海角大神

When Hugo Chavez urged Venezuelans in December to vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro if Mr. Chavez became too ill to continue in office, the former bus driver and union negotiator was characterized as a committed Chavista, but decidedly more quiet and pragmatic than the boisterous and polarizing leader who was at the helm for the past 14 years.

But in the final months of Chavez's life, this soft-spoken politician made some indisputably "Chavezesque鈥� moves in an effort to show the public that he's up to filling the iconic, polarizing leader's shoes. In the next month, ahead of a Venezuelan emergency election to pick a new president, a convincing rendition of the "I am Chavez" show will probably be delivered by Mr. Maduro to keep other Chavez stalwarts onside. Most observers believe that the politically dominant United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), founded by Chavez, will decide the winner of the election.聽

鈥淗e needs to show that he is 鈥� faithful to the Chavez tradition and style and that means being confrontational publicly,鈥� said Michael Shifter, director of the Inter-American Dialogue, shortly before the announcement of Chavez's passing on Tuesday afternoon. Shifter says that Maduro has likely been trying to consolidate his support within the Chavez movement in recent months. 鈥淗e has to show the base that he鈥檚 a hardcore Chavista and that he鈥檚 tough.鈥�

On that front, Maduro has already been hard at work.聽

From announcing that the government was tracking opposition leader Henrique Capriles (who Maduro dubbed 鈥渢he prince of Manhattan, the prince of New York鈥� in a classic anti-imperialist jab) while Mr. Capriles traveled in the United States last week, to expelling two US Embassy officials today for reportedly attempting to destabilize Venezuela, Maduro鈥檚 actions are familiar. (The US denies that any staff is plotting against the Venezuelan government.)

In 2008 Hugo Chavez expelled the US ambassador to Venezuela in solidarity with Bolivia, who accused a US diplomat there of inciting violent protests, according to Fox News:

Today, Maduro announced that Chavez was infected with cancer by 鈥渋mperialist鈥� enemies, something the president himself alleged last year. "We have no doubt that commander聽Chavez was attacked with this illness," Maduro said, noting that someday there will be scientific evidence to prove it.

When Chavez tapped Maduro as his vice president last fall there was a lot of talk about what kind of leader he would be. Javier Corrales, a political science professor at Amherst College, wrote in America鈥檚 Quarterly that Maduro was simultaneously everything that 鈥淐havez represents, as well as its opposite.鈥�

Already the opposition has dubbed Maduro a 鈥減oor copy鈥� of Chavez: He speaks regularly on TV, and can be longwinded. He trumpets public works projects and has been known to fire up his supporters by verbally attacking the wealthy and 鈥渂ourgeois.鈥�

Maduro publicly reveled in the opposition's poor showing in regional elections in December. In response, the opposition Democratic Unity coalition party put out a statement:

鈥淢r. Maduro, the country expects better from you than a bad imitation of your boss.... In his rhetoric, Maduro hides the leadership crisis in government given President Chavez's absence. He hides his weakness with shouts and threats,鈥� the statement said. "Don't waste the opportunity to create a wide national consensus."

Mr. Shifter says that although Maduro is being publicly confrontational, in private he is quite approachable. 鈥淲hat is different is that he鈥檚 someone you can talk to and with Chavez that [was] impossible鈥�. [He鈥檒l be accessible] within the party, to the opposition, and the US."

鈥淢aduro's a hard-liner and a man of the left, there are no doubts about that,鈥� Shifter says. 鈥淏ut he鈥檚 a politician 鈥�The signs are that change is very close and he鈥檚 now positioning himself.鈥�