Hugo Chavez Mourned by Sea of Venezuelans Dressed in Red
For the first time in 14 years, Venezuelans are without Hugo Chavez.
March 6, 2013— -- The streets of Caracas were a sea of red today as Venezuelans wearing the colors of Hugo Chavez 's political party flooded the capital as Chavez's coffin was carried through the streets.
Chavez, who was 58, died Tuesday after ruling the oil rich country for 14 years and becoming one of the U.S.'s most vocal critics.
Today's display of grief, with some people crying and many holding "Viva Chavez" banners, marks the beginning of seven days of mourning as well as an uncertain future for the country.
FULL COVERAGE: Hugo Chavez Dead at 58
The first order of business will be to fill the shoes of Chavez, although even in death the country's longtime leader's orders are being followed. The man he anointed to succeed him, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, will continue to run Venezuela as interim president and be the governing socialists' candidate in an election to be called within a month.
"The constitution says [an election] must take place within 30 days. Any sooner would make it harder for the opposition," Diana Villiers Negroponte, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, told ABCNews.com. "Maduro can draw on the emotions of the Venezuelan people, who believe they have lost a saint. Quick elections are difficult for the opposition to win. It is not an even playing field."
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, has been bitterly feuding with Maduro and other Chavez loyalists who accused him of conspiring with far-right U.S. forces to undermine the regime.
Mark Jones, Political Science Chair at Rice University, believes the South American leader left behind a polarizing legacy.
"Everybody is seen as an enemy or a friend, and that level of polarization combined with intense feeling of Chavez's death, will lead to a very delicate situation over the next few weeks," he said.
Late Tuesday, Maduro expelled two American military attaches from the country, accusing them of trying to "destabilize" the army. Ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) says he's not happy the Venezuelan government expelled the two attaches before announcing Chavez's death.
"Obviously it's not a hopeful sign if we are looking to improve relations. I think some of the old guard will probably want to continue the policies of Chavez," Engel said.
Before tearfully announcing the death of the socialist leader on state television Tuesday, Maduro hinted Chavez -- who had suffered from an undisclosed type of cancer -- had been previously poisoned by foreign elements, including the U.S., but provided no evidence.
"He feels weak and needs to unite his base," Francisco J. Monaldi, a visiting professor Harvard University, told ABCNews.com. "The strategy is to look for an external threat, or an enemy. This is what (Syria's president Bashar) al-Assad and (Libya's Moammar) Gaddafi did when they face a difficult time. He's not a natural strong leader."
It was declining oil prices in the late 1990s that helped Chavez get elected. During his second presidential term Venezuela saw a massive oil windfall.
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