Country Trading Profiles Venezuela

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power

President is both the chief of state and the head of the government. He is elected by popular vote for a six-year term. He has executive power. The president appoints the Vice-President. He decides on the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the parliament.

Legislative Power

The legislature is unicameral in Venezuela. The parliament, called National Assembly, consist of 167 seats with its members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Three seats are reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela. Legislative power is vested only in the National Assembly. President has the power to veto acts of the National Assembly which in turn a simple majority of the Assembly can override. However, President has the power to dissolve the National Assembly under certain conditions. The people of Venezuela have limited political rights.

Main political parties

Venezuela has a multi-party system, where no single party ever really has the chance of gaining power alone. Therefore, parties generally work with each other in order to form coalition governments. The major parties in the country are:
- COPEI - Christian democrats; has dominated country's politics for the last fifty years;
- AD (Democratic Action) - a social democratic party, draws major support base from trade unions;
- MVR (Fifth Republic Movement) - advocates left-wing socialism and populism;
- MAS (Movement for Socialism) - a social-democratic political party;

- PPT (Homeland for All) - left-wing political party, advocates personal liberty and social justice.

The majority party of today is the one created by Presiden CHAVEZ: PSUV: The United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Current political leaders

President: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since February 1999, re-elected in December 2006) - MVR, supported by MAS and PPT
Vice-president : Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ (since January 2008).

Next election dates

Presidential: December 2012
National Assembly: December 2015

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions: There are no requirements regarding vaccination. There is a risk of a benign form of P. vivax malaria all year round in some rural areas of the States of Amazonas, Apure, Barinas, Bolivar, Sucre and Tàchira. The risk of P. falciparum malaria is limited to towns situated in jungle areas. Isolated cases of falciparum malaria resistant to chloroquine have been reported. Preventive treatment recommended in areas of risk: CHL for P. vivax; C+P for P. falciparum.
Observe elementary hygiene precautions (only drink water in sealed bottles if hygiene conditions do not seem to be observed), avoid fruit juices and raw vegetables, especially in the hot season. Anti-rabies vaccination is strongly advised.
For further information on sanitary conditions: Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
World Travels
For further information on safety conditions
Contact your Embassy: Embassy of Greece in Venezuela
Quinta "Maryland", Avenida Principal del Avila, Alta Florida, Caracas, 1050
Phone: (0058212) 7303833, 7300460
Fax : 7310429
embgrccs@catv.net

Emergency numbers

General services number (Police, Emergencies, Fire Department

171, *171 (from a mobile phone)

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Caracas (GMT-4 )
Summer time period: Strictly speaking, there is no summer. The dry season is the hottest and goes from November to April.

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: The climate is tropical, hot and humid. On the heights, temperatures are more moderate. They vary between 18 and 35 degrees.

For further information: Yahoo Weather

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: The U.S. Department of State
Tourist Guide to Venezuela
The Venezuela Tourism Directory
To find an apartment: Venezuela real estate agents

Apartment rentals
Apartments for rent and sale
To find a job: Directory of Venezuelan employment sites

Communications

Telephone codes: To make a call from Venezuela to Greece: dial 00 (or +) 30
To make a call to in Venezuela from Greece: dial 00 (or +) +58
Mobile telephone standards: Venezuela uses TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access, CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access and GSM 900.
Internet suffix: .ve

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