Dios y Federación

Dios y Federación (English: God and Federation) is considered the traditional state motto of Venezuela.

It was first used as the rallying cry of the rebel forces during the Federal War, and it was subsequently incorporated into the country's coat of arms after the conflict ended in 1863.

[1] According to an account by historian José Gil Fortoul, two French adventurers who had joined the forces of General Ezequiel Zamora near Barinas initially suggested that the customary ...your humble servant [2] valediction in written communications be replaced with Liberté, égalité, fraternité, which was finally modified to Dios y Federación.

[3] After the signing of the Treaty of Coche in April 1863 and the establishment of the new government by the victorious rebels, General Juan Crisóstomo Falcón modified the official seal from 1836, replacing the word Liberty in the central ribbon with Dios y Federación.

Today, its significance is more political than historical, since for many people in Venezuela it represents the desire to see a return to the decentralized federal system, away from the centralist and authoritarian regimes of recent years.