Women and Politics in Venezuela

Women and Politics in Venezuela

Women in every country all over the world are discriminated against when it comes to politics. There are many reasons for this discrimination and most of the reasons are a result of men being in control. Politicians are “supposed” to aggressive and argumentative. Some men and women do not see women as having these qualities but instead have the qualities of nurture and compromise. Time is a barrier for women because they do not have the time to participate in politics. The women use their time to do housework, take care of children and probably have a full time job. Politics and running for any kind of office takes money and as a generality women do not have most of the money. Religion is a big impact on whether women are allowed in politics are not. In most religions, women are seen as beneath men. These religions cross over into political and social life, hindering the chance of women to participate in politics. In Venezuela, the women have a hard time being in politics for the same reasons.

The highest office that can be obtained in Venezuela is the presidency. “The president is elected by a plurality vote with direct and universal suffrage. The term of office is 6 years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. The

president appoints the vice president. He decides the size and composition of the cabinet and makes appointments to it with the involvement of the National Assembly. The Constitutuion of Venezuela also allows for three additional branches of the federal government--the judicial, citizen, and electoral branches.” (Politics of Venezuela)

“The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The justices are appointed by the National Assembly and serve 12-year terms. The judicial branch also consists of lower courts, including district courts, municipal courts, and courts of first instance. “ (Politics of Venezuela)

“The citizens branch consists of three components--the prosecutor general ("fiscal general"), the "defender of the people" or ombudsman, and the comptroller general. The holders of these offices, in addition to fulfilling their specific functions, also act collectively as the "Republican Moral Council" to challenge before the Supreme Tribunal actions they believe are illegal, particularly those which violate the Constitution. The holders of the "citizen power" offices are selected for terms of 7 years by the National Assembly.” (Politics of Venezuela)

“The "Electoral Power," otherwise known as the National Electoral Council, is responsible for organizing elections at all levels. Its members are also elected to 7-year terms by the National Assembly.” (Politics of Venezuela)

Venezuela’s Political parties consist of but are not limited to Democratic Action or AD, Fifth Republic Movement or MVR, Homeland for All, or PPT, and

Movement towards Socialism, or MAS. The political pressure groups are FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group, and VECINOS, the Venezuelan Confederation of Workers. (Politics of Venezuela)

During President Perez’s time in office he gave considerable amounts of money to social welfare which led to the first state agency of COFEAPRE in 1974. The agency is still running to day although with very little funding. Many consider the agency to be a place where women can come together to debate and promote women’s issues within the government and this agency created an awareness of the need for gender based organizations (Wagner).

Venezuela has had a Constitution since 1960 that “declared that men and women were formally equal under the law. Women however,