Caracas, Venezuela

Veep in charge: As President Hugo Chávez languished in a Cuban hospital this week, Vice President Nicolás Maduro assured the nation that the cancer-stricken leader was still in charge. In a 10-minute speech to Congress—a sharp contrast to Chávez’s nearly 10-hour monologue last year—Maduro asserted that it was legal to allow Chávez to remain president even though he missed his inauguration. While he offered no news on Chávez’s condition, he said the president continued to make political appointments and decisions from Havana. The opposition renewed its call for a new election date to be set. “Maduro is violating the constitution by trying to supplant the functions of the president,” said María Corina Machado, an opposition lawmaker.

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