The presidency of Eleazar López Contreras was a post‑Gómez transitional government in a Venezuela without political parties, with Congress ratifying López Contreras as interim president in 1935 to complete Gómez's term after his death, and electing him constitutional president in 1936 until 1941 with 121 out of 122 votes, so that legally they were two governments. Considered a hybrid regime, it was the third government of the period known as the Andean Hegemony, led by presidents born in Táchira state.
López Contreras was conservative ideologically. In legislative terms, the 1936 Constitution was approved. López Contreras's economic policy was protectionist, also creating the Central Bank of Venezuela and signing a free trade treaty with the United States.
He was the founder of the National Guard. López Contreras's government presided over the first part of World War II, declaring a neutral position in 1939.
The was decisive for his democratic opening at the electoral level, carrying out in 1937 the first elections of the 20th century in which the opposition to the government participated, maintaining an anti-communist stance. President López Contreras encouraged the return of political opponents of the Gómez regime and later exiled several of their main leaders, outlawing political parties.
After his term, he supported the succession of his Minister of War and Navy, Isaías Medina Angarita, with the hope of succeeding him in a second government, but the latter distanced himself from his mentor. After the coup d'état against his successor in 1945, the was established to investigate corruption related to the Gómez and post-Gómez governments, including that of López Contreras. Due to his presidential term, after the establishment of the 1961 constitution, he was appointed senator for life, a position he held until his death.
Background
Dictator Juan Vicente Gómez was 77 years old at the beginning of 1935, was ill, and there was an internal conspiracy in the government vying for his succession, particularly involving Eustoquio Gómez. Several authors indicate that Gómez had thought of Diógenes Escalante as his successor.
When Gómez died in December 1935, the cabinet met and selected General Eleazar López Contreras, Minister of War and Navy, to finish Gómez's term, which legally ended in 1936. Congress ratified López Contreras as interim president in 1935 and as constitutional president after the 1936 elections.
Cabinet
CabinetCentro Editor/José Rivas Rivas (1972). "Historia Gráfica de Venezuela. 1- El Gobierno de López Contreras"OFFICENAMETERMPresidentEleazar López Contreras1935–1941Interior AffairsPedro Tinoco Smith1935–193619361936Régulo Olivares1936–1937Alfonso Mejía1937–19381938–1941Foreign AffairsPedro Itriago Chacín1935–1936Esteban Gil Borges1936–1941FinanceEfraim González1935–1936Gustavo Herrera193619361936Cristóbal L. Mendoza1937–1938Francisco J. Parra1938–1941War and NavyAntonio Chalbaud Cardona1935–1936Isaías Medina Angarita1936–1941DevelopmentPedro París19361936–19381938–1941Public WorksAntonio Díaz1935–1936Tomás Pacaninis1936–1938Enrique Jorge Aguerrevere1938–1941Public InstructionR. González Rincones1935–1936José Ramón Ayala1936Caracciolo Parra Pérez1936Rómulo Gallegos19361936–1937Rafael Ernesto López1937–19381938–1939Arturo Uslar Pietri1939–1941Sanitation and AgricultureR. González Rincones1935–1936Health and Social Welfare19361936–1937Honorio Sigala1937–1938Julio García Álvarez1938–1941Agriculture1936Alfonso Mejía1936–1937Hugo Parra Pérez1937–1938Amenodoro Rangel Lamus1938–1939Alfonso Mejía1939–1941CommunicationsFrancisco H. Rivero1936Honorio Sigala1936Alejandro Lara1936–19371937–1938Héctor Cuenca1938–1939José Rafael Pocaterra1939–1941Secretary of the Presidency Amenodoro Rangel 1935-1936Francisco Parra19361936–1938Alfonso Mejía1938–1939Tulio Chiossone1939−1941SecretaryAmenodoro Rangel Lamus1935-1937
Domestic policy
Legislative policy
Constitution of 1936
The Venezuelan Constitution was approved on July 16, 1936, during the presidency of Eleazar López Contreras. Its importance lies in being the first political constitution of the State after the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Although it put an end to the personalistic character of its predecessors, initially it had more restrictive characteristics than the seven Gómez-era constitutions, until April 23, 1945, when President Isaías Medina Angarita promoted a reform.
The presidential term was reduced from seven to five years. The constitution limited voting to men over 21 years of age who could read, at a time when more than half of Venezuelans could not read.
Judicial policy
Release of political prisoners and return of exiles On December 20, 1935, General López Contreras ordered the release of all political prisoners and detainees from the Gómez dictatorship, many of whom were engaged in forced labor for road construction, as well as the provision for the return of exiles and banished persons.
Defense The government of López Contreras signified a military continuism of the Gómez regime; transforming itself into a new power elite based on military prestige and command relationships inherited from Gómez.
Economics
López Contreras's economic policy was protectionist. In 1936, Congress ordered the confiscation of the assets of Juan Vicente Gómez and all his ministers. On October 13, 1936, the Customs Tariff Law was approved, a project of Minister Alberto Adriani. In November 1939, a free trade treaty with the United States was established. The Central Bank of Venezuela was also founded in 1940.
Energy Royal Dutch Shell, Standard Oil, and Gulf Oil were the major oil companies in Venezuela when López became president. An export tax on oil shipped from Venezuela was prohibited by the pre-1936 constitution, but this was omitted in the 1936 constitution. Oil concessions to private people was ended by López in 1938.
Petroleum workers started striking in the Maracaibo region on 11 December 1936, and this continued until it was ended by a presidential degree from López on 22 January 1937. There was a 39% decrease in oil production during the strike and 6.5 million bolívares lost. Oil companies instituted some reforms such as increasing the wages to 8 bolívares a day and improving living conditions.
Electoral policy In 1937, municipal elections were held, the first elections of the 20th century in which the opposition to the government participated. The parties ORVE, FEV-OP, PRP, Frente Obrero, and Frente Nacional were outlawed.
Health policy On February 25, 1936, the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Livestock was divided into two, giving rise to the Ministry of Health and Social Assistance. It also established the National Institute of Childcare.
Labor López Contreras maintained a confrontation with the labor movement and its political leaders, who demonstrated in successive strikes such as that of 1936. By orders of military officer Elbano Mibelli on March 26, 1939, the Workers' Trade Union Federation (FST) and the General Union of Labor (UGT) were banned, accused of being communist.
Infrastructure The Monumental Plan of Caracas was designed.
Education In October 1936, the Pedagogical Institute was founded, and in January 1937, teacher education programs were established. That same year, the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) was raided.
Agricultural policy The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock was created, dividing the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Livestock. In 1936, the National Coffee Institute was founded.
Human Rights
At the beginning of 1936, various violent protests occurred in Maracaibo and Cabimas, generating looting and causing seven deaths. Meanwhile, in Valencia and Caracas, demonstrations degenerated into looting. In response to these events, the regime suspended constitutional guarantees on January 6, 1936.
The February 14, 1936, demonstration was repressed, resulting in six dead and nearly 150 wounded. Following the repression of the demonstration, a series of altercations and looting occurred, leading to the removal and arrest of Governor Galavís and the subsequent restoration of guarantees.
That same year, Alejandro Lara was appointed Minister of Interior, who promoted the approval of the Public Order Law, better known as the Lara Law. The law prohibited strikes and work stoppages, authorized the use of firearms to end protests, allowed the search of homes without a court order, and legalized the expulsion of citizens from the nation.
Over the years, social conflict persisted, degenerating into government repression. In 1936, the militarization of the city of Valencia occurred by order of Colonel F. Celestino Hernández due to a strike by telegraph office workers. In 1937, the headquarters of the FEV (Venezuelan Student Federation) located in the Central University of Venezuela was raided, causing the death of student Eutimio Rivas.
Additionally, a series of detentions of activists and politicians took place, including Gustavo Machado, Salvador de la Plaza, Carlos D'Ascoli, Jesús González, Luis Hernández Solís, Luis Francisco Troconis, Hernani Portocarrero, and others.
Due to the repressive attitude, some organizations began to emerge to denounce abuses. In 1937, relatives of political detainees founded the National Pro-Prisoners League, an organization responsible for offering help and assistance to detainees; however, authorities prevented its legalization on several occasions. Meanwhile, in 1938, Father Manuel Aguirre Elorriaga founded Revista SIC (Seminario Interdiocesano de Caracas), influenced by the Christian Workers' Youth. This publication would become one of the first windows for the dissemination of information about human rights in Venezuela and the social doctrine of the Church.
In 1939, the Vagrancy and Misconduct Law entered into force. Although it did not explicitly criminalize homosexuality, it left the door open for the detention of persons suspected of any "threat to society." The concept of "vagrants" was not clearly defined and included unemployed persons or those who "walk the streets (...) fostering idleness and other vices."
Security In August 1937, the National Security Service was established.
Media policy
Censorship On January 28, 1936, the Governor of the Federal District, Félix Galavís, created a Censorship Office within the governor's office. Galavís decreed the prohibition of communist propaganda, the posting of posters, and press articles without prior administrative authorization. Following the February 14, 1936, demonstration, President Contreras removed Galavís from office and reversed the censorship decree.
Red Book
In 1936, the newspapers Orve and El Popular announced the appearance of a book called "La verdad de las actividades comunistas en Venezuela" (The Truth about Communist Activities in Venezuela), popularly known thereafter as the Red Book, whose author was unknown. It was a compendium of names of persons accused of being communists (including real communists and ex-communists at that time). Mentioned were the Secretary of Government of the Federal District, the Prefect of the Capital Department, and the private secretary of the governor, Elbano Mibelli, as well as the Barranquilla Plan, linking the signatories to communism, including Rómulo Betancourt and other participants grouped as the Movimiento de Organización Venezolana.
This resulted in a political scandal and unleashed a witch hunt; Betancourt was persecuted and remained underground. Eventually, it was demonstrated that the Red Book was linked to the government of Eleazar López Contreras.
Immigration Immigration policy since Juan Vicente Gómez was influenced by positivism, an ideology that continued to determine the migration policies of the López Contreras government.
Foreign policy