Venezuela honors fallen leader Hugo Chavez at funeral

CARACAS, Venezuela (USA TODAY) -- Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro called on his countrymen to continue Hugo Chavez's fight for justice and equality in his eulogy Friday for the fallen president who died earlier this week after a two-year battle with cancer.

Maduro, his voice often clouding with emotion, said Chavez will continue to guide the country thanks to the principles outlined in the 1999 constitution he authored, as well as the platform he produced before last year's presidential election.

"Mission accomplished, Comandante presidente!" Maduro shouted at the end of his 30-minute eulogy. "The struggle continues! Chavez lives! Always fighting for victory Comandante!"

Maduro will be sworn in later Friday as Venezuela's interim president while new elections are scheduled.

All television and radio stations were obliged to carry the ceremony live from the chapel at the military academy, where Chavez graduated as a cadet in 1975.

Posters of Chavez, 58, were hung in the chapel as world leaders - including Cuban President Raul Castro and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - gathered with delegations from 55 countries represented.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered outside the chapel, many clutching photos of Chavez or wearing red T-shirts emblazoned with his image. Others cried openly. Some traveled throughout the night from the country's far-flung states to honor their Comandante.

"Chavez may be dead but the revolution continues," said Alexander Ramos, a 33-year-old lawyer. "We are here today for him, and for Vice President Maduro as well. The revolution must continue!"

VENEZUELA: Chavez remains to be on view indefinitely

Maduro was preceded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson who offered a prayer for Chavez, including a plea for a reconciliation between the two countries.

Venezuela and the U.S. have often been at odds although the open animosity that often erupted during the Bush years has since faded. Nonetheless, neither country is represented by an ambassador following tit-for-tat expulsions.

"We should move to a higher ground," Jackson said, noting that the two countries are trade partners, and share a common love for baseball. "We are here today not because Hugo Chavez is dead but because he lives on."

Maduro seemed to heed Jackson's plea, noting the presence of the U.S. delegation that was led by U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, and former Rep. William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts. Maduro said that ties between the two countries had to be based on "equality."

Outside the chapel, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans waited, watching the proceedings via six huge television screens. The mood was somber and quiet, in marked contrast to the emotional outpouring that marked the earlier transfer of Chavez's body to the academy from the military hospital.

Street vendors did a brisk business selling mementos of Chavez along the streets leading up to the academy. Before the funeral, government officials had estimated that up to 2 million people would attend.

Throughout the ceremony, Chavez´s mother weeped openly, with family members often trying to comfort her. Chavez's daughters sat to her side.

"The president breathed fresh life into the people. His legacy won't be contested. And Nicolas Maduro will be our president because this is what decided our leader," Jose Antonio Aspera, 38, a worker in Chavez´s political party, said Friday at the ceremony. "We are going to have Chavez forever in a glass case so he can accompany us in a future that he himself designed."

Maduro announced Thursday that Chavez's remains will be specially embalmed and kept in a crystal coffin so they can be kept on view indefinitely to inspire future generations.

Both Chavez and the country's founder Simon Bolivar were often not understood as they fought for freedom and equality, Maduro said.

"There has never been a Venezuela leader more vilified, more injured or attacked" than Chavez, Maduro claimed. Although elected president four times, Chavez was disliked by large segments of Venezuela's population because of his redistribution of wealth, close relations with Cuba and inability to solve the country's problems, such as crime and high inflation.

Maduro, who will likely face off against Miranda State Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski in a new vote as early as May, said that Chavez wanted Venezuelans to continue to fight hard to consolidate the country's independence and make it a regional power.

Members of Venezuela's opposition decried the decision to appoint Maduro as interim president, saying they would boycott Friday's swearing-in because it violated the constitution, which they claim stipulates that power should pass to the head of the national assembly in such instances until new elections are held.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier that Maduro should be sworn in and didn't have to step down while he mounted his presidential campaign. Radonski called the court's ruling "fraud."

"It's an effort to make sure that Maduro stays front and center as he continues his campaign," said Risa Grais-Targow, an analyst with Eurasia Group, who noted that the constitution is "fuzzy" on the issue. "Perhaps there was fear that if Cabello assumed the presidency that would detract from Maduro."