After the February 1992 coup attempt, The first reaction of the traditional political parties was channeled in the Venezuelan Congress, through a document of condemnation, approved unanimously and without discussion, of the actions of Chávez and his companions, as well as an endorsement to democracy as a form of government.

However, despite losing the presidential elections, the non-Chavista political forces held a majority in Congress and represented an obstacle for Chávez's Constituent Assembly, as he promised to seek their support to push it forward.

[9] Once again, the opposition was caught divided:[10] the COPEI party, Justice First and former candidate Irene Sáez, who had just formed an alliance with the Chavismo in the Nueva Esparta state, supported the decree;[9][11] Henrique Salas Römer's Project Venezuela and Democratic Action (AD) criticized the manner in which Chávez was leading the process, arguing that it excluded the Congress.

[31] Venezuela was going through economic problems: although the price of oil had tripled since Chávez's arrival, the economy had sunk 7%, unemployment had increased, and foreign investors had moved away from the country.

[31] Only two politicians, Antonio Ledezma and Claudio Fermín, both former members of Democratic Action and former mayors of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas, made public their intentions to run against the President, both independently.

[citation needed] In October 2000, Hugo Chávez promoted the Presidential Decree 1011 (Spanish: Decreto 1011), whose text partially modified the Regulations for the Exercise of the Teaching Profession by creating a new administrative figure, that of itinerant supervisors, which partially modified the Regulations for the Exercise of the Teaching Profession and created the figure of National Itinerant Supervisors in educational institutions, who could be appointed directly by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports.

The government continued to elaborate 49 controversial laws without sharing their content with Fedecámaras or its agrarian equivalent, Fedenaga, which its critics argued violated Articles 206 and 211 of the Constitution.

On that date he then proposes that a twelve-hour national strike be held on 10 December, and obtains the majority support of the business sector, although also the rejection of Miguel Pérez Abad, president of Fedeindustria.

[54] The opposition political parties became divided in their opinions on how to overcome the political crisis: Democratic Action insisted in the Assembly on appointing a medical board to prove the President's mental incapacity; Francisco Arias Cárdenas and his deputies called for a consultative referendum, the Movement for Socialism (MAS) asked for calling another Constituent Assembly; Justice First and the Catholic Church asked the government for a change of course.

[55] Tensions worsened on 7 April, when Chávez fired PDVSA President Guaicaipuro Lameda Montero and 5 of the 7 members of the board of directors, mocking each one in national television by name and blowing a referee whistle, as if to expel them from a football match.

[83]At the beginning, the strike only involved the companies of the employers' association and the unions affiliated to the Workers Federation, but soon PDVSA's directors and employees at the management level decided to support it.

Political spots were broadcast supporting the continuation or not of the strike and the holding of protests and marches in different parts of the country, promoted by the Coordinadora Democrática opposition coalition or by the government.

[99] In February 2004, on the television program Aló Presidente episode 180, Chávez announced that he had signed a document asking the CNE to provide copies of all the signatures of the petitioners for the referendum, in order to expose the opposition's "mega fraud".

[100] The Electoral Council announced that the signatures presented had to be examined a second time, and on 27 February demonstrations to protest against the decision took place in Caracas and fifteen other cities, initially promoted by the Bloque Democrático (Democratic Block), a radical sector of the opposition which rejected the recall referendum as "a trap of the regime".

Since its announcement, the process was highly criticized by Henry Ramos Allup (secretary general of Democratic Action), Teodoro Petkoff (Movement for Socialism) and Manuel Rosales (A New Era).

[109] According to Ramos Allup, the fingerprint scanners allowed the electoral agencies to know which was the choice made by the voter, as demonstrated by computer technicians in the last few days before the CNE and international observers.

After the results were known, members of the A New Era party pointed out the need for national reconciliation, Manuel Rosales said that a dialogue process with Hugo Chávez should be initiated and also proposed that the aspects considered positive of the project be approved,[131][132][133] including a social fund for the workers of the informal economy.

[138][139][140] On 23 January, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the return of democracy to Venezuela, the coalition of National Unity (later known as the Democratic Unity Roundtable) was created, formed by the political parties A New Era (UNT), Justice First (PJ), Democratic Action (AD), Copei, Movement For Socialism (MAS), Radical Cause, Project Venezuela (PRVZL), Fearless People's Alliance (ABP) and Popular Vanguard (VP), reached an agreement committing to present joint candidates in all the states and municipalities of the country.

[141] Other political parties representing the more radical opposition such as Alianza Popular, Comando Nacional de la Resistencia and Frente Patriótico denounced at the beginning that they were excluded from the agreement.

[144][145] Ismael García, secretary general of Podemos and deputy for Aragua, announced on 29 April the support of his party to opposition candidates in the states of Lara and Miranda as well as in the Metropolitan District of Caracas for the regional elections.

[151] The opposition grouped within the National Unity coalition, as in the 2007 referendum process, maintained a position totally opposed to the approval of an amendment on the extension of the presidential term or immediate reelection.

[115][152] The then leader of the opposition party, Manuel Rosales, said that it was an insult to call for another election because "the collectivity is overwhelmed by so many problems and also by the high cost of living and inflation" and also because the proposal had already been rejected a year ago.

[155] On 6 December 2008, they announced the formation of the "National Command for the No", but some of the opposition leaders such as Omar Barboza and Julio Borges, from UNT and PJ, respectively, indicated that they would try legal actions for considering the constitutional amendment initiative as unconstitutional and antidemocratic.

Among the main proponents of this idea were Copei, MAS, Causa R, Democratic Action and Fearless People Alliance; while A New Era and Justice First, the two opposition parties with the highest vote in the last elections, did not support the proposal.

[173][174] The opposition demanded for a total vote recount,[173][174][175] a request also made by National Electoral Council (CNE) rector Vicente Díaz and which was supported by the governments of Spain, United States, France, Paraguay, and the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza.

[203] In February 2014, amid an economic decline and high crime, Popular Will founder Leopoldo López started La Salida, campaign whose objective was to "find a peaceful, democratic and constitutional solution to the government of Nicolás Maduro".

[225][226] On 21 February, the MUD coalition parties, except Avanzada Progresista, reached an agreement not to participate in the elections, declaring in a statement that "The premature event without guarantees (...) is only a show by the government to pretend a legitimacy it does not have".

[232] The CNE rector Luis Emilio Rondón, announced his rejection of the results, considering them "clearly flawed" and supporting the complaints by candidates Henri Falcón and Javier Bertucci, among which he highlighted the ruling party "red points" near voting centers, the advantageism that prevailed since the calling of the process in January and the use of Sstate resources to benefit the winning option in the national system of public media.

Rondón offered the candidates office of the Commission of Political Participation and Financing so that they could present the irregularities they announced in order to "organize the claims corresponding to the clarification of all these aspects that tarnish the electoral process".

[268] Venezuelan NGOs and political parties have denounced the use of disinformation, death threats, and physical attacks by Chavismo supporters and by the National Liberation Army (ELN), a far-left Colombian guerrilla group, on opposition candidates.