Sierra Nevada Affair
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The Sierra Nevada affair was a corruption scandal in Venezuela that revolved around the purchase of the Sierra Nevada ship during the first government of
Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as ''Venezuelan Spanish#Some examples of Spanish words common in Venezuela.2C including some native Venezuelanisms .28slang.29, El ...
.


Background

On 1 November 1979, an investigation began before a parliamentary commission presided over by the deputy of the Democratic Republican Union (URD) Ramón Tenorio Sifontes, along with deputies Anselmo Natale, Leonardo Ferrer, Pedro Tabata Guzmán and Miguel Bellorin Tineo. Previously, the Ethics Commission of the Democratic Action party had already sanctioned Carlos Andres Perez and two other officials administratively. The affair was important because it would determine the political future of Carlos Andrés and presented a real possibility that administrative corruption to be sanctioned, an issue overwhelmingly discussed by the public agenda.


Complaints

The accusation was made by , minister in the government of
Luis Herrera Campins Luis Antonio Herrera Campins (4 May 1925 – 9 November 2007) was the president of Venezuela from 1979 to 1984. He was elected to one five-year term in 1978. He was a member of COPEI, a Christian Democratic party. Early life and career Lui ...
, which implicated a former Minister of Development of Pérez and the former president of the Corporación Venezolana de Fomento. The accusation revolved around the overpricing in the purchase of the ''Sierra Nevada'' ship, and it was intended to charge Carlos Andrés Pérez in this way.


Congress trial

On 9 January 1980, the People's Electoral Movement (MEP) requested an investigation of the president's assets. A congressional commission, in turn, requested his impeachment for the moral, political and administrative responsibility he bore in the scandal. The debate ended up being decided in the National Congress in a vote on 8 May. The chambers determined that Carlos Andres had political responsibility, but not administrative or moral responsibility. Several independent deputies of Democratic Action, some votes of Movement to Socialism (MAS) and
José Vicente Rangel José Vicente Rangel Vale (10 July 1929 – 18 December 2020) was a Venezuelan politician. He ran for president three times in the 1970s and 1980s and later supported Hugo Chávez. He served under Chávez as List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs ...
obtained more votes than the deputies of Copei and MAS, and absolved Carlos Andrés Pérez from being administratively condemned by the Congress. One of the possible reasons why many of the votes in favor of Pérez occurred was because the deputies did not want to support the efforts of
Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( ; 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009) was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest se ...
or
Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was a Venezuelan politician who served as the president of Venezuela, from and again from Second presidency of Rómulo ...
, who had distanced himself from Pérez over the issue of administrative corruption, to weaken Carlos Andrés politically. The result was the report known as the Tenorio Report.


Voting results

Congress in its joint session of both chambers on 8 May 1980 gave as a result of the vote: * Political responsibility: 132 votes against the president and 102 in favor (responsible) * Administrative responsibility: 113 votes against the president and 115 votes in favor (acquitted) * Moral responsibility: 111 votes against the president and 119 votes in favor (acquitted). The Sierra Nevada affair was closed by the Prosecutor's Office on 13 June 1980.


See also

* Twelve Apostles (Venezuela) * Corruption in Venezuela


References

{{Carlos Andrés Pérez Corruption in Venezuela Maritime history of Venezuela 1980 in Venezuela 1979 in Venezuela Political scandals in Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez