Marcos Evangelista Prez Jimnez (25 April 1914 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 1950 to 1952 and as president from 1952 to 1958. He took part in the 1948 coup d'tat, becoming part of the ruling junta. He ran in the 1952 election. However, the junta cancelled the election when early results indicated that the opposition was ahead, and declared Jimnez provisional president. He became president in 1953 and instituted a constitution that granted him dictatorial powers.

Under Prez's rule, the rise of oil prices facilitated many public works projects, including roads, bridges, government buildings and public housing, as well as the rapid development of industries such as hydroelectricity, mining, and steel. The economy of Venezuela developed rapidly while Prez was in power. On the other hand, Prez presided over one of the most repressive governments in Latin America. His government's political police, the Direccin de Seguridad Nacional (National Security), suppressed criticism and imprisoned those who opposed his rule.

Following massive public demonstrations in support of democratic reforms, Prez was deposed in a coup perpetrated by disgruntled sectors within the Armed Forces of Venezuela on 23 January 1958. Prez was then exiled to the Dominican Republic, later Miami, United States and afterwards went on to settle in Spain under the Franco regime's protection.



The president of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan government and is the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces. Presidential terms were set at six years with the adoption of the 1999 Constitution of Venezuela, and presidential term limits were removed in 2009.The office of president in Venezuela has existed since the 1811 Venezuelan Declaration of Independence from the Spanish Crown; the first president was Cristóbal Mendoza. From 1821 to 1830, Venezuela was a member state of Gran Colombia, and the Venezuelan executive was absorbed by the Colombian government in Bogotá. When the State of Venezuela became independent from Gran Colombia, the office of the president was restored under José Antonio Páez. Every head of state of Venezuela since then has held the title of president.

During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until the mid-20th century. Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments, as an exception where most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships, and the period was characterized by economic prosperity.

As of August 2021, the Venezuelan presidential crisis is unresolved and who holds the office is disputed since 10 January 2019, when the opposition-majority National Assembly declared that incumbent Nicolás Maduro's 2018 re-election was invalid and the body declared its president, Juan Guaidó, to be acting president of the country. However, support for Guaidó has declined since a failed military uprising attempt in April 2019. As of July 2021, efforts led by Guaidó to create a transitional government have been described as unsuccessful by various analysts and media networks, with Maduro continuing to control Venezuela's state institutions. As of 6 January 2021, the European Union stopped recognizing Guaidó as president (although Guaidó was never recognized by the entire European Union block because of Italy's veto), but the EU still does not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president, threatening his government with further sanctions.