Fidel Castro can’t be very far behind.
So who is in charge?
One less whack-a-doodle leader in the world.
I would assume the (now former) vice-president Nicolas Maduro.
The end of Chavez is very positive for the Venezuelan people-the country can stop its ruinous financial support of the Castro regime, so the end of Communism in Cuba isn’t far behind! Plus, the new government can bring in foreign investment-and begin tapping the huge tar sand oil deposits (the Orinoco Belt). Venezuela will then have the cash flow to improve its people’s standard of living, and the last of the socialist regime will be flushed out to sea! IN essence-a new day for the long suffering people of Venezuela:)
Or business as usual.
What. The. Fuck? Really? :dubious:
Who voted him into office twice…
On the other hand, I’m sure the rich landowning families sure are popping the corks today.
I bet this is just killing Romney.
A question. If Nicolas Maduro was the Vice President, why was Diosdado Cabello named as Acting President during Chavez’s long illness?
I didn’t get that either. What does the vice-president do under the Venezuelan Constitution?
Four times, actually.
Of course, people have been saying that since I was in knee pants, and he’s still alive. I’ve begun to think he’s actually immortal.
Let’s see, there was the December 1998 election that first brought him to power. During his first term, there was the April 1999 referendum to establish, and July 1999 election for membership in, the constitutional convention, followed by the December 1999 referendum to confirm the new constitution.
Then there was the July 2000 election that returned Chavez for a second term (the new constitution mandated new elections). During his second term, he survived the April 2002 coup, and the December 2002 to February 2003 strike, and finally the August 2004 recall referendum (all of these had some of the same people involved).
He was elected to his third term in December 2006, and his fourth in December 2012.
So that’s four presidential elections and one referendum to endorse Chavez personally, plus a couple street fights in his favor, and a further three votes to enable and endorse his constitutional reforms. Clearly, while he had powerful interests opposed, his governance was enormously popular with the Venezuelan people. It’s hard to imagine that most of those people would want to see radical reversals.
That’s what they said when the Soviets stopped their support for Castro in the 1990s. It’s taking longer than we thought. 
Looking into it, it appears that both Maduro and Cabello were part of Chavez’s inner circle. It appears that Cabello had been with him longer but Maduro was the up-and-comer. And Chavez apparently wavered back and forth between them on who he wanted to designate as his successor (while also not wanted to admit he wouldn’t be around someday).
The Venezuelan government has been fairly flexible on revising its laws to reflect political reality so I think it’s possible for either man to come out on top and retroactively legitimize his ascension.
Oh, good, now perhaps someone less deranged can step in.
What’s so great about Cuban medical treatment?
Apparently, the question should be: What’s so wrong with Venezuelan follow-up care?
Anyway, the King of Spain should be happy that Chavez has finally shut up. 