The New Constitution

On the eve of the new millennium, Venezuela sports the first Constitution sanctioned directly by the Venezuelan people. On last December 15th, the new constitutional text, subjected to a referendum, gained the support of 70 % of the electors.

The creation of two new powers, the Citizens Power and the Electoral Power, apart from the already existing Executive, Legislative and Judicial Powers, is just one of the most important innovations contained in the Magna Charta. The new Constitution also includes the possibility of immediate presidential reelection, substitutes the national Congress for a single-chamber National Assembly, grants vote for the military and consecrates the pre-eminence of human rights as part of the superior values defended by the State and guaranteeing the rights of the indigenous people.

Another remarkable innovation is the change in the name of the country: as stated in the Transient Resolutions, "the name of the Republic, once this Constitution is approved, shall be Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," as prescribed in its article 1. In addition, this is so since last January 1st, when the Constitution was enforced.