Presidente de Venezuela Hugo Chávez falleció dos semanas después de su llega a su país, procedente de Cuba, donde era tratado del cáncer que padecía.Foto: ANDINA/Archivo
18:41 | Lima, Mar. 05 (ANDINA).
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer, the government announced, as he languished for weeks in hospitals in Havana and Caracas.
Vice-President Nicolas Maduro made the announcement calling on Venezuelans to be "dignified inheritors of the giant man".
"Let there be no weakness, no violence. Let there be no hate," he added. "In our hearts there should only be one sentiment: Love. Love, peace and discipline.
Maduro said that he and other officials had gone to the military hospital where Chávez was being treated, sequestered from the public, when they received the hardest and most tragic information that we could transmit to the people.
According to the New York Times, Chávez’s departure casts into doubt the future of his revolution. It not only alters the political balance in Venezuela, the fourth-largest foreign oil supplier to the United States, but also in Latin America, where Chávez led a group of nations intent on reducing American influence in the region.
The newspaper explained Chávez changed Venezuela in fundamental ways, empowering and energizing millions of poor people who had felt marginalized and excluded.
But his rule also widened society’s divisions, and his death is sure to bring vast uncertainty as the nation tries to find its way without its central figure.
(END) LVT/LVT
Published: 3/5/2013