本周二，委内瑞拉总统乌戈·查韦斯在经历两年与癌症的抗争后，于当日下午逝世，结束了对对委内瑞拉14年的执政。这位著名的社会主义领导人，是委内瑞拉贫苦人民的英雄，但也是反对派憎恨的对象。

　　The flamboyant 58-year-old had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11 and he had not been seen in public since.

　　查韦斯终年58岁，2011年年中，他因为骨盆区发现癌细胞而患上癌症，在古巴接受了四次手术。最后一次手术是在去年的12月11日，自此他再未出现在公众面前。

　　"We have just received the most tragic and awful information. At 4.25 p.m. today March the 5th, President Hugo Chavez Frias died," Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced in a televised address, his voice choking.

　　古巴副总统马杜罗在电视讲话中宣布了这一消息：“我们刚收到了最让我们悲痛的消息，就在3月5日今天下午的4点25分，我们的总统查韦斯逝世。” 马杜罗几度哽咽。

　　Chavez easily won a new six-year term at an election in October and his death will devastate millions of supporters who adored his charismatic style, anti-U.S. rhetoric and oil-financed policies that brought subsidized food and free health clinics to long-neglected slums.

　　查韦斯在去年10月的总统大选中轻松连任，开始了新的六年任期。他的死讯也让数不清的支持者难过不已，他的个人魅力和反美激情深受委内瑞拉人民喜爱，而他主导的石油金融政策也为国内长期被忽视的贫民们带来了食品补贴和免费医疗等多项福利。

　　Chavez's death opens the way for a new election that will test whether his socialist "revolution" can live on without his dominant personality at the helm.

　　查韦斯的逝世意味着委内瑞拉将重新选举，而他的社会主义“革命”也将受到考验，在没有了关键人物掌舵，这些政策是否还会持续下去？