Saluting, clenching fists and making the Roman Catholic sign of the cross over Hugo Chávez’s casket, Venezuelans crowded today to see their deceased leader one last time and pledge that his socialist revolution will not die.
Grieving supporters queued around a grandiose military academy in a mass show of devotion to Chávez, who died on Tuesday aged 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.
More than 2 million people have already paid their respects.
From soldiers in fatigues to officers in ceremonial dress, senior ministers to residents of the slums where Chávez was most loved, those in line vowed to defend his legacy and back his preferred heir, acting President Nicolas Maduro, in a new vote.
«I arrived in the wee hours to see Chávez. He is my personal idol,» said Henry Acosta, 56, outside the academy where the leader’s body will lie in state until a funeral on Friday.
A sobbing Berta Colmenares, 77, said «Chavistas» must throw their weight behind Maduro to carry on the revolution.
«I will vote for Maduro, who else? He is the one who Chávez chose and we have to follow his wish.»
Chávez was dressed in an army uniform and a signature red beret like the one he wore in a 1992 speech to the nation that launched his political career after he led a failed coup.
People were given just a few seconds to glance at Chávez’s body inside the relatively simple wooden coffin, which had a glass top and was draped in flowers and a Venezuelan flag.
One government source said that Chávez slipped into a coma on Monday and died the next day of respiratory failure after a rapid deterioration from the weekend, when he had held a five-hour meeting with ministers at his bedside.
The cancer had spread to his lungs, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald