Late into the night, a sombre procession of thousands filed past the glass-topped coffin of President Hugo Chavez.

Ending one of Latin America's most remarkable populist rules, Chavez died on Tuesday at age 58 after a two-year battle with cancer.

(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED VENEZUELAN MAN ON LINE, SAYING:

"You will last forever, my Comandante. I love you and you will be in all of our hearts, my president. Onward my president, for all of Latin America!"

Chavez's folksy charisma and anti-Western, pro-poor policies won him the support of many.

He led Venezuela for 14 years and made deep changes in the OPEC nation, starting with changes to the constitution.

This woman said that the constitutional changes are particularly important to the country's indigenous population.

For that, she said, she will always be thankful to Chavez.

Chavez's opponents, however, criticized him for harsh crackdowns on his political opponents and anti-Jewish r