Venezuela

1. Venezuela By: Candace Crane

2. Government • Federal Republic • President • Hugo Chavez • President elected by vote • Term of office is 6 years • President may be re-elected to a single consecutive term • President appoints vice president

3. Venezuela • What you will find in Venezuela: • South America’s largest lake • Third-longest river • Highest waterfall in the world • The longest of all snakes • Jaguars • Armadillos

4. Venezuela • The name “Venezuela” is said to have originated from the cartographer Amerigo Vespucci.

5. History of Venezuela • Colonized by Spain in 1522 • Declared independence on Spain on July 5, 1811

6. Full name Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela Capital City Caracas Population 25,000,000 About half live in poverty Official language Spanish Religion Roman Catholic (96%) Protestant Facts About Venezuela

7. Divided into 23 states Grouped into 9 administrative regions Andean Capital Central Central-Western Guayanna Insular Llanos North-Eastern Zulian World’s 33rd largest country About half the size of Alaska Facts

8. National flower Orchid National tree Araguaney National bird Turpial National symbols The Flag Coat of Arms National Anthem National Symbols

9. Venezuela

10. Family Structures • Before the oil era began in the mid-1920s, about 70 percent of the Venezuelan population was rural, illiterate, and poor • Over the next fifty years, the ratios were reversed so that over 88 percent of the population became urban and literate. • Even the most isolated peasants and tribal Indians felt some effects of this economic growth • Opened up access to the elite stature • Expanded opportunities for large numbers of immigrants • Increased the size, power, and cohesiveness of the middle class • Created a sector of organized workers within the lower class