Maduro: Best tribute to Chávez is making the revolution

During an event in Sabaneta de Barinas, July 28, marking what would have been Hugo Chávez’ 59th birthday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared that "making the revolution" was the way to honor Chávez.

"To continue creating our homeland and our independence, it is necessary to remember the person who saw the light of day 59 years ago, the person who gave light to this land," he said.

Maduro also signed a decree which formalized the establishment of the Institute of Advanced Studies of Hugo Chávez Thought, to "assume the responsibility of deepening the study and disseminating the values of Chávez and the Bolivarian project."

The President issued a second decree appointing Adán Chávez, the governor of Barinas and brother of the Hugo Chávez, director of the center, reported PL.

Also during the event in the town of the former President’s birth, a new book by Spanish author Ignacio Ramonet was presented, Hugo Chávez, mi primera vida (My first life).

Maduro, Chávez family members, high-ranking military officers, state governors and thousands of Barinas residents listened as the author recalled the early years of the Bolivarian leader, during which he began to develop his eloquence, humility, patriotism, sense of responsibility and rebel spirit.

Previously, in an event at the Chávez Frías family home, now a museum, journalist José Vicente Rangel, said that during the 12 interviews he conducted with Chávez, he came to understand that the most important characteristic of the former President was the coherence between his principles and his actions, always approaching politics from an ethical point of view.

At this event, Maduro called on Venezuelans to turn their pain, their need and longing for Chávez, into living action to move the Revolution forward.

In Caracas, musicians, artists and residents of the 23 de Enero neighborhood held a vigil at the Montaña Garrison, where the former President’s remains rest.

In Haiti, to commemorate the date, members of the Venezuelan diplomatic mission in the country and supporters of the Bolivarian Revolution placed a floral wreath at the base of a statue of Simón Bolívar in Port-au-Prince.

Haitians of a variety of ages expressed their gratitude for the love Chávez showed their country, demonstrated through words and actions, especially through the disinterested help afforded its people, continuing today under the leadership of President Maduro.

During the tribute, Alberto Torres, from the Venezuelan embassy in Haiti described the date as important for "the history of Venezuela, Latin American and the Caribbean, recalling moments from Chávez’ life - his childhood, his tireless advocacy for the homeland and the Americas, as well as his promotion of the ideas of the continent’s independence leaders, especially Bolívar.

Torres described Chávez as a major force behind Latin American and Caribbean integration, as evidenced by the progress made with ALBA and Petrocaribe, concrete expressions of his commitment to the ideas of Bolívar and Fidel, and his revolutionary and humanist convictions, which made him a leader of not only the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela, but of Latin America as a whole.