Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has decreed Dec. 8 to be a date to remember the late former president Hugo Chávez.
According to information published by news agency EFE, Maduro declared this week that Dec.8 will be the official date for the "Day of Loyalty and Love for Supreme Commander Hugo Chávez and the Fatherland".
It's worth noting that the date set by the Venezuelan president to honor Chávez coincides with municipal elections in which mayors and council members will be chosen, and so the opposition has interpreted the presidential decree as a disloyal electoral advantage.
Maduro has delivered a five-article decree which orders official actions that "exalt the thinking of" the late Chávez, and honor "the infinite love he had for his people and the permanent defense of his legacy and example", as well as a call to "honor with actions and thougths his heritage and universal legacy."
According to the Venezuelan Chancellorship, Dec. 8 was chosen due to that being the date in 2012 when Chávez made his last call to the people of Venezuela through public television.
However, the choosing of this date has caused controversy among political opponents. According to news agency Reuters, the Dec. 8 elections will take place under conditions where the popularity of Maduro has been affected by an inflation crisis and a shortage of basic products across Venezuela.
Maduro arrived into power after Chávez asked Venezuelans to vote for Maduro in case the late President wasn't able to beat the cancer he suffered from. Chávez died in March.
On Dec. 8, Venezuela will vote for new mayors and council members in elections during which Chavism--the left wing mentality inspired by Chávez--will be strongly opposed.
However, President Maduro insisted last month that the results of the elections will favor Chavism, whose victory, he said, "is already signed for", reported then Europa Press on its website.