Hugo Chávez Dies Aged 58: Venezuela Bids Farewell to their President

Today, at 4.25 p.m. local time, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez died aged 58, while hospitalized in Caracas. According to the Venezuelan Constitution, elections are to be held within the next thirty days after the death of the President, if he dies before officially being sworn-in or during the first four years of the six year term.

After ruling the country for fourteen years, Chávez leaves Venezuela possibly in the hands of Nicolás Maduro, who served as Vice-President during his last term. Chávez himself stated that, should anything happen to him, he encouraged Venezuelans to vote for Maduro as his successor. The former bus driver is known to be what many call a “Chavista”, loyal to Hugo Chávez since 1999, when the latter became Venezula’s President for the first time. Maduro is expected to further enforce the “Bolivarian Socialist Revolution”, the social and political movement seeking to develop popular democracy, economic independence from the rest of the world and a fair distribution of wealth. There are some fears on the part of the opposition that Maduro proves to be in fact more intolerant than his predecessor.

During his presidency, Hugo Chávez went through economic turmoil, national strikes and military coups. He led a war against capitalism and was famous for his outspoken objection towards the United States and its “colonial” policies. He reformed the Venezuelan Constitution to allow indefinite re-election and, to a great extent, ruled the country through popular referendums.

Nicolás Maduro and other government officials announced the sad event on national television and asked for respect on the part of the citizens and the world in general. He also affirmed that further details about the President Hugo Chavez’s funeral were to be made public in the hours to come.