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En este trabajo se intenta mostrar la evolución de un fenómeno sociopolítico, conocido como sociedad civil, que cobró importancia en Venezuela en las últimas décadas del siglo XX y cuyo papel en los acontecimientos políticos de los primeros años del siglo XXI justifican su abordaje como tema de investigación. La tesis fundamental que exponemos es que las manifestaciones actuales de la sociedad civil en Venezuela comenzaron a formarse en el período democrático, en particular, a partir de los años setenta. Sus primeras expresiones en las décadas de los setenta y noventa las encontramos en el que hacer social, mientras que hacia el año 2002 su papel dentro del sistema democrático venezolano ha adquirido rango constitucional y ha asumido un rol político dentro de la dinámica generada por el Gobierno del presidente Hugo Chávez Frías. En ese contexto, el tema de la sociedad civil se ha convertido en un asunto de Estado que se observa en una labor de construcción jurisprudencial de la noción sociedad civil que ha marcado una nueva etapa en su evolución.Venezuelan civil society in two timeframes: 1972-2002AbstractThis work is aimed at shedding light on the evolution of a sociopolitical phenomenon named civil society, which grew in significance in Venezuela during the last decades of the 20th century and has played an important role in political events of early 21st century, thus representinga thorough topic for research. The fundamental thesis of this work is that current actions of civil society in Venezuela stem from a democratic period, specifically beginning in the1970's. Its first expressions in the seventies and nineties are found in the activities of society, whereas in the year 2002 its role within the Venezuelan democratic system has been recognized in the Constitution and has even acquired a political nature within the dynamics arising the government of Hugo Chávez Frías. In this connection, civil society has become a state matter, observed through a review of case law and precedents determining a new stage in its evolution.

The growth of the concept of civil society in Venezuela since the 1970s is explored to argue that the origin of organized civil society is located in the struggle between the military & civilians which has dominated Venezuelan political history. The two different modes and of formation & development of civil society in Venezuela are distinguished as first, a traditional variant forms by unions & professional associations co-opted by political parties prior to 1958, & second, a new civil society that arose at the margin of the system of representation established within the framework of the Pact of Punto Fijo. Venezuelan civil society during the Punto Fijo is characterized as a space of nonparty, nonstate, voluntarily formed, nonprofit citizen organization which arose outside the interest group & labor union world. The formative stage of the new civil society in Venezuela occurring during the 1960s & 70s is characterized as the appearance of autonomous urban organizations oriented towards improving the living conditions of neighborhood & women's groups, promoting & providing educational work in communities, & environmental & cooperative struggles. The second stage of new civil organization beginning in 1989 seemed an ever-growing quantitative & qualitative presence in public life that culminated in a crucial role in the constitutional design of the new political system in 1999 that has resulted in a reenergizing of the parties & diminishing the space of the new civil society. The Fifth Republic's attempt at statist incorporation has led civil society to an open & direct confrontation with the state & the government parties, resulting in the politicization of civil society. The Venezuelan democratic model will include from now on, a politically mobilized civil society that can influence & hold more accountable political parties & government. J. Harwell

El artículo presenta un diagnóstico de la situación de la población desplazada en Colombia, a partir de los resultados de la II Encuesta Nacional de Verificación de la Comisión de Seguimiento a la Política Pública sobre Desplazamiento Forzado, realizada en 2008. Factores de vulnerabilidad en materia de salud, educación, seguridad alimentaria, vivienda, informalidad laboral, generación de ingresos, entre otros, revelan una situación de extrema precariedad que está lejos todavía del goce efectivo de derechos por parte de la población en situación de desplazamiento, la cual sintetiza la gravedad de la crisis humanitaria que padece el país.