Herrera Campins, Luis Antonio

He was educated at the school La Salle in Barquisimeto, from which he graduated in 1942 .

He worked as a journalist in the newspapers El Impulso and Surcos, as well as in the magazine of the National Student Union. At 21, he joined the newly created Social Christian Party KOPEY . Soon became one of the youth party leaders. In 1947 he began his parliamentary career, being elected deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela.

He began to study law at the Central University of Venezuela , but did not finish it, because in 1952 he was imprisoned Modelo for four months for participating in a university strike against the dictatorship of Marcos Perez Jiménez . Then he was deported, lived in Madrid , where, together with other leaders of emigration, he founded the newspaper Tiela, where he received a degree in law in 1955 after graduating from the University of Santiago de Compostela .

Returning to Venezuela after the overthrow of Perez Jimenez in 1958, he quickly became one of the most important figures of the COPY and one of the main negotiators from her when concluding inter-party agreements. For four consecutive terms (1959–1974) he was a member of the National Congress from the state of Lara , in 1962–1969 he headed the parliamentary faction of the Social Christian Party.

In 1969, he was elected General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Organization of America . In the years 1974-1979 was a senator from the state of Lara.

December 3, 1978 won the presidential election . March 12, 1979 sworn in as president of Venezuela .

At the beginning of his term, oil revenues increased threefold. Louis Campins was a supporter of the strong influence of the state on the economy, he increased government spending in 1979–1981 twice, initiated a program of cultural development and reforming the education system. Government debt to foreign financial institutions rose to $ 25 billion (excluding debt of state-owned enterprises, amounting to $ 10 billion). In 1982, world oil prices began to decline, which aggravated economic problems. Trying to prevent a downturn in the economy, the government used PETROVEN investment funds and investment reserves for current expenditures. As a result, a massive outflow of capital from the country began ^[1] . The Venezuelan bolivar was pegged at a ratio of 4.30 to the dollar, but as a result of a fall in oil and capital flight earnings, the ratio rose to 15 bolivars per dollar (Black Friday, February 28, 1983). At the end of his reign, Campins was forced to take unpopular measures to overcome the economic crisis.

In the field of foreign policy in 1980, he signed an economic agreement with Mexico on the joint transportation of oil to the countries of Central America and the Caribbean. In 1982, Herrera took the side of Argentina in the war against Great Britain for the Falkland Islands, deftly using anti-American and anti-British attitudes in society. On this wave, he made territorial claims to the former British colony - neighboring Guyana. His Government also recognized the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic as a sovereign state in Western Sahara .

After his retirement, Herrera remained one of the leaders of the COPEI, in 1995 becoming the chairman of the party.

In 2001, Herrera hit the front pages of Venezuelan newspapers when his car was stolen.

• Official biography
• Luis Herrera Campins (isp.)
• Obituary in The Times , 14 November 2007 (English)
• Obituary (eng.)
• Herreri Inauguration on YouTube (English)