Does new photo show Hugo Chavez apparition? Venezuela's president thinks so

Presidencia via AFP – Getty Images

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Jorge Rodriguez, mayor of Libertador Caracas municipality, show a picture taken by workers in a tunnel showing an alleged image of late President Hugo Chavez.

By Deisy Buitrago and Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said an image of his political idol and predecessor Hugo Chavez had appeared miraculously in the wall of an underground construction site.

Since his death from cancer earlier this year, socialist leader Chavez has taken on mythical proportions for supporters. Maduro has spoken of seeing his former mentor's spirit several times, including in the shape of a bird.

In the latest incident, Maduro said Chavez's face briefly appeared to workers building a subway line in Caracas in the middle of the night.

"My hair stands on end just telling you about it," Maduro said on state TV late on Wednesday, showing a photo of a white-plaster wall with marks that appear like eyes and a nose.

"Who is that face? That gaze is the gaze of the fatherland that is everywhere around us, including in inexplicable phenomena," added Maduro, who won an April election to replace Chavez after his 14-year presidency.

Maduro's reverence for Chavez plays well with government supporters, who treat the charismatic former leader's memory with religious adoration. The 50-year-old Maduro, who mixes Catholic beliefs with a penchant for Asian spirituality, has been a devoted personal follower of Chavez since first meeting him at a jail in 1993.

Presidencia via AFP – Getty Images

Workers took the photo with a mobile phone during the image's brief appearance, according to President Nicolas Maduro. "Just as it appeared, so it disappeared," he said.

Workers took the photo with a mobile phone during the image's brief appearance, the president added.

"Just as it appeared, so it disappeared. So you see, what you say is right, Chavez is everywhere, we are Chavez, you are Chavez," Maduro said during an event on live TV.

Stories of Chavez appearances draw mockery, however, from the roughly half of Venezuelans who do not support Maduro. Many of them regard him as a buffoon riding on Chavez's image and causing embarrassment for Venezuela's international standing.

Both sides are gearing up for local elections in December that will be a major test of Maduro's standing in the OPEC nation of 29 million people. Rampant violent crime and economic problems are the main issues taxing voters.

/

The life of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez from his rise as a lieutenant colonel after his failed coup attempt in 1992.

This story was originally published on Fri Nov 1, 2013 8:11 AM EDT

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.