Dictatorship of Cipriano Castro
The dictatorship of Cipriano Castro (self-proclaimed "Restauración Liberal")[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.[2]
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.[3]
It played an important role in the end of caudillismo in Venezuela, according to historian Inés Quintero.[3] In 1908, Juan Vicente Gómez, Castro's Vice President, conspired to overthrow him in a coup d'état,[4] initiating the period known as Gomecismo.
Background
[edit]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 Antonio Guzmán Blanco, who died shortly thereafter. This began a period known as the "Andean Hegemony" under the influence of Juan Vicente Gómez.
Cipriano Castro cabinet (1899–1908)
[edit]| Ministries[5] | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| President | Cipriano Castro | 1899–1908 |
| Home Affairs | Juan Francisco Castillo | 1899–1900 |
| Rafael Carrera Malo | 1900–1901 | |
| José Antonio Velutini | 1901–1902 | |
| Rafael López Baralt | 1902–1903 | |
| Leopoldo Baptista | 1903–1907 | |
| Julio Torres Cárdenas | 1907 | |
| Rafael López Baralt | 1907–1908 | |
| Outer Relations | Raimundo Andueza Palacio | 1899–1900 |
| Eduardo Blanco | 1900–1901 | |
| Jacinto Regino Pachano | 1901–1902 | |
| Diego Bautista Ferrer | 1902–1903 | |
| Alejandro Urbaneja | 1903 | |
| Gustavo Sanabria | 1903–1905 | |
| Alejandro Ibarra | 1905–1906 | |
| José de Jesús Paúl | 1906–1908 | |
| Finance | Ramón Tello Mendoza | 1899–1903 |
| José Cecilio De Castro | 1903–1906 | |
| Francisco de Sales Pérez | 1906 | |
| Gustavo Sanabria | 1906 | |
| Eduardo Celis | 1906–1907 | |
| Arnaldo Morales | 1906–1907 | |
| War and Navy | José Ignacio Pulido | 1899–1902 |
| Ramón Guerra | 1902–1903 | |
| José María García Gómez | 1903 | |
| Manuel Salvador Araujo | 1903–1904 | |
| Joaquín Garrido | 1904–1905 | |
| José María García Gómez | 1905–1906 | |
| Diego Bautista Ferrer | 1906 | |
| Manuel Salvador Araujo | 1906–1907 | |
| Diego Bautista Ferrer | 1907–1908 | |
| Development | José Manuel Hernández | 1899 |
| Celestino Peraza | 1899 | |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido | 1899–1900 | |
| Ramón Ayala | 1900–1901 | |
| Felipe Arocha Gallegos | 1901–1902 | |
| Arnaldo Morales | 1902–1903 | |
| José T. Arria | 1903 | |
| Rafael Garbiras Guzmán | 1903–1904 | |
| Arnaldo Morales | 1904–1905 | |
| Diego Bautista Ferrer | 1905–1906 | |
| Arístides Tellería | 1906 | |
| Arnaldo Morales | 1906 | |
| Jesús María Herrera Irigoyen | 1906–1908 | |
| Public Works | Víctor Rodríguez Párraga | 1899 |
| Juan Otáñez Maucó | 1899–1902 | |
| Rafael María Carabaño | 1902–1903 | |
| Ricardo Castillo Chapellín | 1903 | |
| Alejandro Rivas Vásquez | 1903–1904 | |
| Ricardo Castillo Chapellín | 1904–1906 | |
| Luis Mata Illas | 1906 | |
| Juan Casanova | 1906–1908 | |
| Public Instruction | Manuel Clemente Urbaneja | 1899–1900 |
| Félix Quintero | 1900–1901 | |
| Tomás Garbiras | 1901–1902 | |
| Rafael Monserrate | 1902–1903 | |
| Eduardo Blanco | 1903–1905 | |
| Arnaldo Morales | 1905–1906 | |
| Enrique Siso | 1906 | |
| Carlos León | 1906 | |
| Eduardo Blanco | 1906 | |
| Laureano Villanueva | 1906–1907 | |
| José Antonio Baldó | 1907–1908 | |
| Secretary of Presidency | Celestino Peraza | 1899 |
| Julio Torres Cárdenas | 1899–1906 | |
| Lucio Baldó | 1906 | |
| José Rafael Revenga | 1906–1907 | |
| Rafael Gárbiras Guzmán | 1907–1908 | |
| Leopoldo Baptista | 1908 | |
Domestic policy
[edit]Legislative policy
[edit]In October 1900, Cipriano Castro convened a Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for a "new republic", which was approved in 1901.[6] The subsequent 1904 Constitution of Venezuela extended the presidential term from 4 to 6 years, reduced the number of federal states to 13, and legalized divorce.[7]
Defense
[edit]In 1901, Castro announced to the National Constituent Assembly that he had increased the army 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.[6]
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.[8]
Economy
[edit]
In late 1899, President Cipriano Castro exerted pressure on Venezuela's leading bankers to finance his new government's projects. When prominent financiers including Manuel Antonio Matos, the main shareholder of the Bank of Venezuela, refused to grant the requested loan, they were arrested. The bankers were later released after agreeing to provide the financial support demanded by the Castro administration.[9]
Electoral policy
[edit]During Castro's dictatorship, the system of direct voting was dismantled.[10]
Health
[edit]Tuberculosis was a primary public health issue that significantly affected Venezuela. Historical records from the era indicate that during the dictatorship of Cipriano Castro, the mortality rate was approximately 700 deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in cities with populations of fewer than 50,000 residents.[11]
Education
[edit]In 1904, Castro ordered the closure of the University of Zulia (LUZ).[12] Subsequently, in 1905, the University of the Andes (ULA) was restricted to offering only the schools of Political Sciences and Ecclesiastical Sciences under the Public Instruction Code.[13]
Media policy
[edit]Castro's government carried out a harsh crackdown on critical and independent press outlets.[14]
Inmigration
[edit]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.[15]
Foreign policy
[edit]U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt requested congressional authorization to invade Venezuela, prompting Castro to sever diplomatic relations with the United States.[16]
1908 coup d'état
[edit]Vice President Juan Vicente Gómez established secret communications with the U.S. government, seeking support for a planned conspiracy against Castro.[17]
When Castro traveled to Berlin for health-related reasons, Gómez, who was acting president in Castro's absence, orchestrated a coup d'état with the assistance of Francisco Linares Alcántara Estévez, whom he later appointed to his cabinet.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Pino Iturrieta, Elías. "Gobierno de Cipriano Castro". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ Ewell, Judith (1991), Bethell, Leslie (ed.), "Venezuela since 1930", The Cambridge History of Latin America: Volume 8: Latin America since 1930: Spanish South America, vol. 8, Cambridge University Press, pp. 727–790, doi:10.1017/chol9780521266529.014, ISBN 978-0-521-26652-9
- ^ a b "Relaciones civiles-militares en el siglo XX venezolano". Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina (in Spanish).
- ^ Pino Iturrieta, Elías. "Cipriano Castro". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ "Gaceta Oficial de Venezuela" Period 1899–1908
- ^ a b Hernández Droulers, Jimeno José (2019-07-31). "El discurso del dictador". El Universal (in Spanish).
- ^ del Valle Rodríguez, Glorys (2013). "Análisis del procedimiento en los juicios de divorcio en el código de procedimiento civil y la Ley Orgánica para la protección de niños, niñas y adolescentes en Venezuela" (PDF). Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (in Spanish).
- ^ 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.
- ^ HERNÁNDEZ DROULERS, JIMENO JOSÉ (2018-09-05). "Los banqueros presos". El Universal (in Spanish).
- ^ Straka, Tomás (2024-01-24). "Entre el miedo y la libertad: Votar antes de la democracia". Prodavinci (in Spanish).
- ^ "José Ignacio Baldó: Insigne Medico Sanitarista" (PDF). Universidad Central de Venezuela (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
- ^ "Historia I: desde los orígenes hasta su cierre en 1904". Universidad del Zulia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- ^ Ortega, Wilmen. "Los estudiantes universitarios frente al Gobierno de Juan Vicente Gómez (1908 – 1914)". Tiempo y Espacio (in Spanish).
- ^ Álvarez, Alfredo (2020-01-01). "116 AÑOS RESISTIENDO LA CENSURA". El Impulso (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Hernández, Tanya Katerí. "La subordinación racial en Latinoamérica: el papel del Estado, el derecho consuetudinario y la nueva respuesta de los derechos civiles" (PDF) (in Spanish). Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.
- ^ Manuel Felipe Sierra. "Gómez despide a Castro". Revista En El Tapete (in Spanish).
- ^ Velásquez, Ramón J. "Gobierno de Juan Vicente Gómez". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ "Linares Alcántara, Francisco". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.