National Assembly of Venezuela
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Biruitorul
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kind of important to know where it meets, no?
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The '''National Assembly''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: '''''Asamblea Nacional''')'' is the current [[legislature|legislative]] branch of the [[Venezuela]]n government.
==History==
Under its previous [[1961 Venezuelan Constitution|1961 Constitution]], Venezuela had a [[bicameral]] legislature, known as the Congress ''(Congreso)''. This Congress comprised a [[Senate]] ''(Senado)'' and a [[Chamber of Deputies]] ''(Cámara de Diputados)''.
The Senate was made up of two senators per [[States of Venezuela|state]], two for the [[Venezuelan Federal District|Federal District]], and a number of [[List of Latin phrases (A–E)|''ex officio'']] senators intended to represent the nation's minorities. In addition, former presidents (those elected democratically or their replacements legally appointed to serve at least half a presidential term) were awarded [[senator for life|lifetime senate seats]].
Senators were required to be Venezuelan-born citizens and over the age of 30.
The members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected by direct universal suffrage, with each state returning at least two. Deputies had to be at least 21 years old.
===Passage of the 1999 Constitution===
[[President of Venezuela|President]] [[Hugo Chávez]] was first elected in December 1998 on a platform calling for a National [[Constituent Assembly]] to be convened to draft a new [[constitution]] for Venezuela. Chávez's argument was that the existing political system, under the earlier [[1961 Venezuelan Constitution|1961 Constitution]], had become isolated from the people. This won broad acceptance, particularly among Venezuela's poorest classes, who had seen a significant decline in their living standards over the previous decade and a half. The National Constituent Assembly (ANC), consisting of 131 elected individuals, convened in August 1999 to begin rewriting the constitution. In free elections, voters gave all but six seats to persons associated with the Chávez movement.
The Venezuelan people approved the ANC's proposed constitution in a referendum on [[15 December]] [[1999]]. It was promulgated by the ANC and came into effect the following [[20 December]].
===The Legislature under the 1999 Constitution===
[[Image:National Assembly, Caracas, Venezuela.jpg|thumb|The [[Federal Legislative Palace]], seat of the National Assembly]]
Under the new "[[Bolivarian Revolution|Bolivarian]]" [[1999 Venezuelan Constitution|1999 Constitution]], the legislative branch of Government in Venezuela is represented by a [[unicameral]] National Assembly. The Assembly is made up of 165 [[Chamber of Deputies|deputies]] ''(diputados)'', who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote on a national party-list [[proportional representation]] system. In addition, three deputies are returned on a state-by-state basis, and three seats are reserved for representatives of Venezuela's indigenous peoples. All deputies serve five-year terms and must appoint a replacement ''(suplente)'' to stand in for them in during periods of incapacity or absence (Art. 186). They can be reelected on up to two occasions (Art. 192).
Deputies must be Venezuelan citizens by birth, or naturalized Venezuelans with a period of residency in excess of 15 years; older than 21 on the day of the election; and have lived in the state for which they seek election during the previous four years (Art. 188).
The [[Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2000|first election]] of deputies to the new National Assembly took place on [[30 July]] [[2000]]. (See [[Elections in Venezuela]])
== 2007 - present ==
On [[31 January]] [[2007]], the National Assembly approved an enabling act granting President [[Hugo Chávez]] the power to rule by [[decree]] for 18 months. He plans to continue his [[Bolivarian Revolution]], enacting economic and social changes. He has said he wants to nationalize key sectors of the economy. Chávez, who was beginning a fresh six-year term, says the legislation will be the start of a new era of "maximum revolution" during which he will consolidate Venezuela's transformation into a [[socialist]] society. His critics, however, are calling it a radical lurch toward authoritarianism by a leader with unchecked power (to see bibliography) {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
==Bibliography==
* [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1582162,00.html Time World Article]. Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 "hypocritical authoritarianism that tries to sell the world certain democratic appearances." [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Miquilena Luis Miquilena] a political mentor who helped steer Chavez to the presidency in 1998, has done an about-face since leaving the government in 2002. This week, he described it as a
==External links==
*[http://www.asambleanacional.gov.ve/ National Assembly website]
*[http://www.embavenez-us.org/constitution/intro.htm 1999 Constitution] (English)
*[http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Constitutions/Venezuela/ven1999.html 1999 Constitution] (Spanish)
*[http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Constitutions/Venezuela/ven1961.html 1961 Constitution] amended as of 1983 (Spanish)
{{SouthAmerican legislatures}}
{{Topics related to Venezuela}}
[[Category:National legislatures|Venezuela]]
[[Category:Government of Venezuela]]
[[an:Asambleya Nazional de Benezuela]]
[[es:Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela]]