Conservative Party

The Conservative Party was founded in the 1840s as the pro-government party during the administration of José Antonio Páez. With the establishment of the republic in 1830, the elite forged a consensus concerning the political system to be adopted for Venezuela. Nevertheless, during the next five years disagreements arose, resulting in a split into two opposing political factions competing for power.

The group in power and centered around Páez came to be called the Conservative Party by the rival faction, the Liberals, and this is the name that has been used in Venezuelan historiography. Its composition was diverse, consisting of businessmen, landowners, and intellectuals, but the party's economic policies tended primarily to favor the business sector. The Conservatives remained dominant until 1847, when they were displaced as a result of the political turnabout undertaken by President José Tadeo Monagas. They took part in his overthrow in 1858 and confronted the Liberals during the Federal War (1859–1863). The Conservatives subsequently lost political influence, however, and the period of Liberal dominance began. The Conservative Party never returned to office.

See alsoPáez, José Antonio .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robert L. Gilmore, Caudillism and Militarism in Venezuela, 1810–1910 (1964).

Catalina Banko, Poder político y conflictos sociales en la República Oligárquica, 1830–1848 (1986).

Elías Pino Iturrieta, El pensamiento conservador venezolano del siglo XIX: Antología (1992).

Additional Bibliography

Pino Iturrieta, Elías. Ideas y mentalidades de Venezuela. Caracas: Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1998.

                                            InÉs Quintero