Saturday, March 09, 2013

Chavez protege Maduro seeks snap election as Venezuela mourns

By Simon Gardner and Terry Wade

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans of all stripes called on Saturday for a quick presidential election as acting President Nicolas Maduro tries to benefit from an emotional outpouring for his late mentor, Hugo Chavez, and step into his shoes.

Venezuelan Vice-President Nicolas Maduro lays a replica of the Simon Bolivar's sword on the coffin of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez at the Military Academy in Caracas March 8, 2013, in this picture provided by the Miraflores Palace. REUTERS/Miraflores Palace/Handout

The country's electoral commission was expected to set the election date later on Saturday. A source close to the opposition said it would likely be held April 14.

Opinion polls have shown Maduro as the probable winner, but Chavez's opponents were impatient and said they wanted to be given a chance to end "Chavismo" at the voting booth.

"We want new elections now. We want change. We are tired of the Chavez era. It's been 14 years," said Yesenia Herrera, 33, a cook at a Chinese restaurant in an affluent quarter of Caracas.

A physically imposing former union leader who served as foreign minister and vice president under Chavez, Maduro has vowed to keep Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution alive.

Maduro was sworn in as acting president in Congress on Friday and handed the red, yellow and blue presidential sash.

"I asked (the election authority) to comply with legal and constitutional obligations and immediately call elections," Maduro, 50, told Congress late on Friday as he cemented his position as heir-in-waiting.

Chavez was immensely popular among the poor and they have vowed to back Maduro. Several million people have filed past his casket to pay their last respects and were still visiting him on Saturday.

The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that Maduro did not need to step down in order to campaign, but the move was denounced by opponents as a violation of the constitution and a "fraud."

As Maduro spoke in Congress, residents of some wealthy neighborhoods of Caracas banged pots and pans in a traditional form of protest.

Still, at one building in a wealthy corner of Caracas, residents drank wine and whisky around a swimming pool, rejoicing at Chavez's demise. They toasted each other, "Happy goodbye, Chavez, we will not miss you!"

HERO OR AUTOCRAT?

Chavez was a hero to millions of mostly humble supporters for using Venezuela's oil wealth to finance heavy social spending during his rule, but he was seen as an autocrat by his opponents. He died on Tuesday at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.

"The excluded and invisible, the 'losers' of savage capitalism, were made visible and victorious with Chavez," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas tweeted on Saturday.

Like communist leaders Lenin, Stalin and Mao, Chavez's remains are to be embalmed and put on display "for eternity."

An eclectic cast of celebrities, leftist and center-right presidents, and rogue leaders attended Chavez's state funeral on Friday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a close ally, broke with protocol to kiss the coffin, while Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn was also in attendance.

It is likely to be a particularly bitter election campaign in the OPEC nation, which boasts the world's largest oil reserves.

The opposition had accused the government of trampling on the constitution during its handling of Chavez's battle with cancer, and is furious that Maduro was allowed to take on the job of caretaker president while he campaigns for the job.

"This transgression is unprecedented in the history of the republic," opposition lawmaker Maria Corina Machado said on Twitter.

"Today, on a day of mourning ... the Supreme Court issued a political sentence, a fraud," said opposition leader Henrique Capriles, 40, the centrist governor of Miranda state who lost to Chavez in October's election and is expected to face off against Maduro.

"We are not prepared to tolerate abuses of power," he added. "To become president, the people have to elect you. ... No one elected Nicolas president."

The constitution stipulates that an election must be called within 30 days, but some politicians said the electoral authorities may not be ready. Before Maduro's call for an immediate vote, there had been talk of a possible delay.

(With reporting by Simon Gardner, Daniel Wallis, Andrew Cawthorne, Terry Wade, Deisy Buitrago, Marianna Parraga, Pablo Garibian and Enrique Andres Pretel; Editing by Eric Beech)

News

Saturday, March 09, 2013

Chavez protege Maduro seeks snap election as Venezuela mourns

By Simon Gardner and Terry Wade