Venezuelans in Mexico

The first democratic elections in my country, Venezuela, were held in 1947, after a series of predominantly military governments. This historic event resulted in the rise to Presidency of novelist Rómulo Gallegos. Shortly thereafter, in 1948, he was ousted by a military coup that resulted in the instauration of a military junta, which in 1953 designated General Marcos Pérez Jiménez as President.

The new dictatorship cracked down on militants and activists, illegalizing the parties that had until then been active in trying to usher in a modern democracy. After the coup, many militants and government officials went into exile; others remained in the country under a repressive regime. My father and my uncle grew up in Mexico City and Cuernavaca, where their father, a prominent politician and intellectual, was living in exile. They remained there until my grandfather was tragically killed in a car accident in the Del Valle neighborhood of Mexico City (where, unbeknownst to our family until a few months ago, a bust in his memory stands today), and the military allowed my grandmother to return to Venezuela with her children.