The politics of Venezuela occurs in a framework explained in Government of Venezuela.
Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez,twice elected the president of Venezuela,served for two five-year terms,becoming the longest serving democratically elected leader to govern the country in the twentieth century. His first term marked the first peaceful transfer of power to the opposition in Venezuela's history.
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.
Democratic Action is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy,leading the government during Venezuela's first democratic period (1945–1948). A decade of dictatorship under Marcos Pérez Jiménez followed,which saw AD excluded from power. With the advent of democracy in 1958,four Presidents of Venezuela came from Acción Democrática from the 1950s to the 1990s during the two-party period with COPEI.
Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 4 December 2005 to elect the 167 deputies to the National Assembly of Venezuela,twelve deputies to the Latin American Parliament and five deputies to the Andean Parliament. Several days prior to the elections,five opposition parties unexpectedly withdrew,shortly after a dispute over the voting process had apparently been resolved with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS). The opposition had been expected to get around a third of the Assembly seats,or even less;the withdrawal meant the opposition were scarcely represented in the parliament at all,as the opposition parties which did not withdraw failed to win any seats. 114 seats went to the President's Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) –up from 86,with the remaining 53 going to "smaller pro-Chávez parties as well as to independents and representatives of some social groups that support the government".
Regional elections were held in Venezuela on 23 November 2008 to choose 22 governors and 2 metropolitan mayors. The candidates were selected for a term beginning in 2008 and ending in 2012,when the next regional elections will be held. The 2008 regional elections were the second during the government of Hugo Chávez Frías and the first since he founded the United Socialist Party.
The Democratic Unity Roundtable was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela in the 2010 Venezuelan parliamentary election. A previous opposition umbrella group,the Coordinadora Democrática,had collapsed after the failure of the 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum.
Popular Will is a political party in Venezuela founded by former Mayor of Chacao,Leopoldo López,who is its national co-ordinator. The party previously held 14 out of 167 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly,the country's parliament,and is a member of the Democratic Unity Roundtable,the electoral coalition that held a plurality in the National Assembly between 2015 and 2020. The party describes itself as progressive and social-democratic,and was admitted into the Socialist International in December 2014. The party was formed in reaction to complaints of infringements of individual freedom and human rights on the part of the government of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and his successor,Nicolás Maduro. The party attempts to bring together Venezuelans of various backgrounds who consider Chavismo oppressive and authoritarian. Popular Will self-identifies itself as "a pluralist and democratic movement" that is committed to "progress",which it defines as the realization of "the social,economic,political,and human rights of every Venezuelan." The party says its "fundamental pillars" are progress,democracy,and social action.
The PanAm Post is a conservative libertarian and anti-socialist news and opinion website launched in 2013 by Luis Henrique Ball Zuloaga. It publishes Spanish and English news,investigations,and opinion from a free market perspective and "in the tradition of pan-Americanism." The outlet is based in Miami,Florida.
Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 20 May 2018,with incumbent Nicolás Maduro being declared re-elected for a second six-year term. The original electoral date was scheduled for December 2018 but was subsequently pulled ahead to 22 April before being pushed back to 20 May. Some analysts described the poll as a sham election,as many prominent opposition parties had been barred from participating in it. The elections had the lowest voter turnout in Venezuela's democratic era.
Freddy Guevara is a Venezuelan politician. He was elected deputy to the Venezuelan National Assembly for Circuit 2 of the Miranda State representing the Democratic Unity Roundtable in the parliamentary elections of December 6,2015. He has been a key figure of the opposition to Nicolás Maduro,Guevara was arrested in July 2021 charged with crimes against the state. The United States and others condemned the arrest as politically-motivated. In mid-August,he was freed as part of negotiations between the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition.
Parliamentary elections were held in Venezuela on 6 December 2020. Aside from the 167 deputies of the National Assembly who are eligible to be re-elected,the new National Electoral Council president announced that the assembly would increase by 110 seats,for a total of 277 deputies to be elected.
Richard Miguel Mardo Mardo is a Venezuelan politician. He is the leader of the Justice First party in Aragua,as well as one of its deputy leaders,along with Carlos Ocariz. He was a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2016.
Edgar JoséZambrano Ramírez is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician that currently serves as a National Assembly deputy for the Lara state. From January 5,2019 to January 5,2020,he served as First Vice President of the Assembly. He was President of the Permanent Defense and Security Parliamentary Commission between 2016 and 2018. He is the vice president of the opposition political party Democratic Action.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Venezuela in 28 July 2024 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning on 10 January 2025. Leading candidates of the Venezuelan opposition have been disqualified from participating in the election during its campaign or in previous elections. In June 2023,the leading candidate María Corina Machado was barred from participating by the Venezuelan government for alleged political crimes. This move has been regarded by the opposition as violation of political human rights and has been condemned by international bodies like the Organization of American States,the European Union,and Human Rights Watch,as well as countries such as Canada,Chile,Colombia,Ecuador,France,Germany,Mexico,Paraguay,the United Kingdom,the United States and Uruguay.
Juan Pablo Isidoro Guanipa Villalobos is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician who currently serves as deputy and First Vice President of the National Assembly,leader of the Justice First political party and former governor of Zulia. He was a presidential candidate in the 2018 elections until boycott. Guanipa is the regional coordinator of the Justice First party in Zulia and chairs the Maracaibo Posible foundation.
The Unitary Platform is a Venezuelan opposition political alliance made up of civil society,trade unions,retired military personnel,political parties,and deputies of the 2016–2021 National Assembly.
Regional and municipal elections were held in Venezuela on 21 November 2021. In the elections,all executive and legislative positions of the 23 federal entities,as well as that of the 335 municipalities of the country,were renewed.
Several interventions of political parties in Venezuela have occurred during Nicolás Maduro's government. The interventions are mandated by the pro-government Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice. During these interventions,the leadership or most of the political party members end up suspended,expelled or replaced by members appointed by the TSJ.
Venezuelan opposition to the Chavista governments of former President Hugo Chávez and current President Nicolás Maduro,commonly referred to as the Venezuelan opposition,or sometimes,anti-Chavismo,is a political umbrella term used to describe political,social and religious movements that have opposed Chavismo,and the associated Bolivarian Revolution political process since 2 February 1999.
