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“Chávez was Chávez, he is still in us”: thousands of people visited this Sunday the old barracks where the remains of former president Hugo Chávez rest to honor his memory on the tenth anniversary of his death.
After congregating at various points in downtown Caracas, Chavismo supporters marched to the “Cuatel de la Montaña 4F,” a place that had become a sort of sanctuary that also served as the base for a 1992 Chávez-led coup attempt against the then president, Carlos Andrés Pérez.
“He was the best, a commander, a boss, a wonderful leader with his people, he taught us a lot, he left us so many things that ten, 20 years can go by and you still feel it,” Luisa Adrián, 56, told AFP. years, while he lined up with his family to enter the barracks.
“You have to transmit the legacy to the new generations. That’s why I’m here with my two and a half year old grandson,” he continued.
Some of the followers came with flowers, songs and playing drums. “Chávez lives, the country continues!” they shouted excitedly.
Presidents and former presidents of the Latin American left present
Since last Friday, the Government of Nicolás Maduro has held commemorative acts for the ten years since the death of the former president.
As part of these acts, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega; that of Bolivia, Luis Arce, and the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
Also participating in these events are the former presidents of Cuba, Raúl Castro; from Bolivia, Evo Morales and from Ecuador, Rafael Correa.
Chávez ruled Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013 and in the midst of a battle with cancer he asked his followers to support Nicolás Maduro as his successor.
Maduro assumed power three days after Chávez’s death was announced and was then elected on April 14 of that year. In 2018 he won his re-election amid international questioning and accusations of fraud in the elections.
Some point out that, like Chávez, Maduro has been the object of “many attacks” (…) “He has continued there at the forefront despite all the adversities,” said Rosaris Iztúriz, a 43-year-old worker at the state-owned Hidrocapital .
