A mausoleum built for Bolivar but worthy of Chavez

The towering, white mausoleum in downtown Caracas is for many Venezuelans a lot like Hugo Chavez, only in architectural terms: disproportionately larger-than-life, flamboyant and self-important.

And no, the grand tomb was not built for Venezuela's socialist president, who has grappled with his own mortality in his recent battle with cancer and is running for re-election.

It will cradle the remains of South American independence leader Simon Bolivar, who Chavez daily, rapturously and exhaustively exalts as the spiritual father of his own self-styled revolution.

The 160-foot (50-meter) mausoleum is to be inaugurated in the coming days, though it is not quite finished.

Its construction has been delayed, shrouded in secrecy and alternately hailed as fit for a hero of Bolivar's historical grandeur and criticized as an exaggerated reflection of Chavez's own ego and alleged desire to be seen as a reincarnation of the independence hero...

Chavez on Tuesday unveiled a new, photograph-like portrait of Bolivar, produced by researchers based on their studies of his remains. Chavez presented the image of Bolivar's face during an event at the presidential palace marking the 229th anniversary of his birth...