page_title: Rafael Caldera
section_title: International leadership and years as Senator (1974-1993)
hierarchical_section_title: Rafael Caldera / Political life / International leadership and years as Senator (1974-1993)
caption_attribution_description: English: Sir Thomas Williams, bestows the Presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Governing Council to Rafael Caldera.
context_page_description: Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez, twice elected President of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms, becoming the longest serving democratically elected leader to govern the country in the twentieth century. His first term marked the end of the first peaceful transfer of power to the opposition in Venezuela's history.
  Widely acknowledged as one of the founders of Venezuela’s democratic system, one of the main architects of the 1961 Constitution, and a pioneer of the Christian Democratic movement in Latin America, Caldera helped forge an unprecedented period of civilian democratic rule in a country beleaguered by a history of political violence and military caudillos.
  His leadership established Venezuela’s reputation as one of the more stable democracies in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century.
  After graduating with a degree in law and political science from Central University of Venezuela in 1939, Caldera embarked on a 70-year long career that combined political, intellectual and academic activities.
context_section_description: After leaving the presidency of Venezuela, Caldera continued both scholarly and political pursuits. He served in the Venezuelan Senate as all former presidents were granted lifelong appointments to the Senate under 1961 Constitution.
  During this period Caldera was appointed to several important leadership positions in international organizations. Hailed for his role in maintaining democracy and stability in an era when most other Latin American countries experienced political upheaval, Caldera served as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union from 1979 to 1982. In 1979, he was elected President of the World Congress of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, which met in Rome under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
  A year later, Caldera presided over the International Committee in charge of preparing an international agreement for the establishment of the University for Peace, approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 5 December 1980.
  In March 1987, Caldera was invited by Pope John Paul II to deliver a speech before the College of Cardinals to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Papal Encyclical Populorum Progressio.
  A leading theme in his speeches and conferences during these years was the need to find solutions to the debt crisis that gravely affected most third-world countries. His main concern was to denounce the injustice of placing the heavy burden of servicing the debt on the shoulders of the most impoverished and vulnerable people of third-world countries.
  As tenured Senator in the Venezuelan National Congress, Caldera chose to use the speaker podium exclusively on matters of national importance. As the "architect" of the 1961 Constitution, he was called upon by leaders of all Venezuelan parties to defend its principles, validity and timeliness. Accordingly, he was chosen to deliver the commemorative speeches before special joint sessions of Congress on the 15th (1976) and 25th (1986) anniversaries of the 1961 Constitution. In 1985, he was appointed President of the Bicameral Congress Commission for the Reform of the Labor Law. After years of deliberations with workers, legal experts, labor unions, and representatives from industry and commerce chambers, the bill was presented in 1989 and passed by Congress at the end of 1990.
  In June 1989, Caldera was appointed President of the Bicameral Congress Commission for the Reform of the Constitution. The reform project prepared by the commission was presented in March 1992, but did not receive the necessary support from the major political parties in Congress. This project included provisions to restructure the Judiciary as well as mechanisms to strengthen citizen participation in democracy. These changes had been demanded by most sectors of Venezuela’s society, in light of corruption in the administration of justice and insufficient means for citizens to directly participate in governmental decisions. The political events that later unfolded in 1999, and particularly President Chávez’ call for a constituent assembly during the first year of his administration, reflect how consequential Congress’ dismissal of this reform bill would eventually become.
  The most memorable and controversial speeches Caldera delivered as Senator came in February 1989, at the wake of the bloody riots in Caracas on 27 February, known as "Caracazo," and in February, 4 of 1992, after the failed military coup. "The country was in crisis. Even though Caldera was one of the main architects of the system, he was one of the first to realize its weakness. So much oil (by some estimates, in the decade after the 1973 oil price surge, Venezuela received 240 billion dollars, or five times the Marshall Plan) had led not just to dependence but widespread corruption and growing resentment from the popular sectors left off  the gravy train".
  In these speeches, Caldera insisted on the need to recognize the root causes of the crisis and the growing weakening of the people’s faith in democratic values and institutions. One month after the Feb
caption: Sir Thomas Williams, bestows the Presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Governing Council to Rafael Caldera. 21 September 1979.
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