In 1859, the Federal War broke out.

Federation Day, which marks the outbreak of the Federal War, is the second most important milestone of the 19th century in the formation of Venezuela as a national country. On February 20, 1859, Tirso Salaverría, at the head of forty armed men, stormed the Choir Barracks, launching the “Cry of the Federation”. This event marked the beginning of a war that would last for five years, which would end in April 1863 with the signing of the Automobile Treaty that enshrined the nominal triumph of the Federation.

The Federal War is also known as the Long War, the Federal Revolution, and the Five Years' War. The importance of February 20, 1859 in the history of Venezuela is highlighted in the National Shield, where two inscriptions appear: “April 19, 1810. Independence”, and “February 20, 1859. Federation”.

Federation Day opened the participation of the popular masses in a conflict that meant the extension of the War of Independence, referring to those social and political problems that were not definitively resolved after the emancipation of Spain in 1821. The standard-bearer leaders of this movement were Ezequiel Zamora and Juan Crisóstomo Falcón.

Mazo News Team