Hours after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death, Venezuelans and politicians are wondering how the nation will choose Chavez's successor, as Vice-President Nicolas Maduro has been named the nation's interim president — contrary to the constitution.
Venezuela's constitution mandates an election be called within 30 days, but it is currently unclear when an election will be held.
The constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, currently Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president can't be sworn in. But Maduro — who will be the governing socialists' candidate in the upcoming election after being named Chavez's successor by the late president — is filling the post instead.
"The lines are really kind of blurry right here," freelance reporter Andrew Rosati told CBC News from Caracas. He said constitutional discrepancies have been present ever since Chavez was unable to attend his inauguration ceremony Jan. 10.
When Chavez's health didn't allow him to attend, lawmakers indefinitely delayed his swearing-in, prompting the opposition to question the constitutional validity of that decision.
Chavez instructed Venezuelans to vote for Maduro in a worst-case scenario, said Rosati. With Chavez's most recent approval ratings being around 60 per cent, he said, "all signs are looking to a continuation of his legacy."
P.J. Crowley, a former assistant secretary of state under Hillary Clinton, told CBC News it will be interesting to see whether Venezuela will follow its constitution.
"Will it be a free and fair election?" he said.
Questions about Chavez's legacy
During his 14-year reign, Chavez established himself as an anti-American. He famously called then U.S. president George W. Bush a donkey and the devil. Chavez also called U.S. President Barack Obama a clown.
The most significant trait of authoritarian leaders is leaving behind very weak establishments, said Crowley. So the big question, he said, is what happens after Chavez is gone?
While Chavez distinguished himself through his anti-American platform, said Crowley, Venezuela's next leader may not take the same stance. Instead of extending Chavez's legacy, he said, Venezuela can now step back and reassess its anti-Americanism.
"If it's Maduro, he'll probably try to carry on the Chavez revolution. If it's Capriles, I think he'll move to try and reestablish a constructive relationship with the United States," said Crowley.
But locals aren't convinced Maduro can continue Chavez's legacy.
Chavez was "a rock star president," said freelance reporter Girish Gupta from Caracas. He was able to tackle the nation's problems, like crime and soaring inflation, through his personality.
While Maduro is likely to win the future election, Gupta said, thanks to Chavez's blessing, national momentum and a high sympathy vote, he doesn't have the same charisma.
"Will Chavismo continue without Chavez?" Gupta asked.
Locals mourn, fear future
Venezuela has declared seven days of mourning, suspending school for the week. Chavez's funeral will be held on Friday in the nation's capital, but no date or place has been announced for his burial.
Chavez's body will be moved Wednesday from the hospital to the military academy where it will lie in state, Gupta said. The streets of Caracas, which have been filled with mourners since the death annoucement, are expected to swell in numbers during the procession.
After the government announced Chavez had died Venezuelans — some in anguish, some in fear — raced for home and stocked up on food and water.
"This situation is not normal for us," Venezuelan journalist Mary Triny Mena told CBC News. She said the government was very secretive during the period leading up to Chavez's death, so Venezuelans did not know what was happening.
"This is a consequence of that," she said, referring to the Venezuelans who are reacting in fear.
The government declined to say what exactly killed him. On Monday night, the government had said the president had been weakened by a severe, new respiratory infection.
Maduro, opposition call for unity after death
Tuesday was a day fraught with mixed signals, some foreboding. Just a few hours before announcing Chavez's death, Maduro virulently accused enemies, domestic and foreign and clearly including the United States, of trying to undermine Venezuelan democracy. The government said two U.S. military attaches had been expelled for allegedly trying to destabilize the nation.
Venezuela's Vice-President Nicolas Maduro will serve as interim president until an election is called following President Hugo Chavez's death Tuesday. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters) But in announcing that the president was dead, Maduro shifted tone, calling on Venezuelans to be "dignified heirs of the giant man."
"Let there be no weakness, no violence. Let there be no hate. In our hearts there should only be one sentiment: Love. Love, peace and discipline."
Opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in the October presidential election and is widely expected to be the opposition's candidate to oppose Maduro, was conciliatory in a televised address.
"This is not the moment to highlight what separates us," Capriles said. "This is not the hour for differences; it is the hour for union, it is the hour for peace."
Capriles, the youthful governor of Miranda state, has been bitterly feuding with Maduro and other Chavez loyalists who accused him of conspiring with far-right U.S. forces to undermine the revolution.
Venezuela has the world's second-highest murder rate after Honduras — 56 people for every 100,000 according to government figures, which nongovernmental groups say are understated.
Some political violence reported
Late Tuesday, the armed forces chief, Gen. Wilmer Barrientos, reported "complete calm" in the country. But there had been several incidents of political violence.
Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez react Tuesday to the announcement of his death outside the hospital where he was being treated, in Caracas. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters) In one, a group of masked, helmeted men on motorcycles, some brandishing revolvers, attacked about 40 students who had been protesting for more than a week near the Supreme Court building to demand the government give more information about Chavez's health.
The attackers, who didn't wear clothing identifying any political allegiance, burned the students' tents and scattered their food just minutes after Chavez's death was announced.
Outside the military hospital where Chavez's body was visited by loved ones and allies, an angry crowd attacked a Colombian TV reporter.
"They beat us with helmets, with sticks, men, women, adults," Carmen Andrea Rengifo said on RCN TV. Video images showed her bleeding above the forehead but she was not seriously injured.
Cancer induced by enemies, says Maduro
Maduro, whose government role had grown after Chavez went to Cuba for treatment, was belligerent early Tuesday. He reported the expulsion of one of the two U.S. attaches, and also said that "we have no doubt" that Chavez's cancer, first diagnosed in June 2011, was induced by "the historical enemies of our homeland."
Maduro compared the situation to the death of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, claiming Arafat was "inoculated with an illness" and said a "scientific commission will prove that Comandante Chavez was attacked with this illness."
Chavez's inner circle has long claimed the U.S. was behind a failed 2002 attempt to overthrow him, and he has frequently played the anti-American card to stir up support. Venezuela has been without a U.S. ambassador since July 2010 and expelled another U.S. military officer in 2006.
U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell rejected the assertion that the U.S. was trying to destabilize Venezuela. The claim, he said, "leads us to conclude that, unfortunately, the current Venezuelan government is not interested in an improved relationship."
Ventrell added that the assertion that Washington somehow had a hand in Chavez's illness was "absurd."
He hinted the U.S. could reciprocate with expulsions of Venezuelan diplomats.
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