Venezuela's “Generation of ’28’: The Genesis of Political Democracy

Abstract

Following the broad pattern of the nineteenth century, Venezuelan government in the 1900's continued to serve as the personal preserve ofcaudillos. A shift in regional emphasis had been registered in 1899 when Cipriano Castro descended from the Andean southwest and marched to Caracas and the presidency. Less than a decade later, afflicted with collapsing health induced by extreme moral dissolution, simultaneously victimized by his principal lieutenant, Castro left Venezuela. Remaining in exile until his death sixteen years later, he saw power fall into the hands of his former colleague from the mountains of Táchira, Juan Vicente Gómez.