Henrique Salas Römer

Henrique Salas Römer (Puerto Cabello, April 17, 1936) is a Venezuelan politician. He was governor of Carabobo and presidential candidate in the 1998 elections.

Biography

He completed his first studies at the San José "La Salle" Educational Unit. Having completed his primary education, he was sent to the United States where he completed his high school degree with honors, entering Yale University in 1955. In 1957 he returned to the country for two years to work alongside his father, and during that period, at After the overthrow of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez occurs, he actively participates in the process that culminates with the election of Rómulo Betancourt as president of Venezuela. In 1959 he returned to his alma mater and at the end of that same year he married Raiza Feo La Cruz, daughter of the first Governor of his native state at the beginning of the democratic era. His eldest son, Henrique Fernando, was born shortly before graduating as an economist, in 1961. For several years he held relevant positions in private business, while acting as a professor of Monetary Theory and Financial Institutions at the University of Carabobo. He then went to Caracas, and at the beginning of the 80s he founded a prestigious Center for Strategic Analysis. Three years later, he is invited and agrees to present, on behalf of the independent world, the candidacy of former president Rafael Caldera who aspires to return to power. There he begins his political career.

Political career

Deputy to Congress

In the 1983 elections, Henrique Salas Römer entered public life when he was elected as an independent to the Congress of the Republic, a position to which he was re-elected five years later. His management stands out for the defense of citizen spaces and decentralization. At the beginning of 1988 he was elected President of the Permanent Commission on Neighborhood Affairs, created that year by unanimous political agreement, taking into account his work in defense of an impoverished middle class, affected by irregularities in the massive construction of housing.

Governor of Carabobo

In 1989, the first regional elections were held and Salas Römer, with the support of the Copei and MAS parties, managed to defeat former governor Oscar Celli Gerbasi, a contender from the Democratic Action party, reaching 46%. Three years later he was re-elected. this time reaching almost three quarters of the votes, and months later, in the middle of the judicial process that culminates with the separation of power from President Carlos Andrés Pérez, he manages to found with his colleagues the Association of Governors of Venezuela, becoming its first President. His management as governor, and at the forefront of decentralization, positioned him as one of the possible presidential candidates in the 1998 election, managing to support deputy Henrique Salas Feo, his son, in the 1995 elections, who managed to be elected. as governor of Carabobo, this being the first time, anywhere in the world, that the son of a ruler immediately succeeds his father through popular vote.

Presidential candidacy

Henrique Salas Römer dedicated the following two years to touring the country, and at the end of 1997, he announced his independent candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic. At the time of the announcement neither he nor Hugo Chávez are considered candidates with a chance of winning. But the old parties have lost popular favor, and these two candidates manage to garner 97% of the votes. In the course of his political career, Salas Römer must create two parties as this is an essential requirement to be able to register a candidacy. In 1995, he created Proyecto Carabobo which, three months later, with the resounding victory of his son, would become the first regional party. And in 1998, he decided to create Proyecto Venezuela to be able to register his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic, achieving high representation in the National Congress.

Over the course of 1998, it became increasingly clear that the campaign was a race between Henrique Salas Römer and Hugo Chávez. Salas Römer emerged as a credible candidate after Chacao Mayor Irene Sáez lost ground, reaching 21% in the polls in August 1998. Meanwhile, however, support for Chávez grew from 5%. in September 1997 to more than 10% at the end of February 1998. In May, he already exceeded 30%, and in August, polls put him in front for the first time with 39% against Salas Römer's 38%., although their difference was still falling within the margin of error. A few weeks before the election, the traditional parties Acción Democrástica (AD) and COPEI gave their support to Salas Römer, who agreed to "tolerate" the support of the parties, seeking to maintain a distance from the national leadership of these organizations. Finally, in the elections, Salas Römer reached 2,613,161 votes (almost 40%), compared to the winner, Hugo Chávez, who obtained 56%..

Subsequent activity

Throughout the government of Hugo Chávez, Salas Römer has maintained very firm positions against the centralizing tendencies of the government, but also divergent positions with some factors in the Opposition who, in his opinion, have acted without a strategic vision, too often forgetting the agenda of decentralization and citizen empowerment, the only option that, in his opinion, would allow the construction of a solid democratic alternative.^{[citation required]} Salas Römer belongs to the Mexican Academy of International Law and since 1999 he has been a member of the International Advisory Council of Yale University.^{[citation required]}