The Liberal Party (, PL), better known as Great Liberal Party of Venezuela (, GPLV), was a political party in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, founded on August 20, 1840, by Antonio Leocadio Guzmán and Tomás Lander, through an editorial published by Guzmán at ''El Venezolano'' newspaper. It was the rival of the Conservative Party.

History

The party very successfully promoted liberal policies during the early days of the Republic. Several of the early presidents of the country were members of the Liberal Party, including José Tadeo Monagas (in office from 1 March 1847 – 5 February 1851 and 20 January 1855 – 15 March 1858) who abolished capital punishment for political crimes. President José Gregorio Monagas proclaimed that Venezuela was a nation free of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in an edict signed on 24 March 1854. In 1863, under the leadership of President

Juan Crisóstomo Falcón Juan Crisóstomo Falcón Zavarce (27 January 1820 – 29 April 1870) was the president of Venezuela from 1863 to 1868.Federal War The Federal War () — also known as the Great War or the 5 Year War — was a civil war in Venezuela between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party over the monopoly the Conservatives held over government positions and land ownership, an ...

* Dios y Federación * Liberalism and conservatism in Latin America Liberal parties in Venezuela Political parties established in 1840 Political parties disestablished in 1899 Defunct liberal political parties Defunct political parties in Venezuela {{venezuela-party-stub