Maduro sworn in as acting president of Venezuela

Former Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro has taken the oath of office as interim president after the Latin American country honored the late President Hugo Chavez.

The swearing-in ceremony was led by National Assembly Speaker Diosdado Cabello on Friday in Caracas.

Both Maduro and Cabello pledged to push ahead with Chavez’s socialist-inspired agenda.

“I swear in the name of absolute loyalty to Comandante [commander] Hugo Chavez that we will obey and defend this Bolivarian Constitution with the hard hand of the free people,” said Maduro, who is expected to call elections within one month.

Cabello said, “Venezuela will follow the route to socialism.”

However, the Venezuelan opposition challenged the legitimacy of Maduro’s decision to assume the post of acting president.

“Do you really need to abuse power to run for election?” opposition leader Henrique Capriles said.

Before Maduro’s inauguration, over 30 world leaders, including Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, paid their respects to Chavez at a high-profile funeral. Chavez died on Tuesday at 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.

Chavez was born in a poor family on July 28, 1954 in Sabaneta, Barinas state, Venezuela.

He graduated from the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in 1975.

Chavez became involved in revolutionary movements within the armed forces in 1977.

In 1992, he led a failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Carlos Andres Perez and was jailed for two years. Despite the fact that the coup failed, the incident launched his political career.

Chavez toured the country, electrified Venezuelans with his speeches, and won his first presidential election in 1998. He also won presidential elections in 2000, 2006, and 2012.

In 2002, a group of opposition politicians and troops backed by the United States staged a coup against Chavez. He was arrested and sent to a military base on a Caribbean island.

However, just two days later, the efforts of loyal military officers and massive demonstrations by Venezuelans swept him back to power.

Chavez started the Bolivarian Revolution to establish popular democracy and economic independence and to equitably distribute wealth in Latin America.

He was one of the key players in the progressive movement that has swept across Latin America over the past few years.