Juan Vicente Gómez
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Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
, politician and '' de facto'' ruler of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
from 1908 until his death in 1935. He only officially served as president on three occasions during this time, ruling as an unelected military strongman behind puppet governments in between. Important public works were carried out during his
dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
. He founded the country's first airline, Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela and the Venezuelan Air Force. He commissioned the construction of Venezuela's first airports: Maracaibo International Airport "Grano de Oro", La Fría, Encontrados, Sucre Base (now Florencio Gomez National Airport in Maracay, Aragua), Aragua Meteorological Air Base (the cradle and birthplace of the airport). Venezuelan Aviation, later converted into Aviation Museum), Porlamar (now Municipal Police Headquarters, replaced by Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport), Leonardo Chirinos International Airport in Coro, Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport and Mérida's Alberto Carnevalli Airport. Likewise, bridges, customs buildings (such as the main customs office in San Antonio del Táchira), the first passenger terminal of the intercity bus line were built, the first intercity bus line was called the Venezuelan Airbus or the Venezuelan Airmail Bus. The famous Transandean Highway was also built, a route that starts from Las Adjuntas station (near Caracas Metro Station) and ends at the main land customs office in San Antonio del Táchira. The Venezuelan military was organized on a modern basis. This development came at the expense of civil liberties. His dictatorship always tried to maintain a constitutional and democratic façade, employing short-term puppet presidents like Victorino Márquez Bustillos and Juan Bautista Pérez, and allowing them to rule directly or indirectly through successive constitutional amendments.


Early years

Gómez was born into a prominent family of Andean landowners who lived in the La Mulera. He was the firstborn son of Pedro Cornelio Gomez and Hermenegilda Chacon Alarcon. In 1899, he joined the private army of Cipriano Castro, with whom he had been friends since Castro's exile in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. This army swept down on
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
in 1899 and seized control of the country. He became Castro's second vice president in 1901, his first vice president in 1904, and, in 1902, head of the military, responsible for suppressing several major revolts against the government in the battle of Ciudad Bolivar on 21 July 1903. Gómez seized power from Castro in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
on 19 December 1908, while Castro was in Europe for medical treatment. Their relationship had been rocky for some time, as shown by the La Conjura incident.


Presidency

As president, Gómez managed to deflate Venezuela's staggering debt by granting concessions to foreign oil companies after the discovery of
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
in Lake Maracaibo in 1914. This, in turn, won him the support of the United States and Europe and economic stability. Though he used the money to launch an extensive public works program, he also received generous kickbacks, increasing his personal fortune enormously. Because of his contributions to the country's development, the
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
bestowed the title of ''El Benemérito'' ("the Meritorious One") on him. In contrast, his opponents, who disdained his brutal tactics at home, referred to him as ''El Bagre'' ("the
Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
"), a snide reference to his bushy mustache and outward appearance. They also called him "the Tyrant of the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
" – a reference to his roots in the mountain state of
Táchira Táchira State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal, Táchira, San Cristóbal. Táchira State covers a total surface area of and as of the 2011 census, had a population of 1,168,9 ...
. Gómez spent the last year of his term on a military campaign, and José Gil Fortoul served as ''de facto'' acting president. Gómez was reelected in 1914, but declined to take office, and Victorino Márquez was elected provisional president in his stead. It was generally understood, however, that Gómez continued to hold the real power; he ruled the country from his home in Maracay. He returned to office in 1922, ruling until 22 April 1929. Though he was reelected by Congress, he declined to return to the capital, and Juan Bautista Pérez assumed the presidency, though Gómez remained the final authority in the country. On 13 June 1931, Congress forced Pérez to resign, and elected Gómez president again. This time, he resumed office, ruling the country until his death.


Opposition

The Generation of 1928 was a group of students who led protests in 1928 against Gómez in the capital city of Caracas. Members included Rómulo Betancourt, Jóvito Villalba, Joaquin Gabaldon Marquez, Juan Oropeza, Raúl Leoni, Andrés Eloy Blanco, Miguel Otero Silva, Pedro Sotillo, Isaac J Pardo, Juan Bautista Fuenmayor, Germán Suárez Flamerich, and Gustavo Machado.


Personal life

Gómez was never married; however, he had two mistresses. The first one was Dionisia Gómez Bello, with whom he had seven children: José Vicente, Josefa, Alí, Flor de María, Graciela, Servilia, and Gonzalo. The second one was Dolores Amelia Nunez Linares' de Cáceres, with whom he had nine children: Juan Vicente, Florencio, Rosa Amelia, Hermenegilda, Cristina, Belén, Berta, Manuel Antonio and Juan Crisóstomo Gómez. Gómez also fathered many other children in brief relationships: at least 64 and possibly as many as 99. He appointed many of his children to public office, sparking charges of
nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...
. Gómez did not drink or smoke.


Legacy

Gómez's rule of Venezuela is a controversial period in the country's history. The sheer longevity of his tenure makes a detached evaluation difficult. Under his presidency, there was discovery of large oil fields in Venezuela. These oil fields would primarily be developed during his successors' tenure. His insistence on road construction and the creation of jobs in the then-new oil industry promoted population mobility and more frequent social contact among Venezuelans of different regions – previously a rare occurrence – which permanently rooted a sense of national unity in the country.Caballero, Manuel (2007) ''Gómez, El Tirano Liberal'' 6th Edition. Alfadil Ediciones. He brought about the end of civil wars and political insurrections by exerting power over regional caudillos to strengthen his own power, and as a result, Venezuela became a peaceful country for several decades. Ironically, the elimination of the caudillo problem and the choosing of Eleazar López Contreras as his last minister of war and marine paved the way to the emergence of modern democracy; see Generation of 1928. He repaid all foreign and internal debt using excess reserves; his fiscal conservatism helped the country get through the Crash of 1929 and the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, and led to an increase in the value of the bolívar to the point of becoming
hard currency In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...
. On the other hand, he is considered by some as one of the prominent examples of U.S. economic domination over
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. During his reign, most of the country's wealth ended up in the hands of Gómez and his cronies, and, according to Woddis,
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
. Indeed, at the time of his death, he was by far the richest man in the country. While he brought more peace and prosperity than most living Venezuelans had known, it came at the expense of democracy. He held basic civil liberties in disdain, and his secret police were ubiquitous. He also did little for public education (believing that "an ignorant people is a docile people"). Although cordial and simple in manner and speech, his ruthless crushing of opponents through his secret police earned him the reputation of a tyrant. He was also accused of trying to make the country his personal fiefdom. Under Gómez, Venezuela completed a degree of independence and financial progress. After oil reserves were determined to exist near Lake Maracaibo in 1914, Gómez bargained shrewdly with the petroleum corporations of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
for the gain of
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. He persevered to preserve precise family members with overseas countries and controlled to cast off all overseas indebtedness. He exercised control over the neighborhood caudillos ("bosses") and the Roman
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, launched many public works programs, and prepared a 'green' administration. A staunch anticommunist, Gómez viewed both communism and trade unions as a threat to regime and suppressed both, denouncing the former as a "plague" and the latter as "a tool of the devil."
John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an Americans, American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-sell ...
described Gómez as follows: "The Catfish was—let us not gloss over the fact—a murderous blackguard. He made use of tortures of inconceivable brutality; political prisoners, of which there were thousands, dragged out their lives bearing leg irons (''grillos'') that made them permanent cripples, if they were not hung upside down—by the testicles—until they died. Others became human slime, literally. Gómez was quite capable of choosing one out of every ten by lot, and hanging them—''by meathooks through their throats!''" (Emphasis in the original.)Gunther, John. ''Inside Latin America'' (1941), p. 183 Former Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt said in his book ''Venezuela: Oil and Politics'' that "(...) Gomez was something more than a local despot, he was the instrument of foreign control of the Venezuelan economy, the ally and servant of powerful outside interests." This is in reference to Royal Dutch Shell and
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...
's appeasement of the dictator in return for exploration rights to the country's oil fields. In Venezuelan politics, Juan Vicente Gómez has come to symbolize political endurance and a right-wing
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...
mentality together with Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Gómez was quoted as saying he needed a lifetime to fulfill his political work. Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport was named for him in 1993.


Distinctions and decorations

* There is a statue of Juan Vicente in Aeronautics Museum of Maracay. * The Venezuelan airport of Juan Vicente Gómez International Airport has the name of Gómez, and it was declared as such in 1993.


National decorations

* Order of the Liberator . * Order of Francisco de Miranda .


International decorations

* Order of Boyacá * Order of Pope Pius IX * Order of Leopold (Belgium) * Order of Charles III


See also

* Presidents of Venezuela * Dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez


References


External links


Biography at infoplease.com
– A recount of the historical context, Gomez's career and influence. * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Juan Vicente Juan Vicente Gómez Presidents of Venezuela Vice presidents of Venezuela Venezuelan generals People from Táchira 1857 births 1935 deaths Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Military dictatorships Deaths from cancer in Venezuela