Career
He was elected Governor of the state of Anzoátegui in the 2000 regional elections for the MVR. He later broke with the MVR and lost to his MVR successor, Tarek Saab, in the 2004 elections. He was elected to the 1999 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela. De Lima accused his successor as governor, Tarek Saab, of using his position for political persecution, after Saab"s wife accused De Lima of mismanagement.
De Lima is a lawyer by training, having graduated from the Central University of Venezuela in 1987.
