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Since the overthrow of Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez in 1958 and the military's withdrawal from direct involvement in national politics, Venezuela has enjoyed an unbroken tradition of civilian democratic rule. This earned Venezuela a reputation as one of the more stable democracies in Latin America. Until the 1998 elections, the Democratic Action (AD) and...
Uruguay's 1967 constitution institutionalizes a strong presidency, subject to legislative and judicial checks. The president's term is 5 years. Thirteen cabinet ministers, appointed by the president, head executive departments. The constitution provides for a bicameral General Assembly responsible for enacting laws and regulating the administration...
The Republic of Suriname is a constitutional democracy based on the 1987 constitution. The legislative branch of government consists of a 51-member unicameral National Assembly, simultaneously and popularly elected for a 5-year term. The executive branch is headed by the president, who is elected by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly or,...
The president is popularly elected for a 5-year term. A constitutional amendment passed in 2000 prevents reelection. The first and second vice presidents also are popularly elected but have no constitutional functions unless the president is unable to discharge his duties. The principal executive body is the presidentially-appointed Council of Ministers,...
Paraguay's highly centralized government was fundamentally changed by the 1992 constitution, which provides for a division of powers. The president, popularly elected for a 5-year term, appoints a cabinet. The next presidential elections are scheduled for April 2003. The bicameral Congress consists of an 80-member Chamber of Deputies and a 45-member...
Panama is a representative democracy with three branches of government: executive and legislative branches elected by direct vote for 5-year terms, and an independently appointed judiciary. The executive branch includes a president and two vice presidents. The legislative branch consists of a 78-member unicameral National Assembly. The Constitution...
Legislative power rests in a unicameral National Assembly, with 40 members chosen on the basis of proportional representation from national lists named by the political parties. An additional 25 members are elected by regional administrative districts. The president may dissolve the assembly and call new elections at any time, but no later than 5 years...
Country name: conventional long form: Department of Guiana conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane Dependency status: overseas department of France Government type: NA Capital: Cayenne Administrative divisions: none (overseas department of France) Independence: none (overseas department of France) National...
The constitution provides for concurrent 4-year terms of office for the president, vice president, and members of Congress. Presidents may be re-elected after an intervening term, while legislators may be re-elected immediately. The executive branch includes 15 ministries. Provincial governors and councilors, like mayors and aldermen and parish boards,...
HISTORY, GOVERNMENT, AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS During the pre-Columbian period, the area now known as Colombia was inhabited by indigenous peoples who were hunters or nomadic farmers. The Chibchas, as they were called, were divided into two major groups: The Muisca of the Bogot aacute; region and the Tairona of the northern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta...
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