The flag-draped coffin of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was borne through throngs of weeping supporters on Wednesday as a nation bade farewell to the firebrand leftist who led them for 14 years.
His mother Elena wept over his wooden casket as a band played the national anthem outside his military hospital. Presidential guards with red berets then placed his remains on a black hearse which took him to lie in state.
The commander's hand-picked successor, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, walked alongside the car, wearing a somber expression and the colors of the national flag, in what was in effect the first appearance in his election campaign.
He was accompanied the length of a more than six-hour route under baking sun by Bolivia's President Evo Morales, cheered by huge crowds.
Chavez's death after a two-year struggle with cancer was a blow to his supporters and to the alliance of left-wing Latin American powers, and plunged his resource-rich country into uncertainty as an election is organized.
Under Chavez, Venezuela's oil wealth has underwritten the Castro brothers' communist rule in Cuba and he repeatedly courted confrontation with Washington by cozying up to anti-Western governments in Russia, Syria and Iran.
His body, surrounded by soldiers, was taken to the military academy that the former paratrooper colonel once called a second home, where he was to lie in state until an official ceremony with foreign dignitaries on Friday.
People watched from their apartment windows while others climbed fences to get a better view of the hearse. Many held or wore iconic images of Chavez.
The 58-year-old leader succumbed to a respiratory infection on Tuesday. A new election is due to be called within what are sure to be 30 tense days.
Maduro, who on Tuesday had tearfully broke the news to the nation that his mentor had lost his battle with cancer, was poised to take over as interim president and to campaign for election as Chavez's chosen successor.
The death brought thousands of Venezuelans to public squares across the country, weeping and celebrating the life of a divisive figure whose oil-funded socialist revolution delighted the poor and infuriated the wealthy.
Hundreds of people spent the night in front of his hospital, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "we are all Chavez!" A banner was hung on the hospital fence, reading "Chavez lives, the battle continues!"
"I love him," said Iris Dicuro, 62, who came from the northeastern city of Puerto La Cruz and wore a shirt with the words "Forward Comandante." "I want to bid farewell because he was a good man who gave everything to the poor."
But, in a country divided by Chavez's populist style, not everyone agreed, with opposition supporters in better-off neighborhoods still angry.
"Hate and division was the only thing that he spread," 28-year-old computer programmer Jose Mendoza told AFP in an eastern Caracas opposition bastion. "They want to make him a martyr. It made me laugh.
"He did a lot of social things, but he could have done much more. He also did a lot of harm because there are no institutions, there is no justice. He mistreated everyone who disagreed with his government."
Some of Chavez's closest Latin American allies had already arrived Wednesday ahead of the state funeral, including Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales.
Maduro said the nation's security forces had been deployed but Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said calm reigned in Venezuela, which was rocked by a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002.
Venezuela's closest ally, Cuba, declared its own three-day mourning period and dubbed Chavez a "true son" of revolutionary icon Fidel Castro. Eight other Latin American countries followed suit.
But US President Barack Obama -- once branded a "poor ignorant person" by Chavez -- was circumspect, pledging American support for the "Venezuelan people" while expressing the hope that relations might now improve.
Shortly before Chavez's death was announced, Maduro expelled two US military attaches and accused Venezuela's enemies of somehow afflicting the leftist with the cancer that eventually killed him.
Chavez was showered with tributes from Latin American leaders and Russia, China and Iran also paid tribute to a man who had cultivated close ties with the bugbears of the West as a way of thumbing his nose at Washington.
And beleaguered Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad took time off from trying to crush a revolt against his brutal rule to dub Chavez's death "a great loss for me personally and the Syrian people."
Chavez had checked into the hospital on February 18 for a course of chemotherapy after spending two months in Cuba, where in December he had undergone his fourth round of cancer surgery since June 2011.
A new election could offer another shot at the presidency to Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader who lost to Chavez in October but insisted Tuesday that the two men were "adversaries, but never enemies."
Luis Vicente Leon, director of the polling group Datanalisis, said the government will likely want to hold elections as early as possible "to take advantage electorally of the emotion generated by the president's death."
Chavez died five months after winning re-election, overcoming public frustration over a rising murder rate, regular blackouts and soaring inflation.
He missed his swearing-in for a new six-year term on January 10, but the Supreme Court approved an indefinite delay.
AFP
Wed Mar 06 2013
![Venezuelan bid farewell to their favourite president, Hugo Chavez Venezuelan bid farewell to their favourite president, Hugo Chavez](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/81362610958_295x200.jpg)
![Abang ipar Nidza Afham mohon netizen henti buat spekulasi Abang ipar Nidza Afham mohon netizen henti buat spekulasi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723699828_NidzaAfhammeningg.jpg)
Abang ipar Nidza Afham mohon netizen henti buat spekulasi
Abang ipar kepada Allahyarham penyanyi Nidza Afham, Effie Amron memohon semua pihak tidak membuat sebarang spekulasi mengenai berita kematian adik iparnya itu.
![Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71722940302_handcuff.jpg)
Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China
Sepasang suami isteri dan empat individu didakwa menculik seorang lelaki warga China untuk mendapatkan wang tebusan berbentuk mata wang kripto.
![Lima negara, Kesatuan Afrika, PBB komited teruskan rundingan damai Sudan Lima negara, Kesatuan Afrika, PBB komited teruskan rundingan damai Sudan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723696855_TBSUDAN.jpg)
Lima negara, Kesatuan Afrika, PBB komited teruskan rundingan damai Sudan
Kenyataan bersama itu dikeluarkan oleh Amerika Syarikat (AS), Switzerland, Arab Saudi, Mesir, Emiriah Arab Bersatu (UAE), Kesatuan Afrika dan PBB.
![Allahyarham Nidza Afham dalam proses kumpul duit kahwin - Adik Allahyarham Nidza Afham dalam proses kumpul duit kahwin - Adik](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723699567_NidzaAfhammeningg.jpg)
Allahyarham Nidza Afham dalam proses kumpul duit kahwin - Adik
Penyanyi Aufahanie memberitahu Allahyarham abangnya yang juga penyanyi Nidza Afham mempunyai perancangan untuk berkahwin dengan teman wanitanya.
![KKM nafi remaja menyamar doktor rawat pesakit KKM nafi remaja menyamar doktor rawat pesakit](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723275350_remajaperempuan.jpg)
KKM nafi remaja menyamar doktor rawat pesakit
Kementerian Kesihatan menafikan remaja yang menceroboh Hospital Sultan Idris Shah, Serdang, baru-baru ini melakukan prosedur kepada pesakit.
![PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723697236_CalonPRKNenggiri.jpg)
PRK Nenggiri: Peratusan keluar mengundi indikator, tawan semula atau status quo
Peratusan keluar mengundi akan menjadi antara indikator penting yang menentukan keputusan Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Nenggiri Sabtu ini, sama ada Barisan Nasional (BN) berjay
[TERKINI] Banduan Iran ditahan disyaki miliki heroin
Seorang banduan lelaki warga Iran yang sedang menjalani hukuman penjara 30 tahun di Penjara Tapah ditahan pada petang Rabu kerana disyaki memiliki dadah jenis heroin.
!['Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie 'Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/41723698722_NidzaAfham.jpg)
'Keluarga mula sedar kehilangan Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan kekasihnya' - Aufahanie
Aufahanie mendedahkan dia dan ahli keluarga mula sedar tentang kehilangan abangnya, Nidza Afham selepas dimaklumkan oleh kekasih arwah abangnya itu.
[TERKINI] Pembunuhan Cikgu Istiqomah: Polis serahkan kertas siasatan kepada PPN hari ini
Kertas siasatan berhubung kes pembunuhan kejam guru wanita Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi, 33, akan diserahkan kepada Pejabat Pendakwaan Negeri (PPN) hari ini untuk arahan lanjut.
![Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723698023_AziziMatAris.jpg)
Polis tahan banduan warga Iran miliki dadah di Penjara Tapah
Seorang banduan warga Iran yang sedang menjalani hukuman di Penjara Tapah didapati memiliki dadah jenis heroin.
![Punca kematian Chavez disiasat Punca kematian Chavez disiasat](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/81362521723_295x200.jpg)
Punca kematian Chavez disiasat
Presiden Bolivia, Evo Morales menggesa agar siasatan dijalankan bagi mencari punca kematian Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.
![Mayat Chavez akan diawet untuk pameran muzium tentera Mayat Chavez akan diawet untuk pameran muzium tentera](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/81362521723_295x200.jpg)
Mayat Chavez akan diawet untuk pameran muzium tentera
Mayat mendiang Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez yang diawet akan dipamerkan secara kekal dalam sebuah keranda berkaca di muzium tentera negara itu.
![Orang ramai tandatangani buku takziah di kedutaan Orang ramai tandatangani buku takziah di kedutaan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/81362521723_295x200.jpg)
Orang ramai tandatangani buku takziah di kedutaan
Pejabat Kedutaan Venezuela di seluruh benua Amerika Latin dibuka kepada orang ramai yang ingin menyampaikan ucapan takziah di atas pemergian mendiang Presiden Hugo Chavez.
![Rakyat ratapi pemergian Hugo Chavez Rakyat ratapi pemergian Hugo Chavez](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/41362611023_295x200.jpg)
Rakyat ratapi pemergian Hugo Chavez
Ribuan rakyat Venezuela membanjiri jalan-jalan utama di Caracas pada hari Rabu menyaksikan perarakan keranda mendiang Hugo Chavez.
![Kematian Chavez bakal ubah politik Venezuela Kematian Chavez bakal ubah politik Venezuela](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/51362559674_295x200.jpg)
Kematian Chavez bakal ubah politik Venezuela
Ikuti perbualan telefon wartawan Awani bersama Geostrategis, Dr. Azmi Hassan berikutan pemergian Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.
![Pemimpin dunia ucap takziah pemergian Chavez Pemimpin dunia ucap takziah pemergian Chavez](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/51362277178_295x200.jpg)
Pemimpin dunia ucap takziah pemergian Chavez
Beberapa pemimpin dunia turut mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan takziah sempena pemergian Presiden Venezuela.
![Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez meninggal dunia Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez meninggal dunia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-03/81362521723_295x200.jpg)
Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez meninggal dunia
Pemimpin Venezuela, Hugo Chavez meninggal dunia pada Selasa, menurut pengumuman oleh Naib Presiden Nicolas Maduro.
![Pengikut twitter Chavez cecah 4 juta Pengikut twitter Chavez cecah 4 juta](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-02/51361284844_295x200.jpg)
Pengikut twitter Chavez cecah 4 juta
Hugo Chavez mencatat sejarah tersendiri apabila merekodkan jumlah pengikut Twitter sebanyak empat juta.
![Majlis angkat sumpah Chavez boleh ditangguh Majlis angkat sumpah Chavez boleh ditangguh](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2013-01/61357010523_120x90.jpg)
Majlis angkat sumpah Chavez boleh ditangguh
Mahkamah Agung Venezuela menegaskan, dari segi undang-undangnya, majlis angkat sumpah Presiden Hugo Chavez yang dijadualkan pada hari ini boleh ditangguhkan
![Hugo Chavez semakin kritikal Hugo Chavez semakin kritikal](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-12/41355923656_120x90.jpg)
Hugo Chavez semakin kritikal
Presiden Venezuela, Hugo Chavez alami jangkitan pernafasan selepas menjalani rawatan barah di Cuba.