2000: Chávez returns the Botanical Garden to the UCV, hijacked by the Fourth Republic

On December 21, 2000, Commander Hugo Chávez returned control of the Botanical Garden to the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) by presidential decree, under the name of the Venezuelan Botanical Institute Foundation.

In 1991, this space, until then controlled by the National Guard of the Fourth Republic following the search ordered by former president Rafael Caldera, the Botanical Garden spent 31 years and was hijacked by puntofixism. It was not until Commander Chávez, in an act of vindication and respect for university autonomy that had been violated by right-wing governments, presided over the event held in the UCV Auditorium, where he restored these university spaces.

“It gives me great pleasure to come here to restore what belongs to this university for justice. And yes, it gives me great pleasure to do so in the name of this revolutionary government,” said Commander Chávez at the time.

24 years after this event, thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution, this natural area remains one of the most important in the House that Conquers the Shadows and the country, growing more than 2,500 species of plants corresponding to about 200 botanical families, of which about 50% are native to Venezuela and the rest to other regions of South America, Africa, Asia and Central America.

Mazo News Team