Pérez was born on 27 October 1922 in Rubio, Venezuela. He went to school in Caracas, where he studied law. In 1948, he married Blanca Rodríguez, one of his cousins. During the same year, because he opposed a coup d'état, he was put in prison, but got out and left Venezuela. In 1958, Venezuala became a democracy, and Pérez became a part of the government led by Rómulo Betancourt.