Rosales began his political career as a youth leader of the political party, Acción Democrática (AD), described by the BBC as "one of the two parties that dominated Venezuelan politics for most of the second half of the 20th Century" [REF].
Rosales served as a congressman in the Zulia Legislative Assembly (1983-1994), Mayor of Maracaibo (1996-2000)-Venezuela's second-largest city, in Zulia, Venezuela's wealthiest state[REF]-and Governor of Zulia for two terms (2000-2004 and 2004-2008) [REF].