Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa (14 March 1902 – 22 April 1993), was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and minister of education in its first government (1947–1948), he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958. He split from Democratic Action in 1967 when it tried to prevent his victory in district-level primary elections for the 1968 presidential race translating into Prieto Figueroa winning the nomination. He and a substantial group of supporters split from AD and founded the People's Electoral Movement, which he led until his death.

Career

After completing a doctorate in political and social sciences at the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(1934),Biography at Venezuelatuya.com
/ref> he became engaged in politics, and was a senator from 1936 to 1941. He was a founding member of party

Acción Democrática Democratic Action (, AD) is a Venezuelan social democratic and centre-left political party established in 1941. The party played an important role in the early years of Venezuelan democracy, leading the government during Venezuela's first democ ...

(AD, Democratic Action), and minister of education under

Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he became the first freely elected President of Venezuela, president in Venezuela's history. He was removed from ...

(1947-8). After the 1948 coup he went into exile, working for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in Costa Rica and Honduras (1951-8), after a professorship at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

(1950-1). Returning from exile after the end of the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958, he was again elected senator (1959–1969). During this time he was Secretary General of AD (1958-9), President of the Venezuelan Senate from 1962 to 1967, and President of AD (1963–67). In 1967 Prieto Figueroa campaigned to be the party's presidential candidate for the 1968 Venezuelan presidential election; a Democratic Action convention was to be held in September 1967 which would choose the candidate. Previous practice had been for convention members to be chosen by a process where local party committees chose representatives for state conventions, and these chose state representatives for the national convention.Powell, John Duncan (1971),
Political mobilization of the Venezuelan peasant
', Harvard University Press. p206-7 However in spring 1967 the party decided to hold primary elections at local level, with district representatives to district conventions elected by the mass membership instead of party committees. The

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was a Venezuelan politician who served as the president of Venezuela, from and again from Second presidency of Rómulo ...

faction supported Gonzalo Barrios, considering Prieto too far left.David L. Swanson, Paolo Mancini (1996), ''Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences'', Greenwood Publishing Group. p244 Prieto Figueroa split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters, founding the People's Electoral Movement. As its candidate in the 1968 election he gained nearly 20% of the vote, coming fourth in a close election ( COPEI's Rafael Caldera won with 29%). However Prieto's subsequent electoral run, in the 1978 Venezuelan presidential election (the party endorsed Jesús Ángel Paz Galarraga in 1973), achieved only just over 1%.

Books

* ''Las ideas no se degüellan'' (1980) * ''Pido la palabra'' (1982) * ''Mi hermana María Secundina y otras escrituras'' (1984)

References

External links

Biography at Venezuelatuya.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prieto Figueroa, Luis Beltran People from La Asunción Members of the Senate of Venezuela Venezuelan educators Venezuelan schoolteachers Central University of Venezuela alumni Presidents of the Senate of Venezuela 1902 births 1993 deaths Democratic Action (Venezuela) politicians People's Electoral Movement (Venezuela) politicians Education ministers of Venezuela Candidates for President of Venezuela Rómulo Betancourt ministers Rómulo Gallegos ministers Venezuelan educational theorists