Last modified: 2003-09-13 by dov gutterman
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No party is allowed to use, among its symbols, theVenezuelan
Flag or its colours (in any arranged order), the name of Simon
Bolivar and the Coat of arms. At party rallies, candidate podiums
and so on, it is alowed to use all of these (but it carries
certain controversy). Parties rarely wave flags, beyond some rags
with their colours (very rarelywith their logos on it), although
I have seen a Communist Party Flag at somerallies. A flag with
eight stars (as Bolivar's model in 1817 and 1819) has been flown
at the current party in power (Fifth Republic Movement)
rallies.But they are alligned in various positions, and move
around the flag from one rally to another
Guillermo Aveledo, 24 September 1999
As part of the murky restlessness my country is getting used
to , yet another Military officer is making political remarks:
this time, Colonel (Air Force) Silvino Bustillos remarked in a
press conference at the National Lectoral Council's free press
room thet President (retired Lt. Colonel) Hugo Chavez, was, among
some other nfr things, breaking the National Symbols Law, whichs
bans the usage of the anthem, flag and Coat of Arms by political
parties or factiones, or any politically interested group.
An hard-to-enforce law as it may be, this was already noted by me
last year on this very list. President Chavez, both as a
candidate and as a president-candidate (a first in Venezuela,
when reelection was just instituted by the 1999 Constitution) has
repeatedly used both the national flag (state and civil) and the
anthem on political meetings and rallies.
Quite conscientously or not, the use of national symbols is
forbidden in such activities (and no other candidate ever has
used these colours).
Guillermo Aveledo, 17 July 2000
It isn't possible make a complete count of the Venezuelan politicas flags without happening through history. Specially considering the recent changes in the Venezuelan politics. For that reason, I've elaborated three historical periods, following the reigns bibliography about Venezuelan political parties:
1) Political Flags during the formation of the National State (1830-1930s): Although images are few, almost null, the bibliographical information and the tracks me be useful. One treats, fundamentally, about flags of military commaders, leaders and pseudo-parties ("the historic" oligarchy parties), etc. On this stage the politics is nongiven for free partisan competition, with periods in which the politic fight was essentially belic, or was completely suppressed.
2) Political flags in the "National-Popular" stage (1930s-1989): the sprouting of the modern politic parties, with specifical organizations and ideologies, not always acompannied democraticas politic rules. But it forms the predominant system of parties during more of half century.
3) Contemporary Political flags (1989-2003): is the flags of new movements and politic organizations arisen by institutional changes of the last years of 1980s and the crises of the preceding system. Its sprouting was vertiginously accelerated since 1999, without it consolidates in a new clearly identifiable system.
Likewise, it can made another group of categories
simultaneously ideologic and historic. Following the point of
view of Professor Ramos Jimenez, we used his tipology about the
origin of Latin American politic parties:
a.. Oligarchy Parties (conervadores and liberal)
b.. Socialist Parties (Socialist -democratic, Communists,
Revolutionaries, Integrists)
c.. National-Popular Parties (Nationalistic and Populists)
d.. Democratic Parties (Socialdemocratas, Christian Democrat,
Neo-conservators, Neo-liberals)
The politic flag par excellence corresponds which we know of
modern politic parties. Groups different of politic parties,
nevertheless, it would be treaties like these ones. That is to
say, grouped in a meta-category of politic flags. I suggest, in
addition to sub-category "Politic Parties" the
following additional sub-categories:
a) Irregular groups (insurgency or counterinsurgency politic
movements, at the margin of the law, using or not violent
methods);
b) Not-partisan Politic Organizations (organizations which don't
have party discipline nor aspirations to reach power positions
and which, nevertheless, propose subjects and objectives of the
public politic agenda; usually they are very specifics in the
subjects or sectors which it represents. Will be, in great part
of cases, the Non Government Organizations, Unions, Employer's
Associations, etc);
c) Politicized Flags (flags of groups whose function and nature
aren't politic, but that due to the particularitities of each
country may appear promoting itself or acting politically). As
these flags belong from their nature to others categories, it
will be mantain the original classification for it (would be
originally religious, sport, etc.).
Guillermo Aveledo (translated by Raul Orta), 28
August 2003
by Guillermo Aveledo, 16 September 2000
The CTV is the most important labour organisation in
Venezuela. Although recently under fire, it serves as an umbrella
organisation for most of Venezuela's trade unions, much like
Britain's TUC. It has been dominated by the labour organisations
of the, again until recently, most important parties in Venezuela
(AD and Copei, with a lesser participation of the MAS and LCR;
the CTV emblem shows an uncanny familiarity to that of AD). There
are some rival trade unions associations, but this has been the
most important (founded in 1936) and the largest. It is now
challenged, although I'm not sure if aiming towards replacing the
upper cadres or removing the whole structure, by the newly formed
'Bolivarian Force of Workers'. This new movement has not shown a
flag yet.
The flag itself is a red field (typical of labour movements) over
which we see the CTV logo: a white gear (outlined in black),
which has sixteen teeth, with an inner circle divided in a
blue-yellow-red tricolor (unlike the national flag, but like the
tricolor shown in AD's logo), a white map of Venezuela (with the
white-red map of the claimed zone of Guyana by Venezuela, shown
in the logo since the 1960s), and, above it all, black, bold and
capital letters "CTV". Over the years, then logo has
suffered slight modifications, none of which are too critical so
as to be mentioned.
Guillermo Aveledo, 16 September 2000
by Guillermo Aveledo, 30 November 2000
Here's the flag of the FUERZA BOLIVARIANA DE TRABAJADORES
(Bolivarian Worker's Force), a government-supported labour union,
which was instituted in order to substitute CTV (our
longest-living and largest trade union) after today's referendum
on labour freedoms. The flag is a regular Venezuelan tricolori,
with the FBT's logo centered inside it. The logo consists of four
concentric rings, from outside to the inside: black, red, blue
and yellow. Within the rings, we have a white circle with three
antropomorphic faces (namely, what seems to be a working man with
a hard hat stands in front), drawn in red line art. Seven white
five-pointed red-embroidered stars, incremental in their size,
encircle almost half of the white circle, entering the red, blue
and yellow rings. On the sides of the ring, we have two small
trocolor tribands of yello-blue-red and, encircling it all, the
letters "FUERZA BOLIVARIANA DE TRABAJADORES" in black,
embroidered in white. This flag has been used as a paper waver
flag for supporters of the FBT, and as a huge stage flag (made
out of what seemed to be some sort of plastic or artificial
cloth) was used during a national convention of the FTB a few
months ago.
Guillermo Aveledo, 30 November 2000
UNION for the Progress
by Guillermo Aveledo, 12 September 2002
Democratic Left
by Guillermo Aveledo, 12 September 2002
MAS (Movement to the Socialism)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 12 September 2002
The "UNION for the Progress" Political Party was
formed around the groups that on year 2000 supported Lieutenant
Colonel (retired) Francisco Arias Cárdenas in his candidacy for
the Presidency of the Republic. Its principal nucleus is a party
created at the end of 1999 with the old guard of the MAS
(Movement to the Socialism) Party, called "Democratic
Left" (Izquierda Democrática). The MAS, founded on 1973,
fundamentally was originated by a rupture of the PCV (Communist
Party of Venezuela), after which then Communist Youth was
rebelled as opposed to the "stalinism" of the old
guard, criticizing the repression to the "Prague's
Spring" on 1968. The Communist Youth of Venezuela and other
leaders of the PCV were sanctioned by the Polit-bureau of
the Soviet Union Communist Party. But that one is another
history (although very near one to three of the four greaters
leaders of UNION). UNION also agglutinates some retired
militaries (some, like Arias, involved in the 1992' putsches),
old political and union leaders of left "not aligned"
and others.
Its emblem is one capital "U" in white, blue and
yellow, without greater meaning than the initial of the word
"Union". Its "flag" is its logo on target, in
proportion 1:1. It doesn't have reverse.
The Website of the Union is <www.unionve.com>.
Guillermo Aveledo (translated by Raul Orta), 12
September 2002
This image was taken by the daily "El National" of
Caracas on the so called "Opposition March" last
Thursday. The addition on the flag take my attention.
Néstor Garrido, 16 October 2002
There is a phenomenon that recently has taken place in
Venezuela about the representations of the National Flag as
expression of feeling of a sector of the population that's
against the regime of president Hugo Chávez Frias. They are
variants or derivates of National flag without legal
effects. This doesn't mean that they are illegal even though
someone may be believe the opposite. Some flags have had a brief
existence because it have been merely circumstantial; others are
recurrent and possibly they will get to be Vexillological
Patrimony of Venezuela. According to our modest opinion they
aren't pure political flags because don't represent particular
political movements or parties: they are flags of social protest
because it express feelings of a national group against a
prevailing government system. Guillermo has called them
"Non-Political Opposition Flags. Guillermo has sent the ones
described by Marianella De Faria, joined with the one of the
sector that supports the Chavez' regime for your consideration.
Other variants also exist.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
I should stress that such flags that are used by Non-partisan
opponents of the Chavez Government. None of them seem to be
official, nor do they belong to a political party, in the modern
sense of the term.
Guillermo Aveledo, 8 September 2003
Opposition Flags
1)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Representation of the National flag in black and white (2002):
hoisted in subsequent manifestations to April 11th, 2002 as
mourning symbol.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
2)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Flag of Mourning (2002): Black field hoisted in subsequent
manifestations to April 11th, 2002.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
3)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Flag of hurt and mourning (2002): hoisted in subsequent
manifestations to April 11th, 2002 as mourning symbol.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
4)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Flag for requesting Chavez' exit (2003): hoisted in
manifestations of the non-politics opposition during 2002 and
2003.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
5)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
This is Flag ZULU in the International Code of Signals.
Is this deliberate and what does it mean if it is?
Andre Burgers, 7 September 2003
Cuatricolor Flag (2003): hoisted during manifestations of the
group so called "Gente del Petróleo" (Petroleum
People) integrated by oil industry personnel affected by measures
taken by the Hugo Chávez' regime. It seems to be combination of
the National Flag colors with black, for symbolize protest and
mourning;
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
6)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Representation of National flag in white, gray and black
(2002): hoisted in subsequent manifestations to April 11th, 2002
as mourning symbol.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003
Chavez Supporters
7)
by Guillermo Aveledo, 27 August 2003
Red Flag (2002-2003): hoisted by Chavez' partisans in
Government manifestations.
Raul Orta, 8 September 2003