Venezuela has a new national flag, approved by the National Assembly and launched by socialist President Hugo Chavez on March 12, the 200th anniversary of the original flag. The most significant addition is an eighth star to honour the province Guayana and to fulfil an 1817 decree issued by Simon Bolivar, who led the struggle to liberate Venezuela from Spanish colonialism. The decree was for the addition of an eight star when Guayana, then still a colonial possession, was liberated. The national coat of arms, featured on the flag, has been changed to include a bow and arrow in recognition of Venezuela's indigenous peoples, as well as a machete to symbolise manual workers. In what some have interpreted as a politically symbolic change, the white horse in the coat of arms — which previously had its head turned to the right — is now pictured running to the left.
From Green Left Weekly, March 22, 2006.
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