Free Venesula Essay Sample
Venesula commonly known as Venezuela is a country that is located in South America and is a country that has the most thrilling history in the world. The country is rich in natural resources as it is covered with tropical forests, gentle grasslands and beaches that were the most resourceful in the country (Moron, p.4). Christopher Columbus is said to be the first European in the country in 1948 and his arrival led to the coming of other Europeans amongst them a Spaniard renowned as Alonso de Ojeda who gave the country the its name.
The country is well known for its fertile soil this is because it is a major producer of firm produce of cereals such like beans, corn wheat amongst others. It also has cash crops like cocoa and coffee. In addition it has minerals resources like gold, diamond and oil.
The Spanish were the first Europeans to settle on the shores of the Venezuela in a place known as Nueva Cadiz in the year 1499. A year after Christopher Columbus visited the nation. The first Spaniards who were in the country started colonizing the country but it wasn't that intense. But they changed their tact immediately after the discovery of oil in the country's mainland in the year 1522. As the Spaniards wanted to dominate the country in order to get hold of this precious commodity they eventually colonized the nation so as to control the oil mining in the country. Several years after the discovery of oil in the country more and more Europeans started to get into the country with the main aim of mining gold and extracting the gold that was in the country.
Simon Bolivar was the man who liberated the country from its colonizers that was in 1821 with the help of British mercenaries; this was after he deliberated Colombia, and other countries like Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Simon Bolivar managed to liberate the country and this eventually led to the independence of the nation; this exposed the country into different kind of leadership in the 1840s. As a result of dictatorship and unruly leadership, the country has encountered many civil strife, wars and mass demonstrations. Consequently, the leadership styles that were in the country were in attempts aimed at changing the way the country was being ruled.
Chavez leadership
The country is currently under the leadership of Hugo Fraiz Chavez who is the 56th president of the country and assumed office in 1999. He was previously a military official and from the poor leadership of the country; Chavez mounted a demonstration that was aimed at changing the leadership of the country. He viewed the government as full of corruption and undemocratic rule and in 1980s he led the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 to an unsuccessful coup in 1992 where he was arrested for indulging in illegal group activities for being the leader this group.
When he was released from the prison two years later he formed the political party known as the Fifth Republic Movement and was elected president in 1998 polls and assumed office in 1999. In his first term he changed the constitution in favor of the marginalized groups and also altering the structure of the government. At the same time he introduced missions like Communal Councils, Bolivarian Missions, and worker-managed cooperatives; thus nationalizing various key industries (International Socialism, para.5). This was a great threat to the opposition who saw that he was exercising a lot of his powers that resulted to dictatorship. The opposition thus decided to oust him from power and they were unsuccessful. In 2002 they unsuccessfully attempted a coup and this resulted to him being elected president in 2003 and in 2006. Following the new constitution and new party United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) he rose to power in 2007.
Many of the revolutionists in the country see that Chavez is an obstacle in the country's revolution as he promised to lead the country to rapid change. At the same time he is the one that blocks the country from achieving significant changes. This is when he ended up protecting the interest of the rich at the expense of the poor who are the majority of the citizens in the country.
Current events and oil revenue
The country is rich in oil and other minerals that are from the history of the country and is one of the largest exporters of oil. This provides the country with 80% of the export which is almost half of the government income and one third of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The ongoing cases of the increase of oil prices has resulted to the country benefiting from the new prices; this is because the president has been able to strengthen his ties with other countries; consequently, boosting his international profiles. The current conflict between Venezuela and United States of America has made Chavez threaten on stopping the exporting of oil into that country as analysts see that these are just political gimmicks between these countries.