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1999 Constituent National Assembly of Venezuela
The Constituent National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional Constituyente) or ANC was a constitutional convention held in Venezuela in 1999 to draft a new Constitution of Venezuela, but the assembly also gave itself the role of a supreme power above all the existing institutions in the republic. The Assembly was endorsed by a referendum in April 1999 which enabled Constituent Assembly elections in July 1999. Three seats were reserved for indigenous delegates in the 131-member constitutional assembly, and two additional indigenous delegates won unreserved seats in the assembly elections.
The constitution was later endorsed by the referendum in December 1999, and new general elections were held under the new constitution in July 2000. This ended the bipartisanship and ushered in the Bolivarian Revolution.
President Chávez called for a public referendum which he hoped would support his plans to form a constitutional assembly, composed of representatives from across Venezuela, as well as from indigenous tribal groups, which would be able to rewrite the nation's constitution. The referendum went ahead on 25 April 1999, and was an overwhelming success for Chávez, with 88% of voters supporting the proposal. Following this, Chávez called for an election to take place on 25 July 1999, in which the members of the constitutional assembly would be voted into power" Critics feared it was the final step to establishing a one-man dictatorship."
Former president and Chávez's predecessor Rafael Caldera protested against the constituent assembly, arguing that it violated the 1961 Constitution. Allan Brewer-Carías, a Venezuelan legal scholar and elected member of this assembly, explains that the constitution-making body was an instrument for the gradual dismantling of democratic institutions and values.
Of the 1,171 candidates standing for election to the assembly, over 900 of them were opponents of Chávez. Chávez's supporters won 52% of the vote; despite this, because of voting procedures chosen by the government beforehand, supporters of the new government took 125 seats (95% of the total), including all of those belonging to indigenous tribal groups, whereas the opposition obtained only 6 seats. One of the 6 seats was occupied by Allan Brewer-Carías, a constitutional scholar and vocal critic.
The 131 member assembly was composed of 121 belonging to the Chávez's Patriotic Pole, which consisted of the Fifth Republic Movement, Movement for Socialism, Fatherland for All, the Communist Party of Venezuela, People's Electoral Movement and others, 3 indigenous representatives and 6 Democratic Pole and other party members consisting of Acción Democrática, Copei, Project Venezuela and National Convergence.
The Assembly convened 3 August 1999. On 12 August 1999, the new constitutional assembly voted to give themselves the power to abolish government institutions and to dismiss officials who were perceived as being corrupt or operating only in their own interests. Chávez and his supporters had discussed dissolving both the Supreme Court and the Congress. The constitutional assembly had the power to perform such an action, and had already fired almost sixty judges whom it accused as being involved in corruption. The ANC also offered more power to Chávez, it helped him broaden the powers given to the president, and allowed him to call a general election for all public office positions —many of which weren't controlled at the time by Chávez or the Movimiento Quinta República. Soto believes that the ANC enabled Chávez to "design a genius political strategy to take over all the spaces in the Venezuelan State."
Although the Chavismo obtained near absolute control of the Constituent Assembly, it did not mean that Chávez did not find opposition within his own supporters to several of his proposals for the new Constitution. There were several important changes pushed by Chávez which had initially been discarded by the Constituent Assembly, and which were only admitted under direct pressure from the President. Among the main ones were the inclusion of the term "Bolivarian" in the official name of Venezuela, the suppression of the voting "second round" or ballot, and the restriction of the taxing powers of the states.
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1999 Constituent National Assembly of Venezuela
The Constituent National Assembly (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional Constituyente) or ANC was a constitutional convention held in Venezuela in 1999 to draft a new Constitution of Venezuela, but the assembly also gave itself the role of a supreme power above all the existing institutions in the republic. The Assembly was endorsed by a referendum in April 1999 which enabled Constituent Assembly elections in July 1999. Three seats were reserved for indigenous delegates in the 131-member constitutional assembly, and two additional indigenous delegates won unreserved seats in the assembly elections.
The constitution was later endorsed by the referendum in December 1999, and new general elections were held under the new constitution in July 2000. This ended the bipartisanship and ushered in the Bolivarian Revolution.
President Chávez called for a public referendum which he hoped would support his plans to form a constitutional assembly, composed of representatives from across Venezuela, as well as from indigenous tribal groups, which would be able to rewrite the nation's constitution. The referendum went ahead on 25 April 1999, and was an overwhelming success for Chávez, with 88% of voters supporting the proposal. Following this, Chávez called for an election to take place on 25 July 1999, in which the members of the constitutional assembly would be voted into power" Critics feared it was the final step to establishing a one-man dictatorship."
Former president and Chávez's predecessor Rafael Caldera protested against the constituent assembly, arguing that it violated the 1961 Constitution. Allan Brewer-Carías, a Venezuelan legal scholar and elected member of this assembly, explains that the constitution-making body was an instrument for the gradual dismantling of democratic institutions and values.
Of the 1,171 candidates standing for election to the assembly, over 900 of them were opponents of Chávez. Chávez's supporters won 52% of the vote; despite this, because of voting procedures chosen by the government beforehand, supporters of the new government took 125 seats (95% of the total), including all of those belonging to indigenous tribal groups, whereas the opposition obtained only 6 seats. One of the 6 seats was occupied by Allan Brewer-Carías, a constitutional scholar and vocal critic.
The 131 member assembly was composed of 121 belonging to the Chávez's Patriotic Pole, which consisted of the Fifth Republic Movement, Movement for Socialism, Fatherland for All, the Communist Party of Venezuela, People's Electoral Movement and others, 3 indigenous representatives and 6 Democratic Pole and other party members consisting of Acción Democrática, Copei, Project Venezuela and National Convergence.
The Assembly convened 3 August 1999. On 12 August 1999, the new constitutional assembly voted to give themselves the power to abolish government institutions and to dismiss officials who were perceived as being corrupt or operating only in their own interests. Chávez and his supporters had discussed dissolving both the Supreme Court and the Congress. The constitutional assembly had the power to perform such an action, and had already fired almost sixty judges whom it accused as being involved in corruption. The ANC also offered more power to Chávez, it helped him broaden the powers given to the president, and allowed him to call a general election for all public office positions —many of which weren't controlled at the time by Chávez or the Movimiento Quinta República. Soto believes that the ANC enabled Chávez to "design a genius political strategy to take over all the spaces in the Venezuelan State."
Although the Chavismo obtained near absolute control of the Constituent Assembly, it did not mean that Chávez did not find opposition within his own supporters to several of his proposals for the new Constitution. There were several important changes pushed by Chávez which had initially been discarded by the Constituent Assembly, and which were only admitted under direct pressure from the President. Among the main ones were the inclusion of the term "Bolivarian" in the official name of Venezuela, the suppression of the voting "second round" or ballot, and the restriction of the taxing powers of the states.