MADURO SWORN IN AS VENEZUELA INTERIM PRESIDENT

Vice President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in on Friday as acting president of Venezuela in a ceremony held in the National Assembly in Caracas, three days after the death of President Hugo Chavez.

Asked if he swore to uphold the laws of the country and to follow the constitution, Maduro said, "I swear."

Then, in a rambling speech that evoked the bombastic oratory of Chavez, Maduro said he would work to keep alive his memory and legacy.

"We still have him in our hearts," said Maduro, who was wearing a sash bearing the colors of the Venezuelan flag across his chest. "I have him here, here, as if he was the name in my soul, because I am his son."

He continued, "We are here to guarantee peace, safety and political stability and the lifting up of the poor in Venezuela will continue. Onward and upward with socialism!"

Maduro appealed to the opposition to field a presidential

candidate for elections that are to be held in 30 days. "Some of them are here today," he said. "Welcome."

But he noted that few opposition members were in attendance. "They didn't want to come," he said.

About the elections, he said, "May the best person win. The people will decide."

Maduro alluded to the United States, with whom Chavez had had prickly relations. "Our eyes will see sooner rather than later the decline of the imperialist elites that changed the United States into an empire of aggression," he said. "That moment will be a fabulous moment for humanity."

He announced that he had appointed the minister of science and technology, Jorge Arreaza, to replace him as vice president.

Shortly before the ceremony, opposition leader and Miranda State Gov. Henrique Capriles told reporters in Caracas that the ceremony was "an abuse of power."

"To be president, the people have to elect you," he said. "The constitution is very clear."

Capriles said Maduro would have to first register as a candidate and then campaign. "That's what the constitution says," he said. "It's all here."

Then, addressing Maduro as if he were there, he said, "Nicolas, they didn't elect you. The people didn't vote for you, boy."

He continued, "We are not going to permit that the sorrow that the people feel be an excuse for the abuse of power, for constitutional fraud."