Jorge Rodríguez (politician)

Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez (born November 9, 1965) is a Venezuelan politician and psychiatrist who was Vice President of Venezuela from January 2007 to January 2008, and served as Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality from 2008-2017. He is the brother of Delcy Rodríguez, the current Vice President.

Jorge Rodríguez
Jorge Rodríguez.
Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information
Assumed office
November 3, 2017
PresidentNicolás Maduro
Preceded byErnesto Villegas
Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality
In office
December 1, 2008 – November 3, 2017
Preceded byFreddy Bernal
Succeeded byLuis Lira
22nd Vice President of Venezuela
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 3, 2008
PresidentHugo Chávez
Preceded byJose Vicente Rangel
Succeeded byRamón Carrizales
Personal details
Born
Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez

(1965-11-09) November 9, 1965
Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Political partyUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) (from 2007)
Fifth Republic Movement (until 2007)
RelativesDelcy Rodríguez (sister)

Life and career

He was born in Barquisimeto. His father was a leader in the Socialist League and was tortured to death by police in the 1970s. Prior to his appointment as Vice-President, Rodríguez had been the chief of Venezuela's National Electoral Council.[1]

On 3 January 2007 President Hugo Chávez announced that Rodríguez would be the next Vice President, replacing José Vicente Rangel.[1] He was sworn in on 8 January, two days before Chávez's swearing in for his next term as president.[2]

Rodríguez studied medicine at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV); he was the president of the Federation of University Centers in 1988. After graduating, he studied psychiatry at the UCV and community clinical psychology at the Andrés Bello Catholic University.[1]

He headed the government's campaign in favor of a group of constitutional amendments in the December 2007 referendum. Following the defeat of the referendum, Chávez announced on 3 January 2008 that he was replacing Rodríguez with Ramón Carrizales, previously the Minister of Housing. Chávez said that Rodríguez would concentrate on developing the new United Socialist Party of Venezuela.[3]

In the November 2008 regional elections, Rodríguez was elected as Mayor of the Libertador District in Caracas.[4]

Controversy

On 11 May 2017, his daughter Lucía Rodríguez was kicked out of the SAE Institute in Australia after Venezuelan expats protested near the campus during the 2017 Venezuelan protests.[5]

Sanctions

Rodríguez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".[6][7]

Canada

On 22 September 2017, Canada sanctioned Rodríguez due to rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order following the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election.[8][9]

United States

The United States sanctioned Rodriguez on 25 September 2018 for his efforts in solidifying President Maduro's power in Venezuela.[10]

References
  1. Clodovaldo Hernández, "Chávez designates former electoral director as Vice-President" Archived 2007-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, eluniversal.com, January 4, 2007.
  2. Gregory Wilpurt, "Chavez Swears-In New Cabinet for “Venezuelan Path to Socialism”", Venezuelanalysis.com, January 8, 2007.
  3. Matthew Walker, "Chavez Replaces Vice President, Sees `Difficult' Year Ahead", Bloomberg.com, January 4, 2007.
  4. "Categorical PSUV victory in regional elections" , Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, November 24, 2008.
  5. "¡PA' FUERA! Expulsan Hija De Jorge Rodríguez De La Universidad En Australia" (in Spanish). Doral News. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  6. "Maduro encabeza lista de 200 venezolanos que no pueden entrar al país" [Maduro tops list of 200 Venezuelans who can not enter the country]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  7. "Primera parte de lista de colaboradores de Maduro que no pueden ingresar a Colombia" [First part of list of Maduro collaborators who can not enter Colombia] (in Spanish). RCN Radio. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  8. "Venezuela sanctions". Government of Canada. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. "Canada sanctions 40 Venezuelans with links to political, economic crisis". The Globe and Mail. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. "U.S. targets Venezuelans with new sanctions for corruption". UPI. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
Political offices
Preceded by
Freddy Bernal		 Mayor of Libertador Municipality
2008–2017		 Succeeded by
Luis Lira
Preceded by
José Vicente Rangel		 Vice President of Venezuela
2007–2008		 Succeeded by
Ramón Carrizales
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