Overview Corruption had always been an issue in Venezuela, but under Lusinchi it became the main issue, and most Venezuelans considered that corruption, and not sheer incompetence, was the root of all of society's ills. Lusinchi had divorced his wife and married Blanca Ibañez, who was considered very influential behind the scene and was blamed for abuse of power and nepotism. The Venezuelan economy stagnated, and the country at the end of Lusinchi's regime was reportedly bankrupt. It would be reasonable to surmise that this should have been the end of bipolarity in the next elections, but it would be wrong. In the
1988 elections, the two ruling parties got a total of 93% of the vote. Petkoff fared very badly, but abstentions went up to 18%. The winner was none other than Carlos Andrés Pérez, for his second term. (In the Venezuelan constitution you could be re-elected as many times as you wanted as long as it wasn’t in successive elections.) The question was: How could a country whose descent into insolvency began with Pérez, who had botched so badly his first term, when corruption flourished as never before, have re-elected him with a majority that was barely less than the one Lusinchi got? This enigma has various explanations. That
pardos were still adecos is an obvious one. The opposition to bipolarity did not have a leader is another. But especially, Venezuelans of all hues simply remembered that during Pérez's first term there had been a lot of money in circulation, things over-all had not been so dismal, and somehow they figured that Pérez could perform the miracle of making Venezuela "prosperous" again.
Inauguration In his 1984 presidential inauguration speech, Jaime Lusinchi announced a period of realism and economic austerity with the aim of ending "the era of the mirages of an oil country that filled much of the 20th century". He spoke about the country's economic situation,
administrative corruption, unemployment, and the need to achieve a social pact that would help stabilize the
economy and reactivate production.
Lusinchi's cabinet (1984–1989) Domestic policy Economic policy Following
Viernes Negro on 18 February 1983, 1984 closed with an economic recession of 6% of GDP. Between that year and 1986, there were three consecutive years of depreciation of the
national currency that culminated in a 93% devaluation of the bolívar at the official exchange rate in 1986. The
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs described Lusinchi's economic policy as a "return to economic populism characteristic of previous Acción Democrática administrations".
Legislative policy Electoral policy COPRE The
Presidential Commission for State Reform (COPRE) was a presidential commission created on 26 December 1984 by President
Jaime Lusinchi to examine the reform of the Venezuelan state and its political system, the democratization of regional governmental processes, and the creation of the office of municipal mayor. Lusinchi decided to appoint all state governors from among the general secretaries of
Acción Democrática at the state level, bypassing regional leadership.
Infrastructure policy flooded by reservoir waters.|left During his government, the first phase of the
San Agatón Hydroelectric Plant was completed, which had been initiated by his predecessor, requiring the evacuation of the small town of
Potosí, which ultimately ended up under water.
Media and communications policy During Lusinchi's presidency there were reports of coercion against journalists.
Human rights policy During Lusinchi's government there were reports of disappearances associated with the actions of some police forces. According to
Revista SIC, during this time: "Allegedly officials of the former
Judicial Technical Police killed more than 50 people and later threw their bodies into wells". In Zulia state, the appearance of mass graves called "
Pozos de la muerte" was reported, containing bodies of people who had been detained by police or reported as missing. Among these were Justicia y Paz, founded by
Matías Camuñas. Since the 1980s, the first cases of
HIV/AIDS began to be reported in the country. This led to discriminatory treatment in the media against the LGBTQ+ community, and at the beginning of the disease there were cases of arbitrary detention of people suspected of carrying it. In response to discrimination and high medication costs, the organization
Acción Ciudadana Contra el Sida (ACCSI) was created in 1987 to provide support and pressure the government to acquire medications.
Tazón massacre In September 1984, the
Tazón massacre occurred, in which a group of about 200 students heading to Caracas for a protest were attacked by members of the
Bolivarian National Guard, leaving 35 injured. The events provoked rejection and protests demanding a ban on the use of firearms to control demonstrations.
Massacre of El Amparo On 29 October 1988, the massacre of El Amparo occurred, in which 14 fishermen were killed by police officers after being mistaken for guerrillas. The event led to a lengthy judicial process, eventually brought before the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights of the
Organization of American States on 14 January 1994; the Court issued a ruling on the merits on 18 January 1995 and a second ruling establishing compensation and ordering investigation and punishment on 14 September 1996.
Environmental policy Toxic waste scandal It was an environmental scandal that occurred in 1987, in which two ships carrying barrels of toxic waste from
Italy arrived in the country. These events triggered protests, strong criticism in public opinion and Venezuelan politics at the time, leading to the creation of laws and prohibitions on the matter.
Corruption scandals RECADI On 24 February 1989, an investigation was opened by presidential order against RECADI for alleged financial fraud during the government of Jaime Lusinchi. RECADI constituted a turning point in the history of
Venezuelan corruption and became a major scandal in 1989 when five former ministers were detained. However, charges were later dropped. Notable was the purchase of vehicles for the
Acción Democrática presidential campaign of 1988, A pesar de las denuncias durante el
Second presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez el asunto no pasa a mayores debido a que los denunciantes se retractan o no presentan pruebas de los casos.
Foreign policy and West German Foreign Minister
Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1987. In his 1984 inaugural speech, Jaime Lusinchi called for
Latin American integration.
International trips The following list provides a summary of the official foreign visits made by Lusinchi as President of Venezuela: , 1984.
1984 1985 1986 1987 Opposition Protests According to
El Nacional, in 1984 there were 293 protests nationwide; in 1985 there were 262, in 1986 there were 70, in 1987 there were 83, and in 1988 there were 103, totaling 811.
March protests in Mérida On 13 March 1987, unrest began in
Mérida following the killing of university student Luis Carvallo Cantor, known as the March protests in Mérida.
Yumare massacre In 1986, the
Yumare massacre occurred, in which nine members of the insurgent group Punto Cero were executed by DISIP forces. In 2006, relatives of the victims sued Lusinchi and officials for the events. == Historical impact ==