Editing Hugo Chávez (section)

===Fourth presidential term: 10 January 2013 – 5 March 2013===
{{Further|Immediate Mobilization Networks}}

On 7 October 2012, Chávez won election as president for a fourth time, his third six-year term. He defeated [[Henrique Capriles]] with 54% of the votes versus 45% for Capriles, which was a lower victory margin than in his previous presidential wins, in the [[2012 Venezuelan presidential election]].<ref name=extend/><ref name="APFox2012">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/07/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-wins-another-6-year-term-electoral-council/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008034702/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/07/venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-wins-another-6-year-term-electoral-council/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2012|title=Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez wins another 6-year term, electoral council says|date=8 October 2012|work=[[Fox News Channel]]|access-date=30 December 2012}}</ref> Turnout in the election was 80%, with a hotly contested election between the two candidates.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/08/world/americas/venezuela-presidential-election.html?hp |title= Chávez Wins a Third Term in Venezuela Amid Historically High Turnout |publisher= NYT |date= 7 October 2012 |access-date=8 October 2012 |first=William |last=Neuman}}</ref> There was significant support for Chávez among the Venezuelan lower class. Chávez's opposition blamed him for unfairly using state funds to spread largesse before the election to bolster Chavez's support among his primary electoral base, the lower class.<ref name="APFox2012" />
[[File:Hugo Chávez 2012.jpg|150px|thumbnail|left|Chávez in June 2012]]

The inauguration of Chávez's new term was scheduled for 10 January 2013, but as he was undergoing medical treatment at the time in [[Cuba]], he was not able to return to Venezuela for that date. The National Assembly president [[Diosdado Cabello]] proposed to postpone the inauguration and the Supreme Court decided that, being just another term of the sitting president and not the inauguration of a new one, the formality could be bypassed. The [[Roman Catholicism in Venezuela|Venezuelan Bishops Conference]] opposed the verdict, stating that the constitution must be respected, and the Venezuelan government had not been transparent regarding details about Chávez's health.<ref>{{cite news |title=Church warns Venezuela govt on constitution |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20130107-church-warns-venezuela-govt-constitution |newspaper=France 24 |date=7 January 2013 |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111082713/http://www.france24.com/en/20130107-church-warns-venezuela-govt-constitution |archive-date=11 January 2013}}</ref>

Acting executive officials produced orders of government signed by Chávez, which were suspected of forgery by some opposition politicians, who claimed that Chávez was too sick to be in control of his faculties. [[Guillermo Cochez]], recently dismissed from the office of Panamanian ambassador to the [[Organization of American States]], even claimed that Chávez had been [[brain death|brain-dead]] since 31 December 2012.<ref name="univision">{{cite web | url=http://noticias.univision.com/america-latina/venezuela/hugo-chavez/noticias/article/2013-02-27/nuevos-rumores-sobre-muerte-de-hugo-chavez | title=Nuevos rumores de muerte para Hugo Chávez | publisher=Univision Communications Inc. | date=27 February 2013 | access-date=28 February 2013 | language=es | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228000713/http://noticias.univision.com/america-latina/venezuela/hugo-chavez/noticias/article/2013-02-27/nuevos-rumores-sobre-muerte-de-hugo-chavez | archive-date=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref name="PanARMENIAN">{{cite web | url=http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/147881/ | title=Former envoy claims Venezuela's Chávez is dead | publisher=PanArmenian.Net | date=28 February 2013 | access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref>

Due to the [[Death and state funeral of Hugo Chávez|death of Chávez]], Vice President [[Nicolás Maduro]] took over the presidential powers and duties for the remainder of Chávez's abbreviated term until presidential elections were held. Venezuela's constitution specifies that the speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, should assume the interim presidency if a president cannot be sworn in.<ref>{{cite news|title=Even after death, Hugo Chavez gets his choice of successor|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/06/even-after-death-hugo-chavez-gets-his-choice-of-successor/|access-date=6 March 2013|newspaper=National Post}}</ref> Maduro remains in power as president as of 2025.