Venezuela - Term Paper Example

The history of Venezuela can be traced back to the fifteenth century when Christopher Columbus discovered the land in 1498 during his journey to the New World. Before Columbus however, other people also lived on the soil of Venezuela who were mostly involved in farming and hunting. The name Venezuela is derived from the word ‘Little Venice’ which came into existence after the arrival of Columbus in the region. Alonso de Ojeda visited the soil and named the land as Venezuela. In the 16th century Spain provided a charter to the Germans so that they could open a banking firm over the land.

The charter however was later revoked and the Spaniards took over the region. Venezuela was a part of New Granada until the nineteenth century when it finally took independence from Spain in 1821 under Simon Bolivar (Boehm 1987; Unesco 1999). The government run in the republic of Venezuela is a federal form of government. Its constitution was formed in December 1999. In 1830 Venezuela separated from Colombia, Panama and Ecuador to become a sovereign state. The political rule in Venezuela has been very unstable since its independence.

Dictatorial rule and revolutions have been witnessed in Venezuela in the 20th century. From 1908 to 1935 and from 1950-1958 there have been rules of dictators. However after 1958 the politics of the state has been run by civilians as after 1958 the military backed off from interfering in national politics. It was after the World War One that the Venezuelan government has focused more on its petroleum based economy which has helped in stabilizing the country’s economy.. It was after the corruption charges on President Perez that the situation of Venezuela started to become better.

In December 1998 Hugo Chavez won the votes in the assembly to become the president of Venezuela. The nation has since then developed into a powerful ally of many countries and the political turmoil has come to a standstill in the country (U.S Department of State 2011). Current Situation Hugo Chavez is the President of Venezuela these days after he won his elections in 2006 by defeating Zulia Governor Manuel Rosales. He has since then implemented new laws such as Socialism in Venezuela. He has passed other laws related to airports, industries and roads ever since.

The government of Venezuela has to face several problems in the recent years under Chavez’s government. The problem of energy can be cited as one of the problems that Venezuela is facing. Energy blackouts are one of the problems that Venezuela has been facing in the recent years and this has dampened their hopes of expanding their economy. Energy shortages can lead to the increase in the economic problems that the country is currently facing. Chavez has also provided the state with a declaration about the energy crisis and has implemented laws to fight off the energy problems (Starboek News 2010; U.

S Department of State 2011). The government type currently followed in Venezuela is a federal type of government. The states of Venezuela maintain some sort of power in their authority and the voters are given the democracy to vote for their governmental representatives. The economy of Venezuela is run through the businesses revolving around the petroleum products. The major industry of Venezuela is oil which is being exported