How many military personnel are part of the public administration in Venezuela?

Regarding the Summons sent by the Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, Diosdado Cabello, to Venezuelan military personnel working in ministries and state institutions, The National was able to know the exact number of military personnel who form part of the Venezuelan public administration.

A total of 301 military personnel occupy various positions in the public administrationaccording to the list updated on August 19, 2024. Of this number, 142 have a current resolution status, 66 have expired resolution, and 93 have no resolution.

In a document leaked on social media, dated August 31, the newly appointed Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace ordered the military personnel to make themselves available to the Ministry of Defense as soon as possible. The letter was addressed to deputy ministers, general directors, decentralized entities and decentralized entities.

“I am pleased to inform you that, pursuant to an order from the national government, all military personnel working in state agencies other than the Ministry of Defense must be placed at the service of that ministry as soon as possible,” the document states.

The entity with the largest number of military personnel on its payroll, according to the list obtained by The Nationalis the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace (42). It is followed by the Ministry of Food (28), the Presidential Office (28) and the National Assembly (26).

As for the ranks of the military in the public administration, most of them occupy the rank of second sergeant major (50), colonel (39), captain (38), third sergeant major (32), major (31), lieutenant colonel (23), first sergeant (20), division general (11), first sergeant major (9), assistant sergeant (9), brigadier general (8), second sergeant (8), senior sergeant (8), first lieutenant (7), major general (3), lieutenant (2), major of the militia (2) and general in chief (1).

Here is the complete list of military personnel who are part of the Venezuelan public administration:

The role of the military in public administration and the Chavista government

Since Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, the military began to take on a greater role in the Venezuelan government. They have held positions of great national relevance, even though in many cases they did not have the necessary experience to do so.

For historian and economist Edgar C. Otálvora, The integration of the Venezuelan military leadership into the regime itself was a vital move by the Chavista leaders to consolidate their government.It is this union that has allowed them to withstand recent years under a political, social, economic and even diplomatic crisis.

The rise of military power is a classic feature of system of government known as Soviet totalitarianisma type of State implemented in the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953, which was shaped by a leader who had all the powers and who surrounded himself with a cult of personality.

This type of regime is characterized, in addition to great military support, by the use of cruelty as a way of imposing fear, by repressing free expression, the excessive use of pro-ideological propaganda and the idea of ​​being the hegemonic power, according to political scientist Walter Molina.

The expert points out that after the controversial presidential elections of July 28, the Chavista regime decided to move towards a Soviet-style totalitarianism, but with updated applications, deepening state terrorism and social control. All this thanks, in part, to military support.