Table Of ContentThe historical dictionaries present essential information on a broad range
of subjects, including American and world history, art, business, cities,
countries, cultures, customs, film, global conflicts, international relations,
literature, music, philosophy, religion, sports, and theater. Written by experts,
all contain highly informative introductory essays on the topic and detailed
chronologies that, in some cases, cover vast historical time periods but still
manage to heavily feature more recent events.
Brief A–Z 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, pho-
tographs, 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 Àlisky. 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. Klarén. 2017.
Venezuela, 3rd ed. by Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and
Alejandro E. Cáceres. 2018.
Historical Dictionary
of Venezuela
Third Edition
Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal,
and Alejandro E. Cáceres
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB
Copyright © 2018 by Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal, and
Alejandro E. Cáceres
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, Tomás, 1972–, author. | Guzmán Mirabal, Guillermo, 1967– |
Cáceres, Alejandro E., 1998-
Title: Historical dictionary of Venezuela / Tomás Straka, Guillermo Guzmán
Mirabal, and Alejandro E. Cáceres.
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: Venezuela—History—Dictionaries.
Classification: LCC F2304 (ebook) | LCC F2304 .S77 2017 (print) | DDC
987.003—dc23
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 Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Editor’s Foreword vii
Acknowledgments ix
Reader’s Note xi
Acronyms and Abbreviations xiii
Map xv
Chronology xvii
Introduction 1
THE DICTIONARY 25
Appendixes
A. Venezuela at a Glance 369
B. Presidents of Venezuela 373
C. Population 381
D. Population Pyramid (2011 Census) 385
E. Racial Structure (2011 Census) 387
F. Real GDP 389
G. Inflation 397
Bibliography 401
About the Authors 417
v
Editor’s 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 com-
ing of a military man as ruler (although not in a coup), namely Hugo Chávez,
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 Chávez, 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 anybody’s guess.
Obviously, it will be easier to guess—although in Venezuela nothing is
ever certain—thanks 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 intro-
duction 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 pres-
ent although, as said, the future is anybody’s 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 Católica Andrés Bello of Caracas and have some-
what different backgrounds and orientations in order to cover the ground
more thoroughly. Guillermo Guzmán Mirabal is specialized in contemporary
vii
viii • EDITOR’S FOREWORD
and business history. Alejandro E. Caceres teaches postgraduate courses on
business and economic history. And Tomás 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 who—if they finally get things
right—could 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 Profes-
sor Omar Osorio Amoretti of Universidad Simón Bolívar of Caracas, who on
several occasions was able to provide valuable help in gathering data; to our
colleague Professor María Soledad Hernández of the Universidad Católica
Andrés Bello, who made a significant contribution by putting us on the right
track in many respects; to our talented and resourceful assistants Jessica Guil-
lén, Daniela Moreno, Mercedes Sosa, Yrángela 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 edi-
tor, 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.
ix
