Many critics have suggested that the horse, now running to the dexter (to the viewer's left) is a political statement of the current left-wing government of President Hugo Chávez. Previously in the Venezuelan arms adopted in 1863, the horse was moving as it is seen today, to the dexter (the viewer's left). Also to note is that in heraldry, positions are not described from the viewer's point of view, but rather the shield's, so while the horse appears to be galloping left to one observing the arms, the horse is actually galloping to the dexter, or right, side of the shield. This symbolizes Venezuela as the first of the independent states of South America, and Simon Bolivar's campaigns of liberation for all of Latin America, which started here in 1811 (with Venezuela's Declaration of Independence and the earlier Caracas Junta of 1810) and ended with his final victory in the Battle of Ayacucho on December 9, 1824, all the while riding his white horse Palomo.