The problem in context

The significant changes experienced by Venezuela in recent years have had an important impact on the structure and the position it has adopted in trade negotiations, especially in agricultural negotiations. These changes can be classified in three major areas: political, constitutional and institutional.

In 1999, Lieutenant-Colonel (retd) Hugo Chávez came to office after winning the December 1998 presidential election. Chávez defined his government as military, leftist and populist, and supported by the majority of the deputies of the National Assembly (Congress). An agenda for the agricultural sector was formulated within the broader context of the National Plan for Economic and Social Development (NPESD) (2001–7). It was based on a new economic model of agriculture-related matters, and sought to guarantee an adequate food supply to the majority of the population.

The NPESD established the following guidelines:

(a) promotion of the rational use of land for agricultural purposes, and respect for private property, but eradicating large landed estates and penalizing holders of unused land;

(b) reorganization and regulation of the agricultural marketing and commercial system;

(c) prioritization of infrastructure construction; and

(d) adjustment of commercial policies to the National Agriculture and Food Plan, among other actions.

In addition to this, the reinforcement of national sovereignty and the promotion of a multi-polar world are given as important objectives in the chapter dedicated to the international aspects of the NPESD. The government's objective regarding national sovereignty has had a particularly important influence on its position on commercial agriculture.