<p>Venezuelans gathered on plazas and in churches to pray for President Hugo Chavez amid what seems an increasingly gloomy outlook for the ailing leader in his fight against cancer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Following an announcement that Chavez had suffered “new complications” from a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, people were out in the streets of Caracas on Monday talking about the leftist president’s chances of surviving. <br /><br />“He’s history now,” said Cesar Amaro, a street vendor selling newspapers and snacks at a kiosk downtown. He motioned to a daily on the rack showing side-by-side photos of vice-president Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello, and said politics will now turn to them. <br /><br />The vendor said he expected a new election soon to replace Chavez, who won re-election in October. “For an illness like the one the president has, his days are numbered now,” Amaro said. <br /><br />In Bolivar Plaza in downtown Caracas, Chavez’s supporters strummed guitars and read poetry in his honour on New Year’s Eve. They sang along with a recording of the president belting out the national anthem. <br /><br />About 300 people filled a Caracas church for a Mass to pray for Chavez. “This country would be terrible without Chavez. He’s the president of the poor,” said Josefa Carvajal, a 75-year-old former maid who sat in the pews.</p>
<p>Venezuelans gathered on plazas and in churches to pray for President Hugo Chavez amid what seems an increasingly gloomy outlook for the ailing leader in his fight against cancer. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Following an announcement that Chavez had suffered “new complications” from a respiratory infection after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba, people were out in the streets of Caracas on Monday talking about the leftist president’s chances of surviving. <br /><br />“He’s history now,” said Cesar Amaro, a street vendor selling newspapers and snacks at a kiosk downtown. He motioned to a daily on the rack showing side-by-side photos of vice-president Nicolas Maduro and National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello, and said politics will now turn to them. <br /><br />The vendor said he expected a new election soon to replace Chavez, who won re-election in October. “For an illness like the one the president has, his days are numbered now,” Amaro said. <br /><br />In Bolivar Plaza in downtown Caracas, Chavez’s supporters strummed guitars and read poetry in his honour on New Year’s Eve. They sang along with a recording of the president belting out the national anthem. <br /><br />About 300 people filled a Caracas church for a Mass to pray for Chavez. “This country would be terrible without Chavez. He’s the president of the poor,” said Josefa Carvajal, a 75-year-old former maid who sat in the pews.</p>