Hugo Chavez’s body to be put on ‘permanent display’
9 March 2013 7:06 AM IST
Hugo Chavez's body will be preserved and forever displayed inside a glass tomb at a military museum not far from the presidential palace from which he ruled for 14 years, his successor has announced in a Caribbean version of the treatment given Communist revolutionary leaders such as Lenin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s acting head of state, said Chavez would first lie in state for ‘at least’ seven more days at the museum, which will eventually become his permanent home. It was not clear when exactly he would be moved from the military academy where his body has been placed since Wednesday.
A state funeral was be held on Friday attended by more than 30 heads of government, including Cuban President Raul Castro and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. US Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, and former Rep. William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, represented the United States, which Chavez often portrayed as a great global evil even as he sent the country billions of dollars in oil each year.
‘We have decided to prepare the body of our 'Comandante President,' to embalm it so that it remains open for all time for the people. Just like Ho Chi Minh. Just like Lenin. Just like Mao Zedong,’ Maduro said.
He said the body would be held in a ‘crystal urn’ at the Museum of the Revolution, a stone's throw from Miraflores l palace.
The announcement followed two emotional days in which Chavez's supporters compared him to Jesus Christ, and accused his national and international critics of subversion. A sea of sobbing, heartbroken humanity jammed Venezuela's main military academy yesterday to see Chavez's body, some waiting 10 hours under the twinkling stars and the searing Caribbean sun to file past his coffin. On Thursday night, Castro and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica visited the site.
NICOLAS MADURO TO TAKE OATH AS INTERIM VENEZUELAN PREZ
Vice President Nicolas Maduro is supposed to be sworn in as acting president of Venezuela on Friday evening after a state funeral is held for Hugo Chavez.
Maduro was sworn in at 7 p.m. in the same military academy complex where the president has been lying in state. On Tuesday, after announcing Chavez’s death, the government said Maduro would both be acting president and the presidential candidate of the governing party.
Venezuela’s constitution specifies that upon Chavez’s death, Cabello should have become interim president and elections for a new president called within 30 days.
A former Supreme Court judge, Blanca Rosa Marmo, said that Maduro could not run for president as vice president. She said the government is not adhering to the constitution. She said it’s Cabello, not Maduro, who should be sworn in. The government said on Tuesday that the election would be convoked in 30 days. It is not clear when they will be held.Cabello said Maduro would be sworn in and call the elections.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s acting head of state, said Chavez would first lie in state for ‘at least’ seven more days at the museum, which will eventually become his permanent home. It was not clear when exactly he would be moved from the military academy where his body has been placed since Wednesday.
A state funeral was be held on Friday attended by more than 30 heads of government, including Cuban President Raul Castro and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. US Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, and former Rep. William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, represented the United States, which Chavez often portrayed as a great global evil even as he sent the country billions of dollars in oil each year.
‘We have decided to prepare the body of our 'Comandante President,' to embalm it so that it remains open for all time for the people. Just like Ho Chi Minh. Just like Lenin. Just like Mao Zedong,’ Maduro said.
He said the body would be held in a ‘crystal urn’ at the Museum of the Revolution, a stone's throw from Miraflores l palace.
The announcement followed two emotional days in which Chavez's supporters compared him to Jesus Christ, and accused his national and international critics of subversion. A sea of sobbing, heartbroken humanity jammed Venezuela's main military academy yesterday to see Chavez's body, some waiting 10 hours under the twinkling stars and the searing Caribbean sun to file past his coffin. On Thursday night, Castro and Uruguayan President Jose Mujica visited the site.
NICOLAS MADURO TO TAKE OATH AS INTERIM VENEZUELAN PREZ
Vice President Nicolas Maduro is supposed to be sworn in as acting president of Venezuela on Friday evening after a state funeral is held for Hugo Chavez.
Maduro was sworn in at 7 p.m. in the same military academy complex where the president has been lying in state. On Tuesday, after announcing Chavez’s death, the government said Maduro would both be acting president and the presidential candidate of the governing party.
Venezuela’s constitution specifies that upon Chavez’s death, Cabello should have become interim president and elections for a new president called within 30 days.
A former Supreme Court judge, Blanca Rosa Marmo, said that Maduro could not run for president as vice president. She said the government is not adhering to the constitution. She said it’s Cabello, not Maduro, who should be sworn in. The government said on Tuesday that the election would be convoked in 30 days. It is not clear when they will be held.Cabello said Maduro would be sworn in and call the elections.
Next Story
