Today all Venezuelans recognize that independence is the most important process in our history, because we obtained the freedom that allows us to exercise our right to be what we are, Venezuelans. For all Venezuelans, the process of independence includes our most glorious era, because it is the time of great men, whose lofty ideals and proven courage made possible the attainment of lavish causes that nurture our pride and sense of patriotism.

200 years later all Venezuelans share this notion of the past because we learn the same interpretation of the facts, that is, we know the same story. In the school they teach us that on April 19, 1810, it was declared, and that on July 5, 1811, the act that sentenced our unrenounceable decision to be free was signed. Also, we learn hundreds of dates composed of days, months and years, of endless battles and heroic acts, waged by a group of exceptional heroes who fought to the death in a long and bloody war turned into the melting pot where our freedom was forged . We learn that Francisco de Miranda, Antonio José de Sucre, José Tadeo Monagas, José Antonio Páez, Santiago Mariño, Manuel Piar, Carlos Soublete, Rafael Urdaneta, etc., are some of our main heroes. We are repeatedly told that they fought for us with gallantry, honor, discipline and great courage, all under the leadership of Simón Bolívar, our greatest hero and father of the country, who is taught to venerate and worship.