Venezuelan War of Independence
The establishment of the Supreme Caracas Junta following the forced deposition of Vicente Emparan as Captain General of the Captaincy General of Venezuela on April 19, 1810, marked the beginnings of the war. On July 5, 1811, seven of the ten provinces of the Captaincy General of Venezuela declared their independence in the Venezuelan Declaration of Independence. The First Republic of Venezuela was lost in 1812 following the 1812 Caracas earthquake and the Battle of La Victoria (1812). Simón Bolívar led an "Admirable Campaign" to retake Venezuela, establishing the Second Republic of Venezuela in 1813; but this too did not last, falling to a combination of a local uprising and Spanish royalist reconquest. Only as part of Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada in 1819-20 did Venezuela achieve a lasting independence from Spain (initially as part of Gran Colombia).
Abortion in Venezuela
Hugo Chavez intended to minimize the gap between the rich and poor and give Venezuelans a better life. This, along with his intent to reform the Constitution, implies that he was in favor of abortion rights, though it was not explicitly said. In Venezuela, the discovery of oil provided an economic boom lasting a period from World War 1 to the 1980s. This period of prosperity was ended by an oil crisis in 1973, which led to a great amount of debt that continued into Chavez's presidency and topped 120 billion in 2011. During the Trienio Adeco period (1945-1948), Venezuela was under democratic rule by several presidents, until Hugo Chavez won Venezuela's presidential election in 1998. Chavez ruled Venezuela as a Bolivarian government starting in 1999, one that followed a left-wing socialist movement that advocated mainly for financial equity, democracy, and anti-corrupt government. He formed the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007, as well as many other programs that catered to the poor, such as the “Bolivarian Missions” to provide universal healthcare coverage under 'Chavezcare' and increase educational opportunities for the poor. Among his policies were plans to amend the Venezuelan constitution to decriminalize abortion.