Venezuela celebrates 22 years since the Bolivarian Constitution was born, the first approved by popular vote and one of the most advanced in the world on human rights, democracy and sovereignty.
"The Bolivarian Venezuela has been born," declared Hugo Chávez on #15Dec, 1999.
On April 25, 1999, 80% of Venezuelans voted in favor of a new constitution and later elected the Constituent Assembly’s members, with revolutionary ranks winning the majority of seats. The new Magna Carta was written in 100 days, collecting proposals from all sectors.
With the 1999 Constitution, Venezuela became the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to uphold the ideals of sovereignty, equality and integration from independence hero Simón Bolívar. The name rescued Venezuela's history while paving the way for the rise of popular power.
Venezuela’s Bolivarian Constitution ended the old exclusionary political and economic system, guaranteeing free access to education, healthcare, housing, food, social security, women's and indigenous rights. It was a victory for millions who had always been invisible.
Venezuela's new Constitution coincided with the Vargas tragedy when floods killed hundreds. Decades-long abandonment had led to precarious living conditions.
With the newly introduced constitutional right to housing, Chávez would launch the Great Housing Mission in 2011.
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