The late leader Hugo Chavez swayed Jesus to inspire the College of Cardinals to elect Catholics’ first South American pope, Venezuela’s interim president said.
“We know that our commander ascended to those heights and is face to face with Christ. Something must have influenced [Jesus] to call for a South American pope,”Nicolas Maduro said on national television at the opening of an international book fair in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital.
“Some new hand arrived and Christ said, ‘Now is the opportunity for South America,’ it seems to us,” Maduro said
Presented without comment, mostly because we couldn’t stop laughing.
This is unconstitutional in Venezeula, actually — it’s mandated that a special election be held within 30 days of the former leader’s death. Chavez’s former political opposition, now focusing their efforts against Vice President Nicolas Maduro, have condemned his swearing-in as acting President on Friday. Said likely rival candidate Henrique Capriles: “I tell you clearly, Nicolas, I am not going to speak of the times you lied to the country, shamelessly. The people have not voted for you, boy.”
He couldn’t speak but he said it with his lips … `I don’t want to die. Please don’t let me die,’ because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country.Gen. Jose Ornella, the presidential guard for Hugo Chavez • Discussing the deceased Venezuelan leader’s final words. Chavez died Tuesday of a heart attack brought upon from an advanced, long-fought battle with cancer.
Following the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday, many eyes have turned to the man seen as Chavez’s likely successor: Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro. While it’s unclear if he’ll be able to match his fallen predecessor’s global profile, Maduro is a staunch supporter of the socialist revolution championed by Chavez, calling it the “superior human state” during a recent speech. Many believe Maduro will emerge the victor of upcoming presidential elections given Hugo Chavez’s win last October. (Photo via Congress of the Republic of Peru) source
Today’s Front Pages From the Americas
New York Post (bottom center) still keeping it classy.
Images: Via the Newseum. Select to embiggen.
Nothing like a ton of great newspaper pages to put The New York Post’s front in perspective.
7 days of mourning for the death of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela officials say, after the 58-year-old President died today. Chavez was an intensely polarizing political figure, lauded by some on the left for his anti-capitalist ethos, condemned by some on the right for the same thing, and condemned by some on both sides for oppression of political opponents and muzzling of dissenting media. This divide is particularly stark in today, with pundits like Kristen Power tweeting “good riddance” to the dead leader (CNN contributor and GOP consultant Alex Castellanos rather sensationally termed him a “Hitler”), while liberal flagship The Nation’s Greg Grandin authored an article far more sympathetic to Chavez’s legacy, admission of his “strongman” status aside. source
Obit of the Day: Dead Together
March 5
1953 - Josef Stalin, leader of the U.S.S.R. from 1924 until his death at the age of 74.
2013 - Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death at the age of 58.
To be fair, although they both took advantage of the cult of personality, no one can match Stalin’s horrific history of mass imprisonment and government-sponsored murder.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez dies from cancer
(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has died after a two-year battle with cancer, ending the socialist leader’s 14-year rule of the South American country, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a televised speech.
The flamboyant 58-year-old leader had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11 and he had not been seen in public since.
“It’s a moment of deep pain,” Maduro, accompanied by senior ministers, said, his voice choking.
Chavez easily won a new 6-year term at an election in October and his death will devastate millions of supporters who adored his charismatic style, anti-U.S. rhetoric and oil-financed policies that brought subsidized food and free health clinics to long-neglected slums.
Detractors, however, saw his one-man style, gleeful nationalizations and often harsh treatment of opponents as evidence of an egotistical dictator whose misplaced statist economics wasted a historic bonanza of oil revenues.
Chavez’s death paves the way for a new election that will test whether his socialist “revolution” can live on without his dominant personality at the helm.
(via Reuters)
RIP Hugo Chavez. More as we get it.
UPDATE: Chavez’s vice president, Nicolas Maduro, says he died at 4:25 p.m. ET, according to a Bloomberg report.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s health is on the decline according to a new report from the Venezuelan government which confirmed that Chavez continues to have trouble breathing, and has developed a new respiratory infection. In fact, many are apparently beginning to wonder if we aren’t witnessing the outspoken South American leader’s final days. (Photo courtesy of Ukberri) source
EDIT: Hugo Chavez has died. Follow this tag for more info.
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Watch: PCB gets a visual shout out on GMA’s Yahoo/Tumblr...
In mid-January he was improving, the infection could be controlled, but he continued with problems of respiratory insufficiency. Afterwards, there was a general improvement, and the doctors along with President Chávez decided to initiate complementary treatments. You know what the complementary treatments are, right? They are chemotherapy that is applied to patients after operations.Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro • Speaking on the condition of his boss, President Hugo Chavez, whose state of health is still relatively clouded in mystery. Chavez is not well, this much is clear — he’s been in intensive medical treatment, and hidden from the public eye since mid-December, battling a cancer with which he was first publicly revealed in 2011. Government officials have publicly stated that Chavez is battling for his life, but in absence of further transparency (a fact which has infuriated his political opposition), they’ve been dogged by reports and speculation of varying credibility of the leader’s death, the latest of which came from CNN Chile this week. source
Venezuela’s vice president says that President Hugo Chavez is fighting for his life while he continues to undergo treatment more than two months after his latest cancer surgery.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television Thursday that, in his words, Chavez “is battling there for his health, for his life, and we’re accompanying him.” The vice president has used similar phrasing in the past.
Chavez last underwent surgery during a trip to Havana, Cuba back in December, but doesn’t seem to have shown any progress since that time. (He wasn’t looking so hot in recent photos.) The Venezuelan president was re-elected last October; however, it’s unclear if he will live to see the end of his fourth term in office.
New pictures of Hugo Chavez surface: Months after leaving the spotlight again due to another cancer-related operation in December, the Venezuelan president is shown reading a copy of the Cuban state newspaper. He’s currently in a Havana hospital undergoing ongoing treatments. This is the first time Chavez has been seen or heard from in two months. (AP Photo/Miraflores Presidential Press Office)
This week, a baseball cap — adorned with national colors and symbols — became a political issue in Venezuela. Here’s why. (photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)
Copyright 2009-2013 Ernie Smith • Ask us stuff! • E-mail us • Follow us on Twitter • Follow us on Facebook
