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43 Duq. L. Rev. 629 (2004-2005)
Centralized Federalism in Venezuela

handle is hein.journals/duqu43 and id is 639 raw text is: CENTRALIZED FEDERALISM IN VENEZUELA* Allan R. Brewer-Caria* Federalism in Venezuela reveals a very contradictory form of government. Typically, a Federation is a politically decentralized State organization based on the existence and functioning of autonomous States. The power of that decentralized state organi- zation is distributed among the national State (the Union or the federation) and the member States. In contrast, the Federation in Venezuela is a Centralized Federation, which of course, is a con- tradiction in itself. That is why, unfortunately, my Country is not a good example for explaining Federalism in the Americas, being as it is a Fed- eration based in a very centralized national government, with 23 formal autonomous states. Each of these 23 formal autonomous states is without their own effective public policies and without their own substantive sub-national constitutions. But our Federation has not always been like it is now. The process of centralization of the Federation progressively occurred during the 20th Century, and has been particularly accentuated during the past five years. The centralization process began with the installment of the au- thoritarian government of Juan Vicente G6mez, who ruled throughout a dictatorship that lasted approximately three dec- ades, spanning the first half of the 20th Century. During these years no democratic institutions were developed. The transition from autocracy to democracy began in Venezuela between 1945 and 1958, when a democratic regime, in accordance with the democratic Constitution of 1961, came into power. This democratic Constitution was the longest Constitution in force in all Venezuelan history. This Constitution, as it was of a product of a political pact signed by all democratic forces (Pacto de Punto Fijo, 1958), assured the dominance of a very centralized political party system. During the last 40 years of democratic develop- * Paper submitted to the Seminar: Federalism in the Americas... and Beyond, Dquesne University, Pittsburgh, 11-13 November 2004. ** Professor, Central University of Venezuela. 629

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