Dictatorship of Cipriano Castro

The dictatorship of Cipriano Castro (self-proclaimed "Liberal Restoration")[1] is the term used to refer to the military dictatorship in Venezuela under Cipriano Castro that began after he seized power by force in the Restorative Liberal Revolution.

According to historian Elías Pino Iturrieta, it was a personalistic dictatorship plagued by corruption problems that came to dominate the political power elite.[1] It was characterized by a strong national army and a centralized, statist administration.[2]

It played an important role in the end of caudillismo in Venezuela, according to historian Inés Quintero.[2] In 1908, Juan Vicente Gómez, Castro's vice president, conspired to overthrow him in a coup d'état,[3] initiating the period known as the Gomecismo.

Background

When former president Joaquín Crespo died in combat and the country fell into political instability, Castro invaded Venezuela from the border with Táchira at the head of about sixty men, with the aim of restoring the influence of Guzmán Blanco, who died shortly thereafter. This began a period known as the Andean Hegemony under the influence of Juan Vicente Gómez.

Domestic policy

Legislative policy

In 1901, Castro announced to the National Constituent Assembly that he had increased the National Force to thirty battalions and augmented the arms reserves to forty thousand European-made rifles. He also decreed the creation of a Naval and Military School to train military personnel.[4]

Cipriano Castro tasked Juan Vicente Gómez with confronting the multiple uprisings against him. The national budget allocated to the war increased to 22%. From 1899 to 1903, there were 372 battles with a total death toll of 20,000.[5]

Inmigration policy

In 1906, the Constitution was amended to prohibit the immigration of black people to Venezuela, the first time racist policies were added to the Constitution.[6]

See also

• Restorative Liberal Revolution
• History of Venezuela (1908–1958)

References

1. Elías Pino Iturrieta. "Gobierno de Cipriano Castro". Fundación Empresas Polar. Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
2. "Relaciones civiles-militares en el siglo XX venezolano". Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina.
3. "Cipriano Castro". Fundación Empresas Polar. Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
4. Hernández Droulers, Jimeno José (2019-07-31). "El discurso del dictador". El Universal (in Spanish).
5. Gómez, Carlos Alarico (2007). El poder andino: de Cipriano Castro a Medina Angarita (in Spanish). El Nacional. ISBN 978-980-388-373-7. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
6. Hernández, Tanya Katerí. "La subordinación racial en Latinoamérica: el papel del Estado, el derecho consuetudinario y la nueva respuesta de los derechos civiles" (PDF). Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.