Jorge Olavarria

Jorge Olavarria de Tezanos Pinto (Caracas, Venezuela, December 12, 1933 - April 18, 2005) was a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, journalist and historian. Critical of the governments of the Puntofijo Pact and promoter of the concept of the Fifth Republic, he was known for being an ally and political advisor to Hugo Chávez in the 1998 presidential elections and also one of the first personalities to become his opponent.

Biography

Graduated as a lawyer from the Complutense University of Madrid, he did postgraduate studies at European universities. He was a founding member of the Opina party and wrote numerous books on history and politics. He was Ambassador of Venezuela in London (1969-1970) in the first government of President Rafael Caldera. Resignation due to disagreements with the Government regarding the Port of Spain Protocol, referring to the Territorial Claim for Guayana Esequiba, director of Summary Magazine, was also director and host of his own television program called "Historia Viva", a very personal program and with which he met great popularity very much in the style of Alfredo Antonio Peña and José Vicente Rangel. He was a deputy in several legislatures, as well as a presidential candidate in 1983 and 1988 without success.

Politics

He supported the former military man Hugo Chávez when he became an opponent of the second government of Rafael Caldera, as well as in the 1998 electoral campaign; but despite being one of the first best-known and oldest politicians in Venezuelan political life to support Chávez, he was one of the first followers of Chávez to publicly change his mind and oppose him, criticizing the new constitution that he helped promote. alleging that the high abstention in the various referendums illegitimate the approval of a new constitution.

Nevertheless, he became a constituent as an opponent and was elected. After the constitution was approved at the end of 1999 and the mega-elections of 2000 (where Chávez was re-elected), he had progressively withdrawn from political life and in subsequent events such as the general strike in Venezuela of 2002-2003, he criticized the actions of the media. of communication when transmitting information, as well as the attitude of the opposition, but he did not support Chavismo again.