"he is still in us" said one of the thousands of people who visited this Sunday the old Caracas barracks where the remains of the former president rest Hugo Chávez to honor his memory on the tenth anniversary of his death.
Transformed into a kind of sanctuary, the "4F Mountain Barracks"where Chávez’s tomb is located, was opened to the public to allow the entrance of all those who wanted to pay tribute to the creator of the leftist "bolivarian revolution".
"Chávez was Chávez, he is still with us", Luisa Adrián, 56, told AFP as she lined up with her family to enter the barracks. "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 10, 20 years can go by and you still feel it.".
In turn, President Nicolás Maduro led a meeting to "celebrate the permanent legacy" de Chávez together with the presidents of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega; that of Bolivia, Luis Arce; the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves; that of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit and the former Cuban president, Raúl Castro.
The former presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales; from Ecuador, Rafael Correa and from Honduras, Manuel Zelaya.
"Ten years later and there has been no absencethere has been a permanent presence of his ideal and the sworn commitment to advance in the construction of the independent, sovereign and socialist homeland"celebrated Maduro, who at the same time received recognition from his counterparts present for "resist" in the face of US economic sanctions.
"We have also witnessed the leadership of Maduro to continue the work of Chávez and his ability to resist and win, in that battle Cuba was and will be at the side of his people Nicolás (…) That is our tribute to Chávez, accompany him and follow him always"Castro indicated in a brief intervention.
For his part, Arce opted to continue the legacy of the "integration" who, in his opinion, left the leader of the so-called "bolivarian revolution".
The late president was honored with floral offerings, concerts and forums on his life and his work as a leader since Friday when the commemorative events began. Morales and Correa also went to the Cuartel de la Montaña.
Chávez ruled Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013 and in the midst of a battle against 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 in front despite all the adversities"said Rosaris Iztúriz, 43, a worker at the state-owned Hidrocapital.
