海角大神

Mourning Hugo Ch谩vez supporters lined streets outside the military academy for a fourth straight day today, but few were grieving just a few miles away. 聽

In the leafy, upscale Altamira neighborhood, residents shopped, sipped coffee at sidewalk cafes, and strolled in city parks.聽

鈥淚f you want to talk to a Ch谩vista, you won鈥檛 find one here,鈥� says Carlos Leon, a businessman. Interim President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in last night, 鈥渋s not my president.鈥澛�

Meanwhile, miles to the west, the red wave of supporters, a constant since Ch谩vez died Tuesday, again waited in line for hours聽to bid farewell to their beloved leader. Chants spontaneously erupted: 鈥淚 am Ch谩vez!鈥� and 鈥渢he fight continues!鈥澛犅�

The sharp contrast between the two scenes underscores an important, if perhaps obvious, fact: Ch谩vez left behind a deeply divided country. His socialist policies earned supporters and enemies. He both raised people out of poverty聽 and chased Venezuelans into self-imposed exile. In his 14 years in power, he proved to be both divisive and wildly popular 鈥� repeatedly winning elections by wide margins.聽

鈥淭he polarization in Venezuela was there before, but it only got worse under聽Ch谩vez,鈥� says Carlos Romero, a political analyst at Central University of Venezuela in Caracas. 鈥淚nstead of striving for a consensus, he reinforced a rigid political alignment.鈥� 聽

Politically,聽Ch谩vez's聽United Socialist Party of Venezuela appears to still have the advantage. Maduro, a former bus driver who rose through politics to become Ch谩vez鈥檚 handpicked successor, had a 46.4 to 34.3 advantage over rival Henrique Capriles in a February survey by Caracas-based pollster Datanalisis.聽

According to the Constitution, the election to replace聽Ch谩vez聽should be held within 30 days of his death. Venezuelans were awaiting today an announcement on the vote, including the date, from the elections commission.聽

Let the acrimony begin

The campaign mudslinging has already begun. Mr. Capriles, in a press conference held just hours after聽Ch谩vez鈥檚 state funeral ended Friday, called Maduro鈥檚 swearing-in as interim president 鈥渃ompletely spurious. No one elected Nicolas president. They did not say, 鈥楶resident Nicolas.鈥� 鈥� The people did not vote for you, boy.鈥澛�

Such political divisions are not unique to Venezuela. But the rifts go far beyond politics here, splitting cities, neighborhoods, and families.聽

Vladimir Villegas was Venezuela鈥檚 former ambassador to Mexico under聽Ch谩vez聽before leaving the socialist party. His brother, Ernest Villegas, is minister of communications and information.聽

鈥淭here are areas of the city where I can鈥檛 go, where I can鈥檛 get out of my car anymore. There are areas where my brother can鈥檛 go. If he did, they鈥檇 insult him,鈥� Villegas says. 鈥淲hen I left the party, I lost friends. And now I鈥檝e made new friends. It鈥檚 very difficult to separate politics from your personal life in Venezuela.鈥澛�

A disagreement over聽Ch谩vez鈥檚 policies, which favored the poor over the middle and upper classes, are at the heart of such splits.聽

Ch谩vez聽angered the middle class and business owners by expropriating buildings and farmland, at times seemingly on a whim. Inflation continued (although at levels lower than those Venezuela saw before聽Ch谩vez聽took office) and shortages of basic food items became more common. His decisions to close TV and radio stations that opposed him and jail dissidents further disenfranchised some.

鈥淗e took things, the nation鈥檚 riches, and gave them to those people that you see in the streets,鈥� says Ernesto Paredes, a taxi driver. 鈥淔ranklin Brito was waiting in heaven for聽Ch谩vez聽to die so that he could push him into hell,鈥� he added, referring to an activist farmer who died in 2010 after repeated hunger strikes to protest the expropriation of his farmland.聽

Ch谩vez聽also took over Venezuela鈥檚 oil production 鈥� the country has the world鈥檚 largest proven reserves of petroleum 鈥� and used it to fund Bolivarian Missions. Those social justice and anti-poverty projects, named for聽Ch谩vez鈥檚 hero, the South American liberator Sim贸n Bolivar, won throngs of supporters.聽

鈥淗e broke the system that was here before,鈥� says Ana Ramos as she waited in line to see聽Ch谩vez鈥檚 body. 鈥淧eople that oppose him are angry because they lost control. But the revolution will continue.鈥�

Andrew Rosati contributed from Caracas. 聽