Today, March 5, at approximately 4:25 p.m. vice president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro announced that Hugo Chávez, president of Venezuela, has died.
Maduro, who kept his promise to the citizens of Venezuela to keep them informed about their commander’s health, announced that Chávez, 58, had worsened from his battle with cancer and had developed an infection. Chavez had been battling cancer since June 2011 and had undergone three surgeries between then and February 2012. In addition, Chávez had also undergone chemotherapy and radiation but the cancer kept coming back. All of the treatment was done in Cuba, reported the New York Times.
Chávez held power in Venezuela for 14 years and his death comes at a time of political discourse. Although he changed fundamental outlook in Venezuela, especially for the poor, Chávez collected a great source of enemies whom wanted to see him out of power.
According to the Venezuelan constitution, a new president should be elected within 30 days of the death of a president. In the mean time, the vice president should take over the job. In the upcoming special election, it is expected that the nominees are Vice President Maduro, who Chávez designated his political successor, and Henrique Capriles Radonski, a state governor who ran against Chávez in a presidential election last October.