9 March 2013

This is a blog item that needs to be converted to the new Bliki format

Rest in peace Hugo

Leaders flocked to Caracas on Friday as Venezuelans paid an emotional farewell to their late President Hugo Chavez. His successor Nicolas Maduro has since been sworn in as acting president and called for snap elections.

Chavez’s closest allies were present at the state funeral in a military academy where his body has been laid in state. Among the high-profile leaders were Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Cuban President Raul Castro, Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko and Spanish crown-prince Felipe de Borbon. Other regional allies such as Brazil’s Dilma Rouseff and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa were also present.

Chavez died on Tuesday at the age of 58 following a two-year fight against cancer. His body will be embalmed and preserved just like Lenin, and laid out in the ‘Mountain Barracks’ where he devised a failed coup. The venue will be turned into a Museum of the Bolivarian Revolution.

• Venezuelans and world leaders bid farewell to Hugo Chavez
• The revolution will not be televised - excellent documentary about the 2002 coup