Dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez
The dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez (also known as Gomecismo and self-named Rehabilitación)[1] refers to the government of Juan Vicente Gómez and his subsequent puppet governments in Venezuela. It began after Gómez, then vice president, betrayed and overthrew Cipriano Castro in a 1908 coup d'état, ending Castro's dictatorship. The regime lasted 27 years until Gómez's death in 1935, following his fourth reelection.
Initially presenting itself as a government with democratic tendencies, Gómez abandoned this facade when faced with the possibility of losing the 1914 elections. He fabricated claims of a foreign invasion led by Castro and launched a crackdown on political opponents, solidifying his authoritarian rule by 1913.[2][3]
The dictatorship was marked by severe repression. In Táchira alone, an estimated 20,000 people fled into exile.[4] State security forces carried out widespread torture and forced disappearances, though the exact number remains unknown.[5] Nationwide, hundreds of political prisoners were subjected to forced labor, including the construction of highways and public works.[6][7]
Gómez's government resolved the Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908 and restored diplomatic relations with the United States. Venezuela remained neutral during World War I, with Gómez maintaining this stance throughout the conflict.
1908 Venezuelan coup d'état
[edit]Towards the end of Cipriano Castro's dictatorship, Juan Vicente Gómez established contacts with the United States government with the aim of securing its support for a future conspiracy. Elihu Root, the U.S. Secretary of State, provided early backing for a coup d'état, which was also favorably viewed by European powers.[6]
When Castro traveled to Berlin for health-related reasons, Gómez, who was acting president in Castro's absence, orchestrated the coup d'état with the assistance of Francisco Linares Alcántara Estévez, whom he later appointed as a minister.[8]
On December 27, 1908, three American warships anchored in the port of La Guaira. They were the cruisers US North Carolina, US Maine, and US Des Moines, carrying William I. Buchanan, special envoy of Secretary of State Elihu Root.
Domestic policy
[edit]Judicial policy
[edit]Judge Abreu was imprisoned for upholding a 15-year prison sentence against Eustoquio Gómez, the dictator’s cousin, after Gómez was convicted of murdering Governor Luis Mata Illas.[9]
Torture
[edit]
Eustoquio Gómez was later appointed warden of the San Carlos prison, where abuses became rampant. According to Colonel Rogelio Benavídez Pacheco, "The terror, torture, and even poisonings with crushed glass grew so extreme that the prisoners revolted, forcing Eustoquio to flee".[4]
Defense policy
[edit]Tomás Funes' de facto rule in Amazonas
[edit]
On May 8, 1913, Colonel Tomás Funes and his accomplices carried out the assassination of Governor Roberto Pulido, his wife, and his children, as well as the massacre of dozens or even hundreds of people in what became known as the "Night of the Machetes". They also stormed the Government House of the Federal Territory of Amazonas in San Fernando de Atabapo, the state capital at the time.[10][11][12] Gómez allowed these events, marking the beginning of Funes' bloody de facto rule over Amazonas for seven years.[13] According to Funes' records, at least 480 murders were committed during this period,[13][14] and indigenous inhabitants of the region were enslaved. Additionally, Funes' repressive actions led to the deaths of at least 2,000 Makiritare indigenous people.[15] Funes' de facto rule in Amazonas lasted seven years[13] until Gómez facilitated his capture by Emilio Arévalo Cedeño. Funes was subsequently tried, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad,[16][17] allowing Gómez to regain control over Amazonas.
Economy
[edit]During the Gomecismo period, Venezuela restored its foreign credit, which had been nonexistent due to the policies of his predecessor, Cipriano Castro. Investment was centralized and directed toward the petroleum industry.[18] The country transitioned from an agricultural export economy to an oil-based one. In 1930, Gómez unilaterally ordered the full repayment of the country's external debt.[19]
Energy
[edit]
Oil concessions, previously revoked under Castro, were reinstated and granted to international oil monopolies. These companies received vast portions of national territory and operated under favorable conditions ensured by the dictatorship's repressive policies against dissent.[18]
Gómez held absolute authority to administer and grant oil concessions without congressional approval. During his regime, four major concessions were issued for exploration, production, and refining—primarily intended for resale to foreign investors.[20] By the late 1920s, Venezuela became the world's top oil exporter and the second-largest oil producer globally.[18]
Education
[edit]In December 1908, a Chair of Dermatology and Syphilography was established at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV).[21] However, in 1912, the UCV was closed by the government, and by 1914, the General Association of Students was banned.[22]
Ideology and symbology
[edit]Juan Vicente Gómez's motto when he took power was "Union, Peace and Work".[23]
Anti-partisanship
[edit]The interested literature of the Gómez regime presented the conservatives and liberals as those responsible for the civil wars, and the political parties as those responsible for the backwardness, instability and corruption.[24]
Anticommunism
[edit]The regime was anti-communist, establishing in the 1909 Constitution the prohibition of communist propaganda.[25]
Cult of Simón Bolívar
[edit]
Gómez continued and deepened the cult of Simón Bolívar, inaugurating his monuments, such as the one in the Plaza Bolívar in Mérida.[26] In addition, he changed his date of birth so that it coincided with Bolívar's date of birth, and made this supposed coincidence public knowledge, announcing that he would also die on the same day as him, which was announced on December 17, 1935, which, in effect, was the anniversary of Bolívar's death.[27]
Change of the national flag
[edit]Through a decree of July 15, 1930 issued by the National Congress, the country's flag was modified, changing the arrangement of the seven stars in the shape of a circumference to another in the shape of an arc.[28]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Dictadura de Juan Vicente Gómez". Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Servicios de Caracas (in Spanish).
- ^ Straka, Tomás (2024-01-24). "Entre el miedo y la libertad: Votar antes de la democracia". Prodavinci (in Spanish).
- ^ Pino Iturrieta, Elías (2017-12-11). "Dictador desde el principio". Prodavinci (in Spanish).
- ^ a b "Eustoquio Gómez murió en su propia ley". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). 2016-01-10.
- ^ Orejuela, Merlyn (2016). "La reproducción de las ideas fascistas y nacionalistas reaccionarias en Venezuela". Universidad Nacional de La Plata: 206–221.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Velásquez, Ramón J. "Gobierno de Juan Vicente Gómez". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ "Eustoquio Gómez fue asesinado por la espalda hace 88 años". Diario La Nación (in Spanish). 2023-12-27.
- ^ "Linares Alcántara, Francisco". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ Pérez Perdomo, Rogelio. "Estado y justicia en tiempos de Gómez (Venezuela 1909-1935)" (PDF). Universidad Central de Venezuela.
- ^ Rivera, José Eustaquio (1924). La vorágine (in Spanish).
- ^ Alcalde, José Alberto (2012). Primos y tiranos (in Spanish).
- ^ HERNÁNDEZ DROULERS, JIMENO JOSÉ (2018-10-24). "El hombre que fusiló al Diablo". El Universal (in Spanish).
- ^ a b c "Arevalo Cedeño, último caudillo guerrillero". Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Servicios de Caracas (in Spanish).
- ^ "1913 - Cronología de historia de Venezuela". Fundación Empresas Polar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-11-01.
- ^ Leopoldo M., Bernucci. Un paraíso sospechoso: La vorágine de José Eustasio Rivera, novela e historia (in Spanish).
- ^ Krispin, Karl. "Maneras de la sedición" (PDF) (in Spanish).
- ^ "Emilio Arévalo Cedeño: Paladín de la lucha armada anti-gomecista". Diario VEA (in Spanish). 2021-05-19.
- ^ a b c Zambrano Roa, Omaira. "Desarrollo de la Politica Petrolera en Venezuela para el siglo XX" (PDF) (in Spanish). Universidad de Buenos Aires.
- ^ Perozo Padua, Luis Alberto (2020-04-13). "En 1930 Venezuela canceló la totalidad de la deuda pública". El Impulso (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ Consalvi, Simón Alberto (2012-05-08). "Las primeras concesiones petroleras en Venezuela". Runrunes (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
- ^ "1908 - Cronología de historia de Venezuela". Fundación Empresas Polar. Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela.
- ^ Elías Pino Iturrieta (2017-12-11). "Dictador desde el principio". Prodavinci (in Spanish).
- ^ "Caracas y la dictadura de Juan Vicente Gómez (1908-1935) – Parte I". Cámara de Comercio, Industria y Servicios de Caracas.
- ^ "Relaciones civiles-militares en el siglo XX venezolano". Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina (in Spanish).
- ^ Chacón Maldonado, Oláguer E. (2004). "La regulación sobre propaganda en la legislación electoral venezolana en el siglo XX" (PDF) (in Spanish). Revista Politeia.
- ^ Camacho, Carlos. "Plaza Bolívar de Mérida" (PDF). Universidad de Los Andes (in Spanish).
- ^ Iriarte, Alfredo (1986). Bestiario tropical (in Spanish).
- ^ Alejandro Vargas, Francisco. "Bandera Nacional". Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela (in Spanish). Fundación Empresas Polar.