page_title: Militarism
section_title: Venezuela
hierarchical_section_title: Militarism / By nation / Venezuela
caption_attribution_description: English: Caracas (Venezuela), 05 de Marzo del 2014. El Canciller del Ecuador, Ricardo Patiño, participó en los actos de conmemoración de la muerte del Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías. Foto: Xavier Granja Cedeño / Cancilleria Ecuador
context_page_description: Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the military and of the ideals of a professional military class and the "predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state".
  Militarism has been a significant element of the imperialist or expansionist ideologies of several nations throughout history. Prominent examples include the Ancient Assyrian Empire, the Greek city state of Sparta, the Roman Empire, the Aztec nation, the Mongol Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Habsburg/Habsburg-Lorraine Monarchies, the Ottoman Empire, the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union, the United States of America, Nazi Germany, the Italian Empire during the rule of Benito Mussolini, the German Empire, the British Empire, and the First French Empire under Napoleon.
context_section_description: Militarism in Venezuela follows the cult and myth of Simón Bolívar, known as the liberator of Venezuela. For much of the 1800s, Venezuela was ruled by powerful, militarists leaders known as caudillos. Between 1892 and 1900 alone, six rebellions occurred and 437 military actions were taken to obtain control of Venezuela. With the military controlling Venezuela for much of its history, the country practiced a "military ethos", with civilians today still believing that military intervention in the government is positive, especially during times of crisis, with many Venezuelans believing that the military opens democratic opportunities instead of blocking them.
  Much of the modern political movement behind the Fifth Republic of Venezuela, ruled by the Bolivarian government established by Hugo Chávez, was built on the following of Bolívar and such militaristic ideals.
  Venezuela denies the aggressive use of its army, as PSUV and the Bolivarian ideology claim to be anti-imperialist.
caption: Members of the Venezuelan armed forces carrying Chávez eyes flags saying, "Chávez lives, the fight continues".
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Caracas (Venezuela), 05 de Marzo del 2014. El Canciller del Ecuador, Ricardo Pati\u00f1o, particip\u00f3 en los actos de conmemoraci\u00f3n de la muerte del Comandante Hugo Ch\u00e1vez Fr\u00edas. Foto: Xavier Granja Cede\u00f1o / Cancilleria Ecuador", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2014:03:05 12:32:48", "Image Artist": "Xavier Granja Cede\u00f1o - Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Movilidad Humana", "Image WhitePoint": "[313/1000, 329/1000]", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "[16/25, 33/100, 21/100, 71/100, 3/20, 3/50]", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "484", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "8816", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "10704", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18355", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/640", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:03:05 12:32:48", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:03:05 12:32:48", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "75/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "130", "EXIF SubSecTime": "55", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "55", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "55", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "5616", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3744", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R03", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "8762", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5616000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1872000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Gamma": "11/5"}