Carlos Andrés Pérez

President of Venezuela

27 October 1922 Rubio, Táchira, Venezuela

25 December 2010(2010-12-25) (88) Miami, Florida, United States

2 February 1989 – 21 May 1993

Former President of Venezuela (1974–1979; 1989–1993) For other uses, see Andrés Pérez. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Pérez and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez. Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho (due to his Andean origins), was a Venezuelan politician and President of Venezuela from 12 March 1974 to 12 March 1979 and again from 2 February 1989 to 21 May 1993. He was one of the founders of Acción Democrática, the dominant political party in Venezuela during the second half of the twentieth century. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to enormous income from petroleum exportation. However, his second presidency saw a continuation of the economic crisis of the 1980s, a series of social crises, widespread riots known as Caracazo and two coup attempts in 1992. In May 1993 he became the first Venezuelan president to be forced out of office by the Supreme Court on charges for the embezzlement of 250 million bolívars (roughly 2.7 million US dollars) belonging to a presidential discretionary fund, whose money was used to support the electoral process in Nicaragua and hire bodyguards for President Violeta Chamorro.