Thousands of Venezuelanslined the streets Wednesday morning as Hugo Chavez's remains were 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.

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.

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.

What power, if any, does the opposition have?

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?