Venezuelans began Wednesday to bid farewell to late President Hugo Chavez, whose body was to lie in state for three days to honor the leftist who ruled the oil-rich nation for 14 years.

Venezuelans began Wednesday to bid farewell to late President Hugo Chavez, whose body was to lie in state for three days to honor the leftist who ruled the oil-rich nation for 14 years.

The body of the 58-year-old former paratrooper was to be escorted by a four-horse cortege from the Caracas military hospital where he died from cancer to a military academy he considered his second home.

Venezuela declared a week of national mourning, and a senior minister said a new vote would be called within 30 days.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who tearfully broke the news to the nation on Tuesday that his mentor had lost his battle with cancer, was poised to take over as interim president and campaign as Chavez's chosen successor.

The death brought thousands of Venezuelans to public squares across the nation, weeping and celebrating the life of a figure whose oil-funded socialist revolution improved the life of the poor in the Latin American country.

Hundreds of people spent the night in front of his hospital, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "we are all Chavez!" A banner was hung at the hospital fence, reading "Chavez lives, the battle continues!"

Schools were closed and huge crowds were expected along the capital's streets to see his body taken to the military academy.

The armed forces were to fire a 21-gun salute and "there will be a salvo every hour until his burial," Defense Minister Diego Molero said.

Some of Chavez's closest allies had already arrived Wednesday ahead of a state funeral on Friday, including Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales.