Mourning Venezuelans parade Chavez’s coffin, prepare for vote

Reuters: Sobbing and shouting, a sea of Hugo Chavez’s supporters paraded his coffin through the streets of Caracas on Wednesday in an emotional outpouring that could help his deputy win an election to keep his socialist revolution alive.

Hundreds of thousands of ‘Chavistas’ marched behind a hearse carrying the body of the flamboyant and outspoken President, draped in Venezuela’s blue, red and yellow national flag.

Avenues resounded with chants honouring the former paratrooper as supporters showered flowers onto his coffin and jostled to touch it. Loudspeakers played recordings of the charismatic socialist giving speeches and singing.

Some supporters held heart-shaped placards that read ‘I love Chavez!’ Others cheered from rooftops, waving T-shirts.

Ending one of Latin America’s most remarkable populist rules, Chavez died on Tuesday at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer that was first detected in his pelvis.

His body was taken to a military academy to lie in state at the tip of a grand esplanade until his state funeral on Friday.

The future of Chavez’s socialist policies, which won him the adoration of poor Venezuelans but infuriated opponents who denounced him as a dictator, now rests on the shoulders of acting President Nicolas Maduro, the man he tapped to succeed him. “We ask our people to channel this pain into peace,” Maduro said.

Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver and union leader, will face Henrique Capriles, the centrist governor of Miranda state, in an election now due within weeks in the OPEC nation with the world’s largest oil reserves.

Opposition parties and Capriles have agreed he will make another bid for the Presidency, sources said on Wednesday.

He lost to Chavez in last year’s election but had a respectable 44% of the vote, the best performance by any candidate against Chavez in a presidential vote.

One recent opinion poll gave Maduro a strong lead over the 40-year-old Capriles. Maduro is likely to benefit from the surge of emotion following the president’s death. Authorities said the vote would be called within 30 days, as stipulated by the constitution, but did not specify when.

The tall, mustachioed Maduro has long been a close ally of Chavez. He pledges to continue his legacy and it is unlikely he would make major policy changes.

He will now focus on rallying support from Chavez’s diverse coalition, which includes leftist ideologues, business leaders who have contracts with the state, and radical armed groups called ‘colectivos’.

Some have suggested Maduro might try to ease tensions with foreign companies and the US Government. Yet hours before Chavez’s death, Maduro alleged that ‘imperialist’ enemies had infected the President with cancer and he expelled two US diplomats accused of conspiring with domestic opponents.

Venezuela’s military commanders pledged loyalty to Maduro, who will be caretaker leader until the election, and soldiers fired 21-gun salutes to Chavez in barracks across the nation. A victory by Capriles, a centrist politician who says Venezuela should follow Brazil’s softer centre-left model, would be welcome by investors and bring big changes though he has urged calm.

“Don’t be scared. Don’t be anxious. Between us all, we’re going to guarantee the peace this beloved country deserves,” Capriles said in a condolence message.

Venezuelan debt prices fell on Wednesday as investors opted to lock in gains chalked up in anticipation of Chavez’s death, citing short-term political uncertainty.

The stakes are also huge for leftist Latin American allies like Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Bolivia that for years have relied on Chavez for economic aid.

But past and present leaders of other countries in the region mainly free-traders like Peru, Chile, Colombia, Panama and Mexico periodically rejected his overtures, criticized his statists policies and, for Washington, served as a buffer against him.

It was not immediately clear where Chavez would be buried. He had ordered a striking new mausoleum built in downtown Caracas for the remains of 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar, his inspiration, and it is due to be finished soon. Some allies are already saying he should be buried there.