Germán Borregales (28 May 1909, Coro region – 2 March 1984, CaracasGermán Borregales
/ref>) was a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n journalist, author and politician. Belonging to the rightist tendency within Venezuelan politics, he became notorious as a regular candidate for the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

Journalism

Borregales was born into a high-ranking family who were prominent in the provincial state of

Falcón ) , anthem = , image_map = Falcon in Venezuela.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location within Venezuela , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_mapsiz ...

.David J. Myers, ''Democratic Campaigning in Venezuela: Caldera's Victory'', Fundación La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, Instituto Caribe de Antropología y Sociología , 1973, p. 242 He trained as a journalist at several international institutions, notably in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. As a journalist Borregales wrote for several newspapers, including '' El Universal'' and ''La Religión'' as well as a journal he founded himself, ''Falconidad''. His writing was highly anti-communist, generally taking a confrontational tone towards the left.

Politics

A strong supporter of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, he combined his religious views with his strong

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and

anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

. Borregales espoused strongly conservative viewsDonald L. Herman, ''Democracy in Latin America: Colombia and Venezuela'', Praeger, 1988, p. 162 and was characterised as belonging to the far right of Venezuelan politics. Initially a member of COPEI, Borregales was for many years a close ally of

Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( (); 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009), twice elected the president of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms (1969–1974 and 1994–1999), becoming the longest serving democratically elected leade ...

. He was however strongly opposed to

land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...

, considering it both unproductive and unfair and when he voiced his objections to such plans. As a result he resigned from the party and distanced himself from

, due to his stances with communist ideology. Including relations with China. Having resigned from COPEI, Borregales established his own political party, the National Action Movement (MAN) in 1960. A small party with little popular support, it functioned largely as the personal party of Borregales, a common set-up in Latin American politics at the time.Kevin J. Middlebrook, ''Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America'', JHU Press, 2000, pp. 115-116 In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

Borregales presented as a candidate for both the Presidency and a seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, although neither attempt succeeded.Charles D. Ameringer, ''Political Parties of the Americas, 1980s to 1990s: Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1992, p. 623 Indeed the purpose of his campaign was widely questioned due to the MAN's lack of any support base and the final vote tallies for Borregales were derisory.Robert Jackson Alexander, ''Rómulo Betancourt and the Transformation of Venezuela'', Transaction Publishers, p. 574 Nonetheless the party returned in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

and, whilst once again Borregales failed to come close to the Presidency, he was elected to the Assembly as MAN's sole representative. He lost the seat in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

when once again his candidacy for the Presidency fell well short of success. By that point Borregales' fruitless attempts to become President of Venezuela had led to his becoming a popular target for the country's satirists. This was to be his final election and he faded from public life thereafter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borregales, German 1909 births 1984 deaths Venezuelan journalists Copei politicians Members of the National Assembly (Venezuela) Leaders of political parties Venezuelan anti-communists Venezuelan Roman Catholics People from Falcón Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni 20th-century journalists Candidates for President of Venezuela