Hugo Chavez Funeral: Embalmed Chavez Body to Be On Permanent Display

Impact

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan's acting president, said that Hugo Chavez's embalmed body would be permanently displayed in a glass crystal casket so "his people will always have him" — according to The Guardian.  

Chavez's remains will be put on display at the "Museum of the Revolution," near the presidential palace where Chavez lived and ruled for 14 years. "You will see El Comandante. He belongs to you," Maduro told a divided country.

Meanwhile, a state funeral, expected to be attended by at least 33 heads of government, is scheduled to begin on Friday, as "tens of thousands of people" have already saluted the late socialist strongman at a military academy — following a seven-hour procession on Tuesday.

Chavez died on March 5 of cancer complications. He had been elected to a third consecutive six-year term last October, when he handily defeated opponent Henrique Capriles Radonsky.

According to the Venezuelan constitution, a new presidential election needs to be held within 30 days of Chavez's passing. However, the government hasn't announced a date yet — and many believe the date of the new election will be announced after the 30-day period.

Maduro, a former bus driver and union boss, was appointed by Chavez as his successor and will run as the candidate of Chavez's Bolivarian Party. Capriles, a former congressman and governor — who fashions himself as a Venezuelan version of former Brazilian President Ignacio Lula Da Silva — will challenge Maduro.