The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela.
Mass media in Venezuela comprise the mass and niche news and information communications infrastructure of Venezuela. Thus, the media of Venezuela consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and Internet-based news outlets and websites. Venezuela also has a strong music industry and arts scene.
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician and military officer who served as president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period of forty-seven hours in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until 2012.
Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group of people, usually without legislative approval. While intended to allow rapid responses to a crisis, rule by decree is easily abused and is often a key feature of dictatorships.
The Supreme Justice Tribunal is the highest court of law in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and is the head of the judicial branch. As the independence of the Venezuelan judiciary under the regime of Nicolás Maduro is questioned, there have recently been many disputes as to whether this court is legitimate.
Elections in Venezuela are held at a national level for the President of Venezuela as head of state and head of government, and for a unicameral legislature. The President of Venezuela is elected for a six-year term by direct election plurality voting, and is eligible for re-election. The National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) has 165 members (diputados), elected for five-year terms using a mixed-member majoritarian representation system. Elections also take place at state level and local level.
Since 2 February 1999, Venezuela saw sweeping and radical shifts in social policy, moving away from the last government's officially embracing a free-market economy and liberalization reform principles and towards income redistribution and social welfare programs.
The president of Venezuela, officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is the head of state and head of government in Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan government and is the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. Presidential terms were set at six years with the adoption of the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela, and presidential term limits were removed in 2009.
The Act Constituting the Government of Democratic Transition and National Unity – known colloquially as the "Carmona Decree" or El Carmonazo — was a document drawn up on 12 April 2002 the day following the 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt, which attempted to oust President Hugo Chávez.
Henrique Capriles Radonski is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer, who served as the 36th Governor of Miranda from 2008 to 2017.
Nicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician who has served as the president of Venezuela since 2013.
Colombia–Venezuela relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the bordering countries of Colombia and Venezuela. The relationship has developed since the early 16th century, when Spanish colonizers created the Province of Santa Marta and the Province of New Andalucia. The countries share a history for achieving their independence under Simón Bolívar and becoming one nation—the Gran Colombia—which dissolved in the 19th century. Following then, the overall relationship between the two countries has oscillated between cooperation and bilateral struggle.
Antonio José Ledezma Díaz is a Venezuelan lawyer, opposition politician and former political prisoner. After unsuccessfully challenging for the leadership of Democratic Action in 1999, he founded a new party, the Fearless People's Alliance.
The death of Hugo Chávez, 45th President of Venezuela, was announced by government officials to have been on 5 March 2013 at 16:25 VET in Caracas, Venezuela from cancer at the age of 58. His death triggered a presidential election which was constitutionally required to be called within 30 days.
The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Venezuela.
On 14 April 2013 Nicolás Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, narrowly defeating opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with just 1.5% of the vote separating the two candidates. Capriles immediately demanded a recount, refusing to recognize the outcome as valid. Maduro was later formally inaugurated as President on 19 April, after the election commission had promised a full audit of the election results. On 24 October 2013, he announced the creation of a new agency, the Vice Ministry of Supreme Happiness, to coordinate all the social programmes.
The Supreme Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (TSJ) in exile is an institution that some, including the Organization of American States, consider to be the legitimate highest court of law in Venezuela and the head of the judicial branch, as opposed to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. It was established on 21 July 2017 following the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. The TSJ's 33 members have been based in Chile, Colombia, Panama, and the United States due to the political crisis in Venezuela.
The negotiations during the crisis in Venezuela are the negotiation and dialogue attempts and processes between the government of Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition. Although numerous dialogue processes and roundtables have taken place, by 2023 none had been effective in achieving a solution to the country's crisis.
Defections from the Bolivarian Revolution occurred under the administrations of Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. The 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis concerning who is the legitimate President of Venezuela has been underway since 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection was invalid and the body declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the nation. Guaidó encouraged military personnel and security officials to withdraw support from Maduro, and offered an amnesty law, approved by the National Assembly, for military personnel and authorities who help to restore constitutional order.
The Venezuelan opposition, also known as opposition to Chavismo or anti-Chavismo, is a political umbrella term to all those political, social and religious factors that have opposed the Chavismo governments of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution of former President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro that have governed Venezuela since 2 February 1999.
