Democracy in Venezuela

[2] After the death of Juan Vicente Gómez and the end of his military dictatorship, a process of transition to democracy began with the political opening of Eleazar López Contreras and Isaías Medina Angarita.

[3] Reluctance to install direct voting for presidential elections ended in the 1945 coup d'état led by Carlos Delgado Chalbaud and Marcos Pérez Jiménez and supported by Democratic Action.

[4] Rafael Caldera's first presidency saw the implementation of a policy of incorporating participants in the country's subversive movements that emerged during the 1960s to lay down their arms, a trend begun by the government of Raúl Leoni.

[14] After enabling himself to legally rewrite the constitution and therewith amending a presidential term from five to six years, with a single reelection, Chávez gained full control over the military branch.

[13][16][17] Chavez's dominance of the media (including a constant presence on television) and his charismatic personality contributed to democratic backsliding in Venezuela,[18] in addition to constitutional revisions that concentrated Chávez's power and diminished the executive's accountability.

[19] In 2002 the military forces demanded Hugo Chávez's resignation, arresting him and taking him to Fort Tiuna[20] during year's coup d'état, until the National Assembly returned the presidency to him.

[22] During the government of Nicolás Maduro, 1441 people were disqualified from holding political office in Venezuela,[23] including three of the opposition leaders: former governor and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, former mayor Leopoldo López and former deputy María Corina Machado.