Chavez Funeral: Party Leaders to Keep Chavez's Corpse on Display Indefinately

Impact

It's been announced that Chavez's corpse is to be specially embalmed and remain on view indefinitely. 

For the political allies he leaves behind, his funeral and subsequent display is all about leveraging the popular legitimacy he so jealously guarded in life. We can expect a significant amount of bluster at the funeral.

From here on out, it's going to be about deifying the man and establishing a narrative that paints Hugo Chavez as a Patriot and a Saint. Expect to see the members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela feverishly tell this story again and again while they try to ride another wave of populist support through the elections.