Army Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who led a 1992 attempted coup, speaks to reporters on March 26, 1994, after he was freed from jail. Chavez was freed after charges were dropped against him for leading the first of two attempted coups against the government of former President Carlos Andres Perez, who was later removed from office.
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(CNN) -- Thousands of Venezuelans are expected to line the streets Wednesday morning as Hugo Chavez's remains are taken from the military hospital where he died to the Fuerte Tiuna Military Academy in Caracas.
Presidents arrived in the country for the funeral procession, including Uruguay's Jose Mujica, Argentina's Cristina Kirchner and Bolivia's Evo Morales.
The country has declared seven days of mourning, closed schools for the rest of the week and deployed armed forces to "guarantee peace."
The death of the longtime charismatic but controversial leader Tuesday leaves many unanswered questions that Venezuela and the world must now grapple with.
Who is expected to succeed Chavez?
In the short term, Vice President Nicolas Maduro will take over as president of Venezuela until an election is held. He is Chavez's hand-picked successor and delivered the news to the country of the longtime leader's death.
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A man adjusts a banner before the start of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's funeral outside the Military Academy on Friday, March 8, in Caracas. Uncertainty swirled around what happens next in Venezuela as the deeply divided South American country mourned its late leader. Chavez, 58, died Tuesday, March 5, after a battle with cancer.
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Maduro, 50, has long been a high-profile face in Chavez's administration. He rose from a career as a bus driver in Caracas to Chavez's inner circle.
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What is Maduro's reputation?
Chavez minced no words in his support of Maduro.
"I ask this of you from my heart," Chavez told a crowd in December about Maduro. "He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot."
But other opinions are mixed.
Maduro has been Venezuela's vice president and foreign minister and has been the recent author of some the country's most radical policies, said Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
"But he also has been behind some of the most pragmatic and conciliatory decisions, including the turnaround in relations with Colombia," Corrales said.
When will elections take place?
An election will be called within 30 days, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said Tuesday.
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What power, if any, does the opposition have?
Venezuelans remember Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets actor Sean Penn after a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on March 5, 2011. Penn thanked Chavez for the support given by the Venezuelan government to his nongovernmental organization, which benefits victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
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Though Chavez has held a tight grip on his presidency for 14 years, there is an opposition movement in Venezuela.
A coalition between former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski and a group called the Democratic Unity Roundtable has made the country's opposition the strongest it has ever been, some analysts say. But, says Carl Meacham of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the opposition may still not be strong enough.
"Capriles' 11-point defeat in October's presidential election, coupled with Chavez's allies winning 20 of 23 gubernatorial elections in December, underscores the fact that the opposition still holds little power," Meacham says.
Will Chavez's death improve relations with the United States?
Chavez, for years had a stormy relationship with the U.S., and would stir up nationalistic sentiment and popularity by picking fights with the "imperialist" United States and its allies.
Senior American officials don't expect the relationship to change dramatically -- at least in the short term -- primarily because Chavez's system still exists.
He leaves the economy more equal, less stable
The post-Chavez era started out tumultuously Tuesday when Venezuelan officials accused two U.S. Embassy officials of plotting to destabilize the country and said it was expelling them.
The United States will stay out of the upcoming election, an Obama administration official said. But the White House wants it to be "free and fair and credible," the official said.
The U.S. remains open to restoring diplomatic relations with an ambassador regardless of the winner, the official said.
U.S. open to 'more constructive relationship' with Venezuela
Why does the U.S. want better relations?
One reason analysts point to is Iran.
The U.S. may seek Venezuela's help in imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, senior American officials said.
Iran and Venezuela have close relations.
Last year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Venezuela as part of a tour of Latin America. The two leaders vowed to work together.
Over the years, the two nations have signed more than 270 accords, including trade deals and agreements on construction projects, car and tractor factories, energy initiatives and banking programs.
The other is oil.
Will the death affect Venezuela's oil supply?
It may, some analysts say -- and that would be a huge concern for the United States.
Venezuela remains the fourth-biggest oil supplier to the U.S. market. If the power vacuum causes exports to drop, U.S. consumers could face higher prices and another hit to the U.S. economy, analysts say.
When is Chavez's funeral planned?
Venezuela is planning a state funeral Friday that is expected to be attended by regional and world leaders and dignitaries, including Ahmadinejad. Chavez will be buried after the ceremony but officials have not said where.
What has been the reaction to the death?
Chavez allies, such as leaders of Ecuador, China, Iran and Cuba, expressed sorrow and solidarity.
Bolivian President Evo Morales' voice cracked as he spoke to reporters, describing Chavez as someone "who gave all his life for the liberation of the Venezuelan people ... of all the anti-imperialists and anti-capitalists of the world."
Longtime critics had a different view, with some saying his death could be seen as an opportunity for change.
"At this key juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy," Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.
Opinions varied too among CNN readers who offered their thoughts on iReport.
"We can't in the U.S. always looks at somebody and just label them as a dictator," said Omekongo Dibinga, a motivational speaker from Washington DC.
"At the end of the day, he's somebody who really wanted to help others to do better. For that he should be respected, even by those who did not agree with his policies."
Carlos Quijada said he fled Venezuela 10 years ago as a teen because there was no future there.
"My life was completely altered because of that man. And I will not hide the fact that I am happy that he is no longer alive," he said. "I left Venezuela because my brother got kidnapped, our house got burglarized, cars stolen, my parents had an import business and the currency control made it impossible for them to import anything anymore."
CNN's Dana Ford, Mariano Castillo, Shasta Darlington, Rafael Romo, Henry Hanks and Sarah Brown contributed to this report.
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Venezuelan president-elect Chavez visits Bogota, Colombia, on December 18, 1998. On December 6, Chavez had been elected the youngest president in Venezuela history.
President Chavez greets supporters with his then-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez de Chavez, beside him as he arrives to preside over a parade in his honor on February 4, 1999, in Caracas. Chavez was sworn in as president on February 2.
Chavez inspects military maneuvers of the national Air Force on March 17, 2001, in Catilletes near the border with Colombia. In June 2000, Chavez was re-elected to the presidency for a six-year term, under the new constitution created by his government in 1999.
People try to take shelter from gunshots fired near Altamira Square in Caracas on August 16, 2004. At least three people were wounded by gunshots after Chavez supporters fired on opposition demonstrators, police said. A vote to recall Chavez as president failed on August 15.
Chavez, left, stands in front of supporters with Fidel Castro of Cuba, center, and Evo Morales of Bolivia, right, during a rally at the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana, Cuba, on April 29, 2006.
Chavez meets with Pope Benedict XVI at his private library on May 11, 2006, in Vatican City.
Chavez embraces Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, in Tehran, Iran, on July 1, 2007. The two presidents have enjoyed a close relationship and Chavez has referred to Ahmadinejad as his "ideological brother."
Chavez speaks during a rally in Caracas on November 18, 2008. Chavez pushed to change term limits in Venezuela through a referendum that passed on February 15, 2009, clearing the way for him to run for a third six-year term.
Chavez, right, gives a copy of the book, "The Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galeano to President Barack Obama during a multilateral meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on April 18, 2009.
Chavez, right, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to the presidential palace in Caracas on April 2, 2010.
Chavez salutes to the audience after passing a law in Caracas on November 12, 2011. Chavez has undergone several rounds of cancer treatment in Cuba, beginning in 2011.
Chavez participates in a ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 27, 2012.
Chavez, left, jokes with American actor Sean Penn, right, during his visit to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 16, 2012. Penn thanked Chavez for the support given by the Venezuelan government to his nongovernmental organization, which benefits victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Chavez acknowledges supporters on the streets of Caracas while on his way to the airport to travel to Cuba for ongoing cancer treatment on February 24, 2012.
Chavez gestures to the crowd during his closing campaign rally in Caracas on October 4, 2012. The leftist leader won a fourth term on October 7, extending his presidency to 2019.
A handout picture released by the Venezuelan presidential press office on Friday, February 15, 2013, shows Chavez surrounded by his daughters and holding the February 14 edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma at a hospital in Havana, Cuba.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attend an open-air mass in Caracas on February 22.
A woman wraps up in Venezuela's flag to stay warm as she and others wait in line before the start of Chavez's funeral on March 8 in the capital.
Chavez's coffin is carried Wednesday, March 6, to the Military Academy for his funeral in Caracas.
Throngs of Chavez supporters accompany the coffin of the deceased Venezuelan president as it arrives at the Military Academy in Caracas on March 6.
Crowds in Quito, Ecuador, gather around a large photograph of Chavez to pay their respects to the deceased president on March 6. Ecuador's left-leaning president, Rafael Correa, was a Chavez ally.
A woman watches as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6.
A man reacts at Plaza Bolivar of Caracas, on March 6.
Members of the military escort Chavez's casket down the streets of Caracas on March 6.
Riot police contain the crowds looking on as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6.
Palestinians hold portraits of Chavez during a rally in front of the Venezuelan Embassy, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on March 6.
Supporters of Chavez light candles while gathering in front of the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday, March 5.
Venezuelans in Caracas react to the news of Chavez's death on March 5.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Diego Molero speaks in Caracas on March 5. He said that the Venezuelan people must fight for Chavez's legacy.
Chavez supporters hold pictures of the late president as they gather on March 5 in front of the Military Hospital in Caracas.
Venezuelans ride motorcycles through Caracas after the announcement of Chavez's death on March 5.
A man mourns the death of Chavez outside the Military Hospital in Caracas on March 5.
Venezuelans shout in the streets of the capital on March 5.
A Venezuelan woman adjusts the television while watching the news of Chavez's death on March 5 inside a Venezuelan restaurant in Panama City, Panama.
Many people in Caracas wept openly as news of Chavez's death spread on March 5.
A man walks past a mural in Caracas portraying the South American liberator Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan flag and Chavez on March 5.
Chavez kisses the hand of British supermodel Naomi Campbell during a meeting in Caracas on October 31, 2007.
Director Oliver Stone and Chavez attend the "South of the Border" premiere during the 66th Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2009, in Venice, Italy.
Chavez speaks to actor Kevin Spacey during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace on September 24, 2007.
Actor Danny Glover and Chavez embrace while attending the The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program inauguration ceremony in Harlem, New York, on September 21, 2006. Chavez addressed the United Nations General Assembly a day earlier.
Actress Susan Sarandon poses for a picture with Chavez and his daughter, Rosa, at the afterparty of the "South of the Border" premiere in New York on September 23, 2009.
After attending the premiere of his film "Che," actor Benicio del Toro meets with Chavez at the Miraflores palace on March 4, 2009.
Boxing promoter Don King speaks with Chavez and an unidentified woman at the presidential palace in Caracas on February 2, 2004.
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona shares a laugh with Chavez at a press conference in Caracas on July 22, 2010.
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