One of his first acts as president was to rename the country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

WSJ: Ch��vez Is Idolized Like His Own Idol, Bol��var

One of his first acts as president was to change the country's official name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

WSJ: Venezuela Leader Ch��vez Dies at 58

Candidates are proposed by the countries in which Professor Juan Bosch lived in exile and which have been historically linked to the experience of democracy in the Dominican Republic (Cuba, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Costa Rica).

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES