Venezuela: With Chavez ill, who is running the country

Economist.com reported it was supposed to be a moment of triumph, the inauguration of a third six-year term for Hugo Chávez, secured by a comfortable victory in a presidential election last October. Yet on January 8th Nicolás Maduro, the vice-president (pictured left), wrote a letter to the National Assembly on Mr Chávez’s behalf, stating in effect that he was too ill to appear before the assembly as planned two days later. Instead, he would be sworn in before the supreme court at a later date. With that, Venezuela entered a twilight zone of constitutional uncertainty and potential upheaval. Read Article