VenezuelaBy:

Candace Crane

GovernmentFederal Republic

PresidentHugo Chavez

President elected by vote

Term of office is 6 years

President may be re-elected to a single consecutive term

President appoints vice president

VenezuelaWhat you will find in Venezuela:

South America’s largest lake

Third-longest river

Highest waterfall in the world

The longest of all snakes

Jaguars

Armadillos

Venezuela

The name “Venezuela” is said to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci.

History of Venezuela

Colonized by Spain in 1522

Declared independence on Spain on July 5, 1811

Facts About Venezuela

Full nameRepublica Bolivariana de Venezuela

Capital CityCaracas

Population25,000,000

About half live in poverty

Official languageSpanish

ReligionRoman Catholic (96%)

Protestant

FactsDivided into 23 statesGrouped into 9 administrative regions

AndeanCapitalCentralCentral-WesternGuayannaInsularLlanosNorth-EasternZulian

World’s 33rd largest country

About half the size of Alaska

National Symbols

National flowerOrchid

National treeAraguaney

National birdTurpial

National symbolsThe Flag

Coat of Arms

National Anthem

Family StructuresBefore the oil era began in the mid-1920s, about 70 percent of the Venezuelan population was rural, illiterate, and poor

Over the next fifty years, the ratios were reversed so that over 88 percent of the population became urban and literate.

Even the most isolated peasants and tribal Indians felt some effects of this economic growth

Opened up access to the elite stature

Expanded opportunities for large numbers of immigrants

Increased the size, power, and cohesiveness of the middle class

Created a sector of organized workers within the lower class