1958 Venezuelan general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{infobox election

| country = Venezuela (1954)

| type = presidential

| previous_election = 1947 Venezuelan general election

| previous_year = 1947

| next_election = 1963 Venezuelan general election

| next_year = 1963

| election_date = 7 December 1958

| module = {{Infobox election

| embed = yes

| type = presidential

| election_name = Presidential election

| image_size = 130x130px

| turnout = 93.42%

| image1 = Foto oficial Rómulo Betancourt 1959 (cropped-gray).jpg

| candidate1 = Rómulo Betancourt

| party1 = Democratic Action (Venezuela)

| popular_vote1 = 1,284,092

| percentage1 = 49.18%

| image2 = WolfangLarrazábal.jpg

| candidate2 = Wolfgang Larrazábal

| party2 = URD–PCV

| popular_vote2 = 903,479

| percentage2 = 34.61%

| image3 = Rafael Caldera en 1956 (cropped).jpg

| candidate3 = Rafael Caldera

| party3 = Copei

| colour3 = 008000

| popular_vote3 = 423,262

| percentage3 = 16.21%

| map_image = Mapa de las elecciones presidenciales de Venezuela de 1958.svg

| map_caption = Results by state

| map_size = 350px

| title = President

| before_election = Edgar Sanabria

| before_party = Independent politician

| after_election = Rómulo Betancourt

| after_party = Democratic Action (Venezuela)

}}}}{{Politics of Venezuela}}

General elections were held in Venezuela on 7 December 1958.Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p555 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928358-3}} They were the first elections held after the overthrow of military ruler Marcos Pérez Jiménez earlier that year, and only the second free regular elections in the country's history.

The presidential elections were won by Rómulo Betancourt of Democratic Action, who received 49% of the vote,Nohlen, p580{{Citation |last=Ewell |first=Judith |title=Venezuela since 1930 |date=1991 |work=The Cambridge History of Latin America: Volume 8: Latin America since 1930: Spanish South America |volume=8 |pages=727–790 |editor-last=Bethell |editor-first=Leslie |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-latin-america/venezuela-since-1930/67358EE96B41D9103DF2F9D5D60FEEEC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521266529.014 |isbn=978-0-521-26652-9}} whilst his party won 73 of the 132 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 32 of the 51 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 93% in the presidential election and 92% in the Congressional elections.Nohlen, p556

The Soviet Union covertly supported Wolfgang Larrazábal, who had led the coup against Pérez Jiménez and briefly served as provisional president, in the elections.{{Cite journal|last=Levin|first=Dov H.|date=2016-09-19|title=Partisan electoral interventions by the great powers: Introducing the PEIG Dataset|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0738894216661190|journal=Conflict Management and Peace Science|volume=36|issue=1|pages=88–106|doi=10.1177/0738894216661190|s2cid=157114479|issn=0738-8942}}