|
|
Venezuela
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|
Present
Electoral System
|
First
Past The Post (FPTP)
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|
Electoral
System Type
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Proportional
representation (PR)
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|
Population
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24,287,670
(July 2002 est.)
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|
Age
Structure
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0-14
years: 31.6%
15-64 years: 63.6%
65 years and over: 4.8%
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Average
Education Level
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Age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.1%
male: 91.8%
female: 90.3% (1995 est.)
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|
Territories
(Location, Total Area)
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Northern
South America
Land:
882,050 sq km
|
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Urban/Rural
(Ratio)
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87:13
as of 1990
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Ethnic
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Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people
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Geographical
Variation
|
23
states, 1 federal district and 1 federal dependency
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System
of Govt.
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Democratically
elected governments have held sway since 1959.
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Power
of Govt.
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Central
government divided into executive, legislative, and judicial
branches. President, who dominates governmental affairs. Bicameral
Congress made up of Senate and Chamber of Deputies. Judicial branch
headed by Supreme Court of Justice
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Political
Party
|
Top
5:
Democratic
Action or AD Fifth Republic Movement or MVR Homeland for All or PPT
Justice First Movement Toward Socialism or MAS
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Admin.
of Govt.
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2
party,
President
|
|
Colonialism
History
|
For
most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by
generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil
industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected
governments have held sway since 1959.
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|
Royal
Commission
|
N/A
|
|
Candidate
Number
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Council
of Ministers appointed by the president
president
elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 30
July 2000
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Economic
Structure
|
manage
highly variable oil revenues while fostering a more diverse economic
structure that also reflects the long-term comparative advantage of
non-oil activities.
|
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Cost
|
N/A
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|
Security
Issue
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Government
corruption, coups,
bribery,
strikes
|
|
Telecom.
Type
|
http://www.bomchilgroup.org/vendec00.html
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|
IT
Dev. Level
|
Developing
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|
Law/
Regulation
|
http://www.hg.org/cgi-bin/redir.cgi?url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/glin/venezuel.html
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