The political divisions of the country established in 1856 were adopted, with some slight changes, in the Constitution of November, 1909, when General Gomez assumed the presidency. The divisions for which these were substituted were less convenient for administrative purposes, but were in general form the same—that is to say, States divided into districts, a Federal District and Territories. There are now twenty States with their own Legislatures, the Federal District of Carácas under the Central Government, and two Territories. The population of these is given in [Appendix A].
The Federal District includes the country round Carácas, and the coastal region between Naiguatá and Cabo Blanco, with the islands to the north. The States are distributed as follows:—
Zulia (capital, Maracaibo), includes all the lake region; Táchira (capital, San Cristobal), Mérida, and Trujillo are the Andine States; Lara (capital, Barquisimeto), Falcón (Coro), and Yaracuy (San Felipe) include the Segovia highlands and the coastal regions in front; Carabobo (Valencia), Aragua (La Victoria), Miranda (Ocumare), and Sucre (Cumaná) are in the Caribbean hills; Nueva Esparta includes Margarita and the other islands immediately to the north and east (capital, Asunción); Monágas (Maturín), Anzoátegui (Barcelona), Guárico (Calabozo), Cojedes (San Carlos), Portuguesa (Guanare), Zamora (Barinas), and Apure (San Fernando) are wholly or mainly Llano States; and nearly half the territory south of the Orinoco is comprised within the State of Bolivar and governed from the city of the same name. The Delta-Amacuro Territory includes the delta proper and the similar region to the south of it; its capital is Tucupita, on the Caño Macareo: the Amazonas Territory, with its capital on the Orinoco at San Fernando de Atabapo, includes the Upper Orinoco basin and the adjacent districts, an enormous, almost unknown area.
THE FEDERAL PALACE: CARÁCAS.
The density of the population in the country as a whole (according to the Anuario Estadístico, 1910, census of 1891) is 2·27 per square kilometre, or 5·88 to the square mile. Some idea of the meaning of these figures may be gathered from a comparison of the population of Monágas, where there are 6·68 inhabitants to the square mile, over an area almost equal to that of Belgium, with that of the latter country, Monágas having 74,500 inhabitants and Belgium nearly 7,500,000. The Federal district stands highest, with 151·94 to the square mile; and, making due allowance for the greater density of the population in the higher lands, the figures decrease in proportion to the distance from this centre. Thus the coast States adjoining the Federal districts, with the island of Margarita, are the most thickly populated, the Segovia highlands, Andine States, and region of Paria next, with the northern lowlands and the Llanos, having a density of population approximately equal to that of the whole country, while the Guayana region and the Delta territory range as low as 0·41 to the square mile. It should be remembered, however, that no exact figures are available for the nomadic tribes who people the remoter districts of Venezuela.
The Constitution of the Republic is modelled upon that of the United States of America; the President, elected by a college of fourteen members of Congress for a term of four years, is the head of the nation; under him are the three great departments of the administration—executive, legislative, and judicial, these being again regarded as National, Federal, and Municipal, according to their powers. Each State of the Union has its own Legislature and President, who is a Federal officer, while the territories are governed directly by the national Executive.
The national Executive exercises its functions through the following departments: Ministry of the Interior, for Home Affairs; Ministry of Hacienda (Finance); Ministry of War and Marine; Ministry of Fomento (National Development, Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry); Public Works Department; Ministry of Education; the special province of each being sufficiently indicated by the name. There is also a Government Council of ten members appointed to advise the President, who has his State Secretary and Chaplain; the presiding officer of this Council takes charge during the absence, or in case of the death, of the President. The executives of the State Governments are similarly constituted, but here both President and Government Councillors are Federal officers, while the District Jefaturas Civiles are also supported at Federal charges. It should be explained that there are Jefes Civiles (Commissioners of Police and Chief Magistrates) for each district, while under these as municipal officers are the Jefes Civiles of rural districts and towns (municipios).
The legislative power is vested in the National and State Legislatures and the Municipal Councils. The Congress of the United States of Venezuela consists of two Chambers—one of Senators and the other of Deputies. The Deputies (1 to 35,000 of the population, or portion of this number greater than half) are elected by the citizens of each State and serve a term of four years; they must be Venezuelan by birth and over twenty-one years of age. Two Senators are elected by each State Legislative Assembly, and they also remain in office for four years; the Constitution requires all to be Venezuelan by birth and over thirty years of age. In case of dispute a joint session is provided for, and Bills finally sanctioned by both Chambers become law, and are thereupon communicated to the President as head of the Executive for publication in the Gaceta Oficial and administration by his officers.