This presentation was done by me and the teacher thought it was great.

2. Guzmancismo (1870- 1888):
0 Guzmán’s arrival to the presidency brought modernization to
Venezuela, specially in Caracas.
0 He established a decree that shortened distant cultural aspects between
social classes.
0 There was peace, but no elimination of weapons.
0 The government had enough authority to control uprisings in the east and
west regions of the country.
0 During his presidency: catholic church had a lot of disputes with him, no
more diplomatic ties with England, and a lot of armed rebellions.
0 Tried his best to remain in power.
0 He was in power for two periods: a 7 year term and a 5 year term.
0 Just as Páez, he was the master mind of other people’s terms.
0 Constitution was reformed twice to satisfy their hunger for power.
0 Guzmancismo ended when the Andeans, led by Cipriano Castro, took over
Caracas on October 22nd of 1899.

3. 1870-1886:
0 He was elected president by the congress in July of 1870 and
then again in 1873 for a 4 year term.
0 After his 7 year term Guzmán Blanco supported Linares
Alcántara in his 2 year term (1877 - 1879).
0 When Linares Alcántara died, Jacinto Gutiérrez and Jose
Gregorio Valera were placed in presidency.
0 When Guzmán Blanco was in Europe, general Jose Gregorio
Cedeño started the restoring revolution.
0 Guzmán Blanco returned to reorganize the country and took
charge of the government with support from the congress.
0 Guzmancismo was inspired by the ideas of the old liberal
party founded by Antonio Leocadio Guzmán.

4. Relevant Issues:
0 Three government terms:
- Septenio: (1870-1876)
- Quinquenio: (1879-1884)
- La Aclamación: (1886-1887)
0 He governed in alliance with elite commercial and financial moguls and
with the monopolist capital of the European countries and the US.
0 Developed a centralized political view with some aspects of federalism.
0 Attracted the hostility and antagonism from his old allies when he
changed is perspective on politics.
0 Reformed public credit, organized la hacienda, took charge of the
administration, and improved the infrastructure.
0 Made the Catholic church reduce their involvement to just the moral and
religious plane.
0 Made statues and monuments for himself and dubbed states and public
works with his name.

5. Conflicts with the Catholic Church:
0 Enacted the civil matrimonies and created the register.
0 All baptisms, matrimonies and defunctions had to be recorded
by civil authorities.
0 Closed all Catholic cemeteries, and expropriated temples and
closed all seminars.
0 Many people went against Guzmán Blanco because of his
actions against the catholic religion.
0 There was a threat to create a Venezuelan National Church
that was separated and disobedient to Rome.
0 The pope Pio IX sent someone to reestablish the peace with
the government, and substitute archbishop Guevara y Lira
with Jose Antonio Ponte.
0 The new archbishop was accepted by Gumán Blanco.

6. Public Works:
0 He constructed:
- Rail ways - National Museum of Caracas
- Steam engines - National Pantheon
- Roads - La Red de Distribución de Agua
- High ways
- Canals
- Steam lines
- Telephones
- Telegrams
- Cementerio General del Sur
- Plaza Bolivar
- Capitolio General
- Municipal theater

7. Education, Legislature
& Economy:

8. Education:
0 27th of June 1870: Decree of Public Primary Instruction
was established (obligatory).
0 People had to be taught the principals of morals, reading
and writing and arithmetic from the federal constitution.
0 He created: Normal schools, polytechnic
schools, agricultural schools and veterinary schools.
0 Guzmán Blanco reorganized UCV and the University of
Merida.
0 Created rules for private schools.

9. Legislature:
0 Civil, commercial, military and penal codes, ‘codigo de
hacienda’, and decrees on civil matrimony and civil registry.
0 New constitution in 1874.
0 Difference from 1864 constitution:
- The right to vote was direct, public, and signed.
- Presidential period lasted 2 years and bean on the 20th of Feb.
0 1881 Constitution Changes:
- Number of states changed from 20 to 9.
- Federal Council created with Swiss style.
- One senator and one deputy for each state, also a deputy for the
federal council.
- The Council chose the president of the republic.

10. Economy:
0 Created the ‘Direccion General de Estadisticas’, and he had
the first census of the population.
0 Implemented the ‘Bolivar’ as the official monetary unit in
Venezuela.
0 Reduced 70% of the import taxes.
0 Eliminated tollbooths for internal commerce.
0 Made foreign investors interested in gold and copper
mining and the construction of railways.

11. Opposition:
0 Confronted by General General Matías Salazar, who was
chief of the army.
0 General Salazar was imprisoned and sentenced to death.
0 1874: Old allies, General Ignacio Pulido and Leon Colina
had an armed dispute.
0 Guzmán Blanco tried to unify the country by
strengthening the state and reducing caudillos.
0 This is how Venezuela remained in the eyes of Guzmán
Blanco: “Un cuero seco que se aplasta por un lado y se
levanta por otro”

12. Final Liberal Governments:
Rojas Paul, Andueza
Palacio, Joaquín
Crespo, Ignacio Andrade.

13. Rojas Paúl (1888- 1890):
0 Reinstated the churches authority and the
creation of a ecclesiastic sciences in schools in
Maracaibo and Barquisimeto.
0 Brought French nuns from San Jose de Tarbes.
0 Helped establish the country’s congregation of
‘Las Hermanitas de los Pobres’.
0 Remodeled religious buildings.
0 Inaugurated the submarine cable from ‘La Guaira’
to French-European Antilles.
0 Unveiled the painting of Batalla de Carabobo by:
Martin Tovar y Tovar.
0 Decreed the establishment of the National
Academy of History.
0 Built many religious buildings and hospitals.

14. Andueza Palacio (1890-1892):
0 The high coffee prices funded many more constructions.
0 Made a statue of José Félix Ribas.
0 Remodeled the legislative place in Caracas.
0 Created the ministry of mail and telegrams.
0 1981: They got the results of the arbitration by the Spanish
crown on the borders between Venezuela and Colombia.
0 Results were not favorable, Venezuela lost almost all of the
Guajira and part of the Orinoco territory.
0 Excluded Guzmanicistas from the government.
0 Tried to change presidency term from 2 to 4 years:
- Started revolucion legalista
- Forced him out of the presidency
- Fleed to Martinica
- Left Guillermo Tell Villegas in presidency

15. Joaquín Crespo (1892-1898):
0 Took charge of the executive power in Oct. of 1882, after the
triumph of the legalist revolution.
0 Denied the government depths and decreed the confiscation of
assets and put all Anduecists to trial.
0 Later he forgave Anduecist functionaries.
0 Made ties with commercial bankers, this became the sustenance of
the economy during his rule.
0 Eliminated all ties with Guzmán Blanco.
0 Asked the congress to consider a new constitution.
0 Differences of 1893 constitution:
- Government Council Substituted Federal Council
- Presidential elections were direct and secret
- Residential period was 4 years long
- Municipalities were not autonomous

16. Joaquín Crespo (1892-1898):
0 1897 Elections:
- 2 candidates (Jose Manuel
Hernandez and Ignacio
Andrade).
- On voting day the voting tables
were operated by people who
would put in extra votes for
Andrade.
- 406,610 votes for Andrade
- 2,203 votes for Hernandez

17. Ignacio Andrade (1898-1899):
0 Didn’t have time to construct
anything.
0 His rule was stopped by the armed
uprisings of Jose Manuel
Hernandez, Ramón Guerra and
Cipriano Castro.
0 Restored 20 states
0 Announced 1st foreign investors law.
0 1899: Castro led a campaign to
Caracas and overthrew the
government of Andrade.
0 This movement started a new era in
Venezuela’s political history.
0 ‘El Ciclo de los Andinos’ (1899-1945)

18. Guzmán Blanco