed the Industrial Technical School permanently, and the Central University of Venezuela
for two years, due to student protests against his government. On 9 December 1970, Rafael Caldera created the Great Marshal of Ayacucho Institute of National Higher Defence Studies (IAEDEN), to further the development of a state security perspective, and to contribute to the defence culture of the nation.
Caldera, who raised the tax on the rent to the oil companies to 60 percent, initiated the construction of El Tablazo petrochemical complex, in Zulia State. He also inaugurated the Poliedro de Caracas
, and the Miguel Pérez Carreño Hospital in Caracas, and concluded the demarcation of borders with Brazil
. Rafael Caldera ended his first term as president on 12 March 1974, and was replaced by Carlos Andrés Pérez
, from Acción Democrática, who won the 1973 elections.
The government was reported to have an attitude of ideological pluralism and dialogue across the political spectrum, entered into talks with the armed groups, legalized leftist parties and released jailed politicians, demanding only that they stay within Venezuelan law. However, on 3 October 1970, the administration of President Rafael Caldera ordered the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) to be raided by the military and Rector Jesús María Bianco was forced to resign. The University reopened in 1971 with a new Rector and a new plan for renovation. Media was prevented from reporting too many details about the students who were massacred during the raid.
As result from this violent-means effort, by the end of Caldera's presidency, for the first time in many years, no significant political organization in Venezuela planned to threaten the ruling class by attempting to take control of the government by violent means. At the 1973 elections, leaders of the old guerrilla movements who had not died or disappeared and had negotiated with the AD-COPEI consensus, were elected as senators and deputies.
of Acción Democrática. In 1987 stood for the COPEI nomination for the 1988 presidential election, being defeated by Eduardo Fernández. In 1993 he decided to leave COPEI, and participated in the presidential elections of the same year with his new party, known as National Convergence
, with the support of groups which had been his historical opponents, such as the left parties PCV
, MAS
and MEP
.
Caldera won his second term as president in February 1994 – a win with its roots in his speech to the National Congress on 4 February 1992, the date of the first coup d'état against the second government of Carlos Andrés Pérez
. His tacit support to the Caracazo
in 1989, the 1992 coup attempts, and the opposition to the neoliberal economic reforms pursued by Pérez in his second term, mark the beginning of Caldera's return to the presidency for a second term. Caldera won with around 30% of the votes, followed very closely by three other candidates, but the abstention rate was 39.84%.
at the Ministry of the Central Office of Coordination and Planning, and Pompeyo Márquez
at the Border Ministry, as well as some independents in other ministries. In any case the support of the MAS and other parties were fundamental to approve some laws in the National Congress in his first years of government, due to his own party having few seats in Congress. On 18 December 1994 he inaugurated the Plaza Venezuela – El Valle section of the Caracas Metro
which had been initiated by previous governments. In 1996, he received Pope John Paul II on his second visit to Venezuela, when he blessed the prisoners of the Catia Prison, on the west side of Caracas (After this visit, the building was demolished). On 12 October 1997 he received U.S. President Bill Clinton
, in November of the same year Margarita Island
hosted the Seventh Ibero-American Conference. In June 1998, the Inaugural meeting of the XXVIII General Assembly of the Organization of American States
was held in Caracas.
In the first year of his second presidency, Caldera was faced with a major financial crisis (Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
) that began with the failure of Banco Latino
during the acting presidency of Ramón José Velásquez
, continued with the failure of more than ten banks, and culminated with the loss of deposits. Necessary financial aid granted by the government to the banks curtailed government spending in other areas, affecting thousands of people and creating a serious imbalance in the Venezuelan economy.
The confidence and credibility of Venezuelans and foreigners at the financial institutions were affected seriously. More than seventy thousand medium and small companies went bankrupt, fundamentally due to the exchange rate regime imposed by the government, which made it difficult to obtain the currency to acquire intermediate goods. The prices of food, clothes and transport rose without control, impoverishing a greater number of Venezuelans.
Caldera also had to handle a vertiginous inflationary spiral and a parallel reduction of the Forex reserves, employees generously for the support of the bolívar
in front of the U.S. dollar
. On 27 June, he announced the temporary suspension of some constitutional guarantees, fundamentally related to the private property and the free economic activity, to allow control of the exchange market, the banking system and prices by the State. The financial organizations bankrupted by the draining of deposits and those affected by speculative practices went to be adjusted by the State. In fact, the Central Bank of Venezuela announced the suspension of all its transaction in dollars. These economic measures were tolerated by the mass media and the international community
, but not by the Venezuelan people.
Although Caldera promised during his campaign never to accept the help of the International Monetary Fund
, his government had to rescind the vow, due to the economic crisis and bad management. The effect of the interventionist practice on the economy of Venezuela caused Caldera to announce the Agenda Venezuela (Venezuela Agenda) programme, which promised to restore the macroeconomic balance and to beat inflation. He applied measures labeled by his opponents as neoliberal, in agreement with the recommendations of the IMF, that he had previously resisted. The bolívar was devalued by 70%, the exchange rate regime was imposed, fuel prices were increased by 800%, rates of interest were liberalized, and the process of privatization was continued. His program was welcomed by the IMF, but not by the country. Demonstrations and disturbances among the population were frequent.
In 1997, a tripartite commission, consisting of representatives of industrialists, workers and the Government, assumed the reform of the regime of social benefits, and the deep revision of the labor law. The tripartite commission created a system of social benefits that anticipated, among other things, the annual payment and the cease of the labor performance, at the same time, five subsystems of social security with the purpose of improving the Government's activity, at the resolution of the basic problems of the Venezuelan workers.
Also during the second Caldera presidency, the process of Apertura Petrolera began with the purpose of increasing the involvement of the private sector, national and international, in the operation, exploration and refinement of petroleum and natural gas. The worldwide oil market crisis negatively influenced this process.
Due to differences with his coalition partners such as MAS, Caldera looked for the support of AD in Congress. Some AD members entered the Ministerial cabinet.
, under the leadership of Hugo Chávez
, who ultimately, after several years in the political wilderness, won the 1998 presidential elections
. That election saw the comprehensive defeat of Acción Democrática and COPEI
, which had alternated in government for 35 years (from 1959 to 1994), and which now lost their influence on the Venezuela
n political scene.
remained with a single representative in the new unicameral National Assembly until 2005.
His poor health caused by Parkinson's disease
forced him to retire from politics during his last years. Caldera died around 2 a.m. on 24 December 2009 at the age of 93. His son Andrés Caldera announced the death, but did not specify a cause. His funeral was on 26 December 2009, in Caracas
. He was buried the same day.
Caldera taught sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party. He first ran for president unsuccessfully in 1947 and tried again every time it was possible until finally succeeding in 1968, winning by a relatively scant 33,000 votes against a recently divided Acción Democrática party. When he was sworn into office in 1969, it marked the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another in Venezuela's history. During his first presidency, Caldera was able to pacify the country by granting an amnesty that allowed guerrilla fighters, who had been operating clandestinely for almost a decade, to reincorporate them to society and participate in politics.
In 1993, Caldera split from COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
, the party he had founded, to form a new political party, Convergence
National Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
, which, supported by a coalition of many small leftist parties: (MAS
Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)
Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message...
, MEP
People's Electoral Movement
The People's Electoral Movement was a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa...
, PCV) as well as some centre-right parties (URD, MIN), raised Caldera to the presidency in December 1993. This was a fatal blow to the traditional parties which, leaderless and demoralized, garnered few votes in the election. He won a very narrow victory in that year's presidential election. During his second presidential period, he pardoned Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, who eventually went on to succeed him in 1999.
Family and education
Rafael Caldera, was born in San Felipe, YaracuySan Felipe, Yaracuy
San Felipe is the capital of the Venezuelan state of Yaracuy. Former Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera was born there. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Felipe. San Felipe is situated in a rich agricultural region of Western Venezuela...
. His parents were Tomás Rafael Caldera Izaguirre and Rosa Sofía Rodriguez Rivero. Orphaned at a young age, he was adopted by his aunt Maria Eva Rodriguez Rivero, who was married to lawyer Tomás Liscano, and became part of a wealthy Venezuelan Roman Catholic family. He married Alicia Pietri de Caldera (granddaughter of Juan Pietri, and first-cousins with Arturo Uslar Pietri
Arturo Uslar Pietri
Arturo Uslar Pietri , was a Venezuelan intellectual, lawyer, journalist, writer, television producer and politician.- Life :...
and Andres Boulton Pietri) in 1941 with whom he had six children: Mireya, Juan José, Rafael Tomás, Alicia Helena, Cecilia, and Andrés Antonio Caldera Pietri.
Caldera attended elementary school in San Felipe 1921–1922, entered San Ignacio school of the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in Caracas 1923–1925, in 1926 returned to Yaracuy studying at Padre Delgado school, and secondary education again in Caracas (San Ignacio school) 1927–1931, made his superior studies in this city, at the Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
(UCV) 1931–1938, obtained a doctorate in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, later was professor of sociology and law in several universities including the UCV, where he was a student leader, which took him into the political world.
Due to his education, Caldera was fluent in languages including French, English, Italian, while being somewhat fluent in German and Portuguese. Caldera was also a leading student on the 19th century humanist and educator Andrés Bello
Andrés Bello
Andrés de Jesús María y José Bello López was a Venezuelan humanist, poet, lawmaker, philosopher, educator and philologist, whose political and literary works constitute an important part of Spanish American culture...
and wrote multiple books on politics, literature and Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
, and was a member of the Venezuelan Academy of the Language
Academia Venezolana de la Lengua
The Academia Venezolana de la Lengua is an association of academics and experts on Venezuelan Spanish, the variant of the Spanish language in Venezuela. It was founded in Caracas on July 26, 1883. It is a member of the Association of Spanish Language Academies....
. As such, one of his achievements is the acceptance of millardo ("milliard", 109) by the Royal Spanish Academy in 1995 as an alternative to mil millones (in English: one billion).
Caldera participated in educative and political circles, like the direction of the Venezuelan Institute of Labor rights (1958–1966) and the presidencies of the Venezuelan Association of Sociology (1958–1967), the Christian Democratic Organization of Latin America (1964–1968) and the Worldwide Christian Democratic Union (1967–1968).
Caldera was never judged by his participation on Operation Condor, even though the operation started in Caracas on September 3 1973
Political life
Foundation of several parties, and the beginning of COPEI
Caldera was secretary of the Venezuelan Catholic Youth. In 1936 he participated in the formation of the National Student Union, which on 1 October 1938 became the political party Electoral Action. This party later merged with the National Action Movement, legalized on 2 June 1942, which was one of the groups that formed the social Christian party COPEICOPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
on January 13, 1946, with Caldera becoming known as a co-founder of the party. Caldera stood as COPEI's candidate in the 1947 presidential elections
Venezuelan presidential election, 1947
General elections were held in Venezuela on 14 December 1947. The presidential elections were won by Rómulo Gallegos of Democratic Action, who received 74.3% of the vote, whilst his party won 83 of the 110 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 38 of the 46 seats in the Senate. It was the first...
, being defeated by the Acción Democrática (AD) candidate, writer Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Gallegos
Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history....
. Gallegos was overthrown a few months later by a military junta, headed by Carlos Delgado Chalbaud
Carlos Delgado Chalbaud
Carlos Román Delgado Chalbaud Gómez was a Venezuelan career military officer, and as leader of a military junta was President of Venezuela from 1948 to 1950. By 1945 he was a high-ranking officer and was among the leaders of a military coup which brought to power the mass membership party...
, who was later succeeded by the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
.
Presidential candidate
Wolfgang Larrazábal
Wolfgang Enrique Larrazábal Ugueto , commander of the Venezuelan Navy, became President of Venezuela following the overthrow of Marcos Pérez Jiménez on 23 January 1958....
in 1958, Caldera was elected Solicitor General of Venezuela, but left this position, to participate in the 1958 Presidential Elections, which were won by Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Betancourt
Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...
of Acción Democrática. Nevertheless, Caldera had much influence as a leader in his political party, which was the third strongest political force in the country at the time. Together with Betancourt, Jóvito Villalba
Jóvito Villalba
Jóvito Villalba Gutiérrez , was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician, member of the Generation of 1928, founder of the party URD and signer of the Punto Fijo Pact.-Background:...
, leader and founder of Unión Republicana Democrática (URD), and other political leaders, he elaborated and signed the Punto Fijo Pact
Punto Fijo Pact
Punto Fijo Pact was a formal arrangement arrived at between representatives of Venezuela's three main political parties in 1958: Acción Democrática, COPEI and Unión Republicana Democrática, for the acceptance of the 1958 presidential elections, and the preservation of the rising democratic regime.-...
, (named after Caldera's house, which was the site chosen by the leaders to sign the document). Supporters of the pact claimed that it provided the basis of a democratic coexistence which would hold for the next 40 years, laying the foundations for principles such as free and transparent elections, respect for electoral results, the conformation of checks and balances for the branches of the government, with representation of independent political forces, and the application by those governments of a Common Minimum Program that guaranteed the democratic viability and the development of the country with the due internal consensus.
Caldera was COPEI's unsuccessful candidate for president again in 1963. However, he won the 1968 elections, and was sworn in as president on 11 March 1969. It was the first time in Venezuela's 139 years of independence that an incumbent government peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition. However, COPEI still had a minority in the legislature.
First term as president (1969 - 1974)
| Candidates | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Caldera | 1,083,712 | 29.13% |
| Gonzalo Barrios | 1,050,806 | 28.24% |
| Miguel Angel Burelli | 826,758 | 22.22% |
| Luis Pietro Figueroa | 719,461 | 19.34% |
| Abstention: | 135.311 | 3.27% |
| Total votes: | 3,999,617 |
Caldera's first government emphasized the end of the Betancourt doctrine, which denied Venezuelan diplomatic recognition to any regime, right or left, that came to power by military force. Caldera broke the isolation of Venezuela with the rest of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, recognized the military governments of the region, and made a policy in defense of the insular territories, and the Gulf of Venezuela, and signed the Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
Protocol with Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, which concerned the Guayana Esequiba
Guayana Esequiba
Guayana Esequiba is a territory administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela. It includes the territory between the Cuyuni River to the west and the Essequibo River to the east...
. The president's economic policies were notable for the reinforcement of the power of the employer's association Fedecámaras, and the period of North American economic crisis, that also characterized the first term of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, with low oil prices, which caused the economic growth of Venezuela to stagnate. Caldera also presided over a period of pacification of the country, making a ceasefire with the left armed groups, which were then integrated into the political life, and legalising the Communist Party of Venezuela
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela...
in spite of the opposition of Acción Democrática.
Caldera also reformed the 1961 Constitution to remove a ban on election to public office for people who had been sentenced to more than three years in prison, which had been specifically designed to politically disqualify General Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
, by means of its retroactive application. Caldera closed the Industrial Technical School permanently, and the Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
for two years, due to student protests against his government. On 9 December 1970, Rafael Caldera created the Great Marshal of Ayacucho Institute of National Higher Defence Studies (IAEDEN), to further the development of a state security perspective, and to contribute to the defence culture of the nation.
Caldera, who raised the tax on the rent to the oil companies to 60 percent, initiated the construction of El Tablazo petrochemical complex, in Zulia State. He also inaugurated the Poliedro de Caracas
Poliedro de Caracas
The Poliedro de Caracas is an indoor sports arena, located on the grounds adjacent to Hipodromo La Rinconada, in Caracas, Venezuela. It was designed by architect Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc, in Raleigh, NCin 1971...
, and the Miguel Pérez Carreño Hospital in Caracas, and concluded the demarcation of borders with Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Rafael Caldera ended his first term as president on 12 March 1974, and was replaced by Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
, from Acción Democrática, who won the 1973 elections.
Pacification of Venezuela
In 1969, the new government inherited a country with active urban and rural guerrilla movements, bans on two important political parties and many political leaders imprisoned. From the beginning of Caldera's presidency, this practice was suspended and constitutional guarantees thereafter were maintained.The government was reported to have an attitude of ideological pluralism and dialogue across the political spectrum, entered into talks with the armed groups, legalized leftist parties and released jailed politicians, demanding only that they stay within Venezuelan law. However, on 3 October 1970, the administration of President Rafael Caldera ordered the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) to be raided by the military and Rector Jesús María Bianco was forced to resign. The University reopened in 1971 with a new Rector and a new plan for renovation. Media was prevented from reporting too many details about the students who were massacred during the raid.
As result from this violent-means effort, by the end of Caldera's presidency, for the first time in many years, no significant political organization in Venezuela planned to threaten the ruling class by attempting to take control of the government by violent means. At the 1973 elections, leaders of the old guerrilla movements who had not died or disappeared and had negotiated with the AD-COPEI consensus, were elected as senators and deputies.
Political activity and leaving COPEI
Caldera waited the ten years of the constitutional period, of no immediate re-election, and stood as a candidate again in the 1983 Presidential Elections with COPEI support, and was defeated by Jaime LusinchiJaime Lusinchi
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...
of Acción Democrática. In 1987 stood for the COPEI nomination for the 1988 presidential election, being defeated by Eduardo Fernández. In 1993 he decided to leave COPEI, and participated in the presidential elections of the same year with his new party, known as National Convergence
National Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
, with the support of groups which had been his historical opponents, such as the left parties PCV
Communist Party of Venezuela
The Communist Party of Venezuela is a Marxist-Leninist political party, and the oldest continuously existing party in Venezuela...
, MAS
Movement for Socialism (Venezuela)
Movement for Socialism is a center-left political party in Venezuela.-History:The Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela, with a view to emphasising a socialist message...
and MEP
People's Electoral Movement
The People's Electoral Movement was a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa...
.
Caldera won his second term as president in February 1994 – a win with its roots in his speech to the National Congress on 4 February 1992, the date of the first coup d'état against the second government of Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
. His tacit support to the Caracazo
Caracazo
The Caracazo or sacudón is the name given to the wave of protests, riots and looting and ensuing massacre that occurred on 27 February 1989 in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and surrounding towns. The riots — the worst in Venezuelan history — resulted in a death toll of anywhere between...
in 1989, the 1992 coup attempts, and the opposition to the neoliberal economic reforms pursued by Pérez in his second term, mark the beginning of Caldera's return to the presidency for a second term. Caldera won with around 30% of the votes, followed very closely by three other candidates, but the abstention rate was 39.84%.
Second term as president (1994 - 1999)
In his second presidency, Caldera included politicians from other political backgrounds who supported his candidacy in his cabinet, like some representatives of MAS party, Teodoro PetkoffTeodoro Petkoff
Teodoro Petkoff Malec is a Venezuelan politician, ex-guerrilla, journalist and economist. One of the most prominent politicians on the left in Venezuela, Petkoff began as a communist but gravitated towards liberalism in the 1990s. As Minister of Planning he oversaw President Rafael Caldera's...
at the Ministry of the Central Office of Coordination and Planning, and Pompeyo Márquez
Pompeyo Márquez
Pompeyo Ezequiel Márquez Millán is a Venezuelan politician and former marxist guerrilla member in the 1960s. Was one of the founders of Movimiento al Socialismo , and currently, part of the opposition to the current Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.-References:...
at the Border Ministry, as well as some independents in other ministries. In any case the support of the MAS and other parties were fundamental to approve some laws in the National Congress in his first years of government, due to his own party having few seats in Congress. On 18 December 1994 he inaugurated the Plaza Venezuela – El Valle section of the Caracas Metro
Caracas Metro
The Caracas Metro is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It is constructed and operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José González-Lander who headed the project for more than thirty years since the early planning...
which had been initiated by previous governments. In 1996, he received Pope John Paul II on his second visit to Venezuela, when he blessed the prisoners of the Catia Prison, on the west side of Caracas (After this visit, the building was demolished). On 12 October 1997 he received U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, in November of the same year Margarita Island
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
hosted the Seventh Ibero-American Conference. In June 1998, the Inaugural meeting of the XXVIII General Assembly of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
was held in Caracas.
Economic crisis
| Candidates | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Caldera | 1,710,722 | 30.46% |
| Claudio Fermín | 1,325,287 | 23.60% |
| Oswaldo Alvarez Paz | 1,276,506 | 22.73% |
| Andrés Velásquez | 1,232,653 | 21.95% |
| Abstention: | 3,859,579 | 39.84% |
| Total votes: | 5,829,216 |
In the first year of his second presidency, Caldera was faced with a major financial crisis (Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
Venezuelan banking crisis of 1994
The 1994 banking crisis occurred in Venezuela when a number of the banks of Venezuela had to be taken over by the government. The first to fail, in January 1994, was Banco Latino, the country's second-largest bank. Later, two banks accounting for 18% of total deposits also failed...
) that began with the failure of Banco Latino
Banco Latino
Banco Latino was a Venezuelan bank based in Caracas, and at the time of its 1994 failure was the country's second largest. It had a good relationship with the government, such that ministries moved their accounts to the bank, and the army and the state-owned oil company PDVSA entrusted their...
during the acting presidency of Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez
Ramón José Velásquez Mujica is a Venezuelan political figure. He served as Acting president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994. He is known as a historian, journalist, lawyer, politician and entertainer of companies for his knowledge of the "national life".Velásquez was born in Táchira,Venezuela...
, continued with the failure of more than ten banks, and culminated with the loss of deposits. Necessary financial aid granted by the government to the banks curtailed government spending in other areas, affecting thousands of people and creating a serious imbalance in the Venezuelan economy.
The confidence and credibility of Venezuelans and foreigners at the financial institutions were affected seriously. More than seventy thousand medium and small companies went bankrupt, fundamentally due to the exchange rate regime imposed by the government, which made it difficult to obtain the currency to acquire intermediate goods. The prices of food, clothes and transport rose without control, impoverishing a greater number of Venezuelans.
Caldera also had to handle a vertiginous inflationary spiral and a parallel reduction of the Forex reserves, employees generously for the support of the bolívar
Venezuelan bolívar
The bolívar fuerte is the currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos and replaced the bolívar at the rate of Bs.F. 1 = Bs...
in front of the U.S. dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. On 27 June, he announced the temporary suspension of some constitutional guarantees, fundamentally related to the private property and the free economic activity, to allow control of the exchange market, the banking system and prices by the State. The financial organizations bankrupted by the draining of deposits and those affected by speculative practices went to be adjusted by the State. In fact, the Central Bank of Venezuela announced the suspension of all its transaction in dollars. These economic measures were tolerated by the mass media and the international community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
, but not by the Venezuelan people.
Although Caldera promised during his campaign never to accept the help of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, his government had to rescind the vow, due to the economic crisis and bad management. The effect of the interventionist practice on the economy of Venezuela caused Caldera to announce the Agenda Venezuela (Venezuela Agenda) programme, which promised to restore the macroeconomic balance and to beat inflation. He applied measures labeled by his opponents as neoliberal, in agreement with the recommendations of the IMF, that he had previously resisted. The bolívar was devalued by 70%, the exchange rate regime was imposed, fuel prices were increased by 800%, rates of interest were liberalized, and the process of privatization was continued. His program was welcomed by the IMF, but not by the country. Demonstrations and disturbances among the population were frequent.
In 1997, a tripartite commission, consisting of representatives of industrialists, workers and the Government, assumed the reform of the regime of social benefits, and the deep revision of the labor law. The tripartite commission created a system of social benefits that anticipated, among other things, the annual payment and the cease of the labor performance, at the same time, five subsystems of social security with the purpose of improving the Government's activity, at the resolution of the basic problems of the Venezuelan workers.
Also during the second Caldera presidency, the process of Apertura Petrolera began with the purpose of increasing the involvement of the private sector, national and international, in the operation, exploration and refinement of petroleum and natural gas. The worldwide oil market crisis negatively influenced this process.
Due to differences with his coalition partners such as MAS, Caldera looked for the support of AD in Congress. Some AD members entered the Ministerial cabinet.
Amnesty to the 1992 coup participants
In 1994 Caldera fulfilled a promise made during the presidential campaign and pardoned the military figures involved in the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts. Many of these, once liberated, grouped in the political party MVRFifth Republic Movement
The Fifth Republic Movement was a left-wing, Socialist political party in Venezuela. It was founded in July 1997, following a national congress of the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200, to support the candidacy of Hugo Chávez, the current President of Venezuela, in the Venezuelan presidential...
, under the leadership of Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, who ultimately, after several years in the political wilderness, won the 1998 presidential elections
Venezuelan presidential election, 1998
In the Venezuelan presidential election of 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected to his first term as President of Venezuela with the largest percentage of the popular vote in four decades...
. That election saw the comprehensive defeat of Acción Democrática and COPEI
COPEI
Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela is a third way political party in Venezuela. The name stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente...
, which had alternated in government for 35 years (from 1959 to 1994), and which now lost their influence on the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n political scene.
Last years and death
On 2 February 1999, Rafael Caldera concluded his second term as president, and was succeeded by Hugo Chávez. Although Caldera granted Chávez amnesty and released him from prison (in March 1994), the new president did not exclude him from criticism in his inaugural speech. After the parliamentary elections of 30 July 2000, National ConvergenceNational Convergence
The National Convergence is a conservative/Christian democratic political party in Venezuela. It was founded in 1993 by former President of Venezuela Rafael Caldera, successfully gaining a second term in the Venezuelan presidential election, 1993. From 1995 to 2004 Eduardo Lapi held the...
remained with a single representative in the new unicameral National Assembly until 2005.
His poor health caused by Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
forced him to retire from politics during his last years. Caldera died around 2 a.m. on 24 December 2009 at the age of 93. His son Andrés Caldera announced the death, but did not specify a cause. His funeral was on 26 December 2009, in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
. He was buried the same day.
Trivia
- Caldera was famous for his hairstyleHairstyleA hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...
, and for the use of hair gelHair gelHair gel is a hairstyling product that is used to stiffen hair into a particular hairstyle. The results it produces are usually similar to, but stronger than, those of hair spray and hair wax, and weaker than those of hair glue.-Types:...
. - During Rafael Caldera's first government, television became a new way to communicate. Through Habla el Presidente, a television program, the head of the Venezuelan state informed about government projects and policies.
- In 1996, astrologer José Bernardo Gómez predicted the death of Caldera, and claimed he would not finish his term. He was later arrested by the DISIP. After these events, Gómez decided to abandon his career.
- During his second presidency, because of his age and unintelligible speeches, Caldera was imitated by many Venezuelan comedians, one of them Laureano MárquezLaureano MárquezLaureano Márquez , is a leading Spanish-born Venezuelan humorist and politologist.Marquez was born on the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, in 1963 and obtained a BA in Political Science from the Central University of Venezuela...
. - For 1967, Rafael Caldera had a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.77 m) and a weight of 176.3 pounds (80 kg).
External links
Rafael Caldera — Official biography. Rafael Caldera — Biography from National Convergence webpage. Speeches and Biography Extended bio by CIDOB Foundation- Rafael Caldera´s message to Venezuelan Youth in 1998 — YouTube
- Rafael Caldera — Daily Telegraph obituary