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Glossary -- Venezuela
- Andean Common Market (Ancom)
- A free-trade association formed in 1969 by Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Venezuela joined the organization in
1973. Chile withdrew in 1977. Also known as the Andean Pact or the
Andean Group (Grupo Andinó).
- bolívar (B)
- Venezuela's monetary unit, divided into 100 céntimos. The
bolívar traded at a fixed rate of B4.29=US$1 from 1976 to 1983, but
was devalued officially several times between 1983 and 1989. The
1989 devaluation established a floating rate at B36=US$1; by late
1990, the rate had reached B4.3=US$1.
- Caribbean Basin
- Broad geopolitical region encompassing all nations and
dependencies in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea, thus including
the Caribbean islands, northern South America, Central America,
Mexico, and the United States.
- Contadora Group
- The "core-four" nations--Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and
Venezuela--that in a January 1983 meeting on Contadora Island (off
the Pacific coast of Panama) launched a diplomatic initiative to
prevent through negotiations a regional conflagration among the
Central American states of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In September 1984, the negotiating
process produced a draft treaty, the Contadora Acta, which was
judged acceptable by the government of Nicaragua but rejected by
the other four Central American states concerned. The governments
of Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil formed the Contadora
Support Group in 1985 in an effort to revitalize the faltering
talks. The process was suspended unofficially in June 1986 when the
Central American governments refused to sign a revised Acta. The
Contradora process was effectively superseded by direct
negotiations among the Central American states.
- encomienda
- A system whereby the Spanish crown granted rights over Indian
labor and tribute to individual colonists (encomenderos),
who in turn undertook to maintain order and to propagate
Christianity among the Indians. It ended officially in 1687.
- fiscal year (FY)
- Calendar year.
- General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
- An international organization established in 1948 and
headquartered in Geneva that serves as a forum for international
trade negotiations. GATT members pledge to further multilateral
trade by reducing import tariffs, quotas, and preferential trade
agreements and promise to extend to each other any favorable
trading terms offered in subsequent agreements with third parties.
- Gran Colombia (Republic of)
- Declared independent of Spain in 1821. Consisted of present-day
Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Venezuela seceded from it in
1829.
- gross domestic product (GDP)
- A measure of the total value of goods and services produced by
the domestic economy during a given period, usually one year.
Obtained by adding the value contributed by each sector of the
economy in the form of profits, compensation to employees, and
depreciation (consumption of capital). The income arising from
investments and possessions owned abroad is not included. Hence,
the term domestic is used to distinguish GDP from gross
national product (q.v.).
- gross national product (GNP)
- Total market value of all final goods and services produced by
an economy during a year. Obtained by adding gross domestic product
(q.v.) and the income received from abroad by residents
less payments remitted abroad to nonresidents.
- International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
- Established along with the World Bank (q.v.) in 1945,
the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations
that takes responsibility for stabilizing international exchange
rates and payments. The main business of the IMF is the provision
of loans to its members when they experience balance of payments
difficulties. These loans often carry conditions that require
substantial internal economic adjustments by the recipients.
- liberation theology
- An activist movement led by Roman Catholic clergy who trace
their inspiration to Vatican Council II (1965), where some church
procedures were liberalized, and the Second Latin American Bishops'
Conference in Medellín, Colombia (1968), which endorsed greater
direct efforts to improve the lot of the poor.
- llanos
- Plains region that runs in a broad band across central
Venezuela. Residents referred to as llaneros.
- pardo(s)
- Person(s) of mixed racial origin, including any combination of
unmixed Caucasian, Indian, and African antecedents.
- rancho(s)
- An urban shelter, or shanty, constructed of makeshift
materials, generally by the occupant.
- trienio
- A three-year period, usually refers to the 1945-48 democratic
government.
- World Bank
- The informal name used to designate a group of three
affiliated international institutions: the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International
Development Association (IDA), and the International Finance
Corporation (IFC). The IBRD, established in 1945, has the primary
purpose of providing loans to developing countries for productive
projects. The IDA, a legally separate loan fund administered by the
staff of the IBRD, was set up in 1960 to furnish credits to the
poorest of developing countries on much easier terms than those of
conventional IBRD loans. The IFC, founded in 1956, supplements the
activities of the IBRD through loans and assistance designed
specifically to encourage the growth of productive private
enterprises in less-developed countries. The president and certain
senior officers of the IBRD hold the same positions in the IFC. The
three institutions are owned by the governments of the countries
that subscribe their capital. To participate in the World Bank
group, member states must first belong to the International
Monetary Fund (q.v.).
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