The state protectors, also known as regional protectors, are an extrajudicial figure created during the Bolivarian Revolution. They consist of parallel positions to Venezuela's state governors appointed by the governing party (the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV) in regions with opposition political party leaders. The figure does not appear in the Venezuelan Constitution or in any other legal regulation of the country, and the protectors usurp the function of receiving and directly administering the resources of the regional governments.