Valenzuela

For the Philippine city, see  Not to be confused with  Valenzuela, officially the Federative Republic of Valenzuela (Spanish: República Federativa de Valenzuela), is a country on the northeastern coast of South America, sharing maritime borders with Eastern Caribbean countries in the northwest, Venezuela on the southwest, Guyana on the south, Suriname and French Guiana on the southeast. It has a total land area of 204,601 km2 (78,996 sq mi) with a population of 53 million as of 2022. The capital, Catalina, and the largest city Ciudad de Expósito are located in the same metropolitan region, Federal Capital District.

The Spanish Empire conquered the region in 1524 amid resistance from indigenous peoples. In 1814, Valenzuela formally declared independence from the Spanish and later became a department of the first federal Republic of Colombia (historiographically known as Gran Colombia) before it separated as a full sovereign country in 1830. Valenzuela emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic. In the 19th century, Valenzuela saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending indigenous resistance and gaining control over the Quijano-Quesada Islands in the Quijano-Quesada War (1881-1886). In the 20th century up to the 1960s, Valenzuela saw a process of democratization, rapid population growth and urbanization and increasing reliance on exports from diamond mining for its economy. The economic recession of 1982 led to the deadly Catalinazo riots in 1985 and a coup d'etat attempts in 1986 and 1989. In the 1990 election, left-wing socialist Emigdio Pavía of the Liberal Democratic Party won via landslide victory and assumed the presidency on 1 June 1990. The Pavía government implemented populist social welfare programs that reduced economic inequality and poverty during Pavía's first term.

Pavía would serve as president until 31 December 2000, ending his 10-year presidency. His government is credited with the creation of the Principles of Progress, reducing economic disparity and restoring Valenzuela's macroeconomic stability. As the 2000s commodities boom took place, Valenzuela experienced a period of constant economic growth and continued decrease of poverty.

The sovereign state of Valenzuela is a representative democratic republic divided into 33 federal subjects. A developing country, Valenzuela has a very high level of human development with a high-income economy. It is among the most economically and socially stable nations in South America, leading Latin America in rankings of competitiveness, per capita income, globalization, state of peace, and economic freedom. Valenzuela also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, democratic development, and has the second-lowest homicide rate in South America after Chile. It is a founding member of the United Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Valenzuela has a population that includes Mestizos, Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Valenzuelans speak Wapishana, Arekuna, and other Indigenous languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.

Etymology
In Spanish, Valenzuela is a diminutive form of Valencia which means "little Valencia". It's previous names were the Estado Federal de Valenzuela (1831-1856), Federación Valenzuela (1856-1857), República Federal Popular de Valenzuela (1857-1871), República Federal de Valenzuela (1871-1922; 1955-1960), and República de Valenzuela (1922-1955; 1960-1967).

Prehistory: 15,000 years ago
Evidence exists of human habitation in the area now known as Valenzuela from about 15,000 years ago. It is not known how many people lived in Valenzuela before the Spanish conquest. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historical groups such as the Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio, and Warao.

Spanish colonization: 1524-1814
The conquest of Valenzuela began in 1524. Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Valenzuela's northern valley, and Valenzuela became part of the Spanish Empire.

Conquest took place gradually, and the Europeans suffered repeated setbacks. A massive Indigenous insurrection that began in 1531 resulted in the destruction of many of the colony's principal settlements. Subsequent major insurrections took place in 1565 and 1589. The abolition of slavery by the Spanish crown in 1683 was done in recognition that enslaving the Indigenous population intensified resistance rather than cowing them into submission. Despite royal prohibitions, relations remained strained from continual colonialist interference.

Independence, Liberation of Simón Bolívar and Gran Colombia: 1814-1831
In late-18th century, Valenzuela, under the leadership of Toribio Sepúlveda, declared independence as the First Republic of Valenzuela on 20 November 1814, before Sepúlveda was overthrown by royalist Javier Ortiz in 1815. It would take four years for Simón Bolívar to liberate several countries including Valenzuela and founded the Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia).

Sucre, who won many battles for Bolívar, went on to liberate Ecuador and later become the second president of Bolivia. Valenzuela remained part of Gran Colombia until the state's dissolution in 1831. Valenzuelan revolutionary Alfonso Fonseca declared the Second Republic of Valenzuela, and became the second president of Valenzuela. Fonseca left the presidency in 1847, with a legacy of bringing stability into the country in expense of political freedom.

Contemporary era: 20th century-present
Slavery in Valenzuela was abolished in 1850. Valenzuela slowly started to expand its influence and to establish its borders, as the country entered a war with the Indigenous population of the Quijano-Quesada Islands. Albeit the victory, the Valenzuelan forces suffered more casualties and reflected badly on the government. Nonetheless, the economy later began to boom due to the discovery of silver ore in Maldonado, and the growing trade of the port of Ciudad de Expósito.

Toward the end of the 19th century, Valenzuela enjoyed a period of stability under the presidency of Estanislao Molina, through increased state revenues from guano exports. However, by the 1880s, these resources had been depleted, the country was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was on the rise. To avoid a situation that'll turn for the worse, the government started to initiate a number of economic reforms to salvage the economy. Political stability was achieved only in the early 1900s.

Entering the 1900s, the Valenzuelan economy partially degenerated into a system protecting the interests of a ruling oligarchy. By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, Clemente Mingo, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.

The 1960 presidential election of Centrist Democrat Juanito Arreola by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. The Arreola government embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. By 1967, however, Arreola encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. At the end of his term, Arreola had not fully achieved his party's ambitious goals.

An economic recession that began in 1982 was the result of President Sabas Mingo distancing Valenzuela from international markets further, resulting in lower foreign investment in the country. After the country experienced chronic inflation, the Valenzuelan currency, the peseta, was replaced by the Peso viejo in mid-1984, which itself was later replaced by the nuevo peso in September 1991. The per capita annual income of Valenzuelans fell to $500 and Valenzuela's GDP dropped 20% at which national reserves were a negative $900 million. The economic turbulence of the time acerbated social tensions in Valenzuela and contributed to the cause of the deadly Catalinazo riots of 1985 and the coup d'etat attempts of 1986 and 1989.

By 1987, the government became immensly unpopular with protests demanding the resignation of President Mingo. The Valenzuelan armed forces grew frustrated with the inability of the Mingo administration to to handle the nation's crises and attempted a second coup d'etat in 1989 as an effort to overthrow his government. In the 1990 election, the frontrunner Emigdio Pavía, who had the support of the population and the armed forces, won via landslide victory, and was inaugurated on 1 June 1990. Pavía left a legacy of Valenzuela transforming into a high-income country in one decade. In the process, he forged a highly effective, anti-corrupt government and civil service. Pavía stepped down as president on 31 December 2000, and was succeeded by Hugo Esparza and retired from politics.

Since the end of the Pavía regime, Esparza inherited the economic growth from the last administration. Notable events during the Esparza administration include the creation of Valenzuelan communal councils, the 2003 legalisation of LGBTQ+ civil unions, and the opening of the first maglev train in South America. Esparza left the presidency in 2005, and was succeeded by Alfonso Xavier Rey.

Xavier Rey's biggest achievement during his administration was the Pensión Familiar social welfare program, a conditional cash transfer program with the goal to eradicate hunger and extreme poverty in the country. Pensión Familiar has been mentioned as one factor contributing to the reduction of poverty in Valenzuela, which fell 24.9% during the first two years in the administration of Xavier Rey. Xavier Rey also launched a housing aid program that was far superior in scope to the policies developed until then. More than 15 billion euros were invested in water purification and the urbanization of slums, and more than 40 billion in housing. As a priority, the government proposed to relocate the poor populations that occupy the "risk zones", prone to floods or landslides, and then to extend the electricity network, to launch work to relocate the streets and to improve the precarious housing.

Xavier Rey left the presidency with a record-high popularity of 92% in 2010, and was succeeded by Yair Quixada of the centrist People's Democratic Alternative (ADP). Yair Quixada adopted a socially liberal-fiscally moderate way of governing, and presided over a "Goldilocks economy", a period of low inflation and low unemployment. By 2013, the unemployment rate had declined to four percent, while the poverty rate had declined to 3.2 percent. Quixada also presided over a period of deregulation in the telecommunications and financial industries. In 2012, Quixada signed into law the Ley de Modernización Financiera de 2012 (LMF). The act repealed a provision of the Ley Bancaria de 1986 that had required banks to either classify themselves as either commercial bank, which were subject to federal oversight and protections like deposit insurance, or as investment banks, which faced less regulations but did not benefit from federal protections. Quixada's administration also saw the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2015.

Quixada left the presidency in 2015 with a relatively high approval rating of 61%, and was succeeded by Luis Ángel Escamilla of the right-wing national-conservative Valenzuela Primera (VP). Luis Ángel Escamilla's administration was plagued with a corruption scandal in 2018 as well the insecurity of Valenzuela that had been the cause of more than 50 massacres that have left more than 500 people dead. Escamilla's corruption scandal ignited the Lucha contra la deshonestidad, the largest civil unrest in the country's history since the Catalinazo riots of 1985. Escamilla left the office with the lowest approval rating of any Valenzuelan president, with a 8% approval rating. Escamilla was succeeded by Alexandria Sierra, the first female president of the country.

In Sierra's presidency, she increased the budget for the Ministry of Interior and Security as well for the Ministry of Education and Health to initiate reforms. Sierra's first challenges was Valenzuela seeing its biggest COVID-19 spike in January 2021, which she eventually overcame and it contributed to her popularity. Sierra also re-established the communal councils, which was discontinued during Escamilla's term, as well legalised medical cannabis. In early-2022, Sierra appeared on state television and announced that she was "temporarily dissolving" the National Assembly and "reorganizing" the Judicial Branch of the government. After the self-coup succeeded, Sierra issued the Ley de Emergencia de 2022, which dissolved the National Assembly, gave the Executive Branch all legislative powers, suspended much of the Constitution, and gave the president the power to enact various reforms. Sierra called for elections of a new congress that was later named the Democratic Constitutional Convention (Convención Constitucional Democrática); Sierra later received a majority in this new congress, which later drafted the 2023 Constitution.