CARACAS, Venezuela — Many salute, some cross their hearts, and others wail uncontrollably, flinging their arms over the casket, drawing guards who rush to restrain them.
Since the news of Hugo Chavez's death Tuesday, more than 2 million people have paid their respects to the late strongman lying in state at a Caracas military base, the government said.
The funeral, which dozens of heads of state and a sea of red-clad supporters are expected to attend, began on Friday, but the farewells will probably continue much longer.
With passions for Chavez soaring, the acting president, Nicolas Maduro, said Thursday the government is extending the national period of mourning another week.
More remarkable perhaps, Maduro added that, "like Ho Chi Minh, Lenin and Mao Zedong," Chavez's body will be embalmed and placed in a glass case "for eternity."
"Forever, he will be there, always, with the people," said Maduro, whom Chavez had appointed his chosen successor before his final flight to Cuba for cancer treatment in December.
It was a teary-eyed Maduro who on Tuesday announced the death of the man who'd governed Venezuela for 14 years, rousing intense adoration and raw hatred alike, in his country and abroad.
On Thursday, the grounds of the Fuerte Tiuna military base in south Caracas swarmed with supporters, squeezing at chaotic bottlenecks into the main building.
While heart-wrenching grief was palpable, some scenes at the site stirred an almost festival-like atmosphere. Vendors were sold Chavez memorabilia and crowds chanted, "Long live Chavez. The struggle continues!"
There were, of course, heavy sobs as well. "He's the only president who has given us, the poor, dignity, " said Ana Maria Colmenares, 55, weeping, donning a Chavez tee-shirt and clutching a doll of the leader. She had just filed past El Comandante's body after waiting nearly seven hours.
"Of course it's worth the wait," she said. "God has taken him to the heavens... They'll never forget El Comandante Chavez, in every house, in every mission," she added. The missions she was referring to are the abundant social projects that Chavez put in place with financing from Venezuela's vast oil bounty, the world's largest.
"With our knees on the ground, we are all with Chavez."
As mourners filed past, soldiers rushed them along to keep up with the huge demand. There were short pauses, however, as officers lifted up small children to catch a glimpse of El Comandante. The corpse's bust was showing through the glass top of a basic wooden coffin, with the coffin's covered lower section draped in the Venezuelan flag.
Outside, soldiers threw bottles of water to the crowd who pushed and shoved for access to the building as if at the front of a concert. Many were clad in the socialist red that has colored Chavez's tenure — his "Bolivarian Revolution." Nearly everyone had some form of memorabilia, such as hats, T-shirts, earrings or even Action Man-style dolls.
"Long live Chavez!" people shouted. "The struggle continues!" That slogan has taken the internet by storm as well, with Venezuelan state media promoting the Twitter hashtag #ChavezViveLaLuchaSigue.
That fight will be led by Maduro. The 50-year-old former bus driver and union leader is widely expected to win elections, which must be called within 30 days of Chavez being unable to govern. Chavez, who was 58, had handily won re-election in October but was too ill — and out of sight in a Havana hospital bed — to attend his own swearing-in.
"Of course I'll vote for Maduro," said Eric Garcia, 32, a lawyer crushed in the crowd waiting to see Chavez's body. "Because Chavez chose him and he's demonstrated that he is dedicated to the people."
Two days after announcing Chavez's death in a somber televised address, Maduro revealed plans for the funeral that's expected to rival that of Eva "Evita" Peron.
"This is going to be great for the government," said Luis Vicente Leon, a Caracas-based political pollster. "They all want to be part of it, share in the excitement, the money, the power and the momentum."
That momentum is helping drive expectations Maduro will win an election, buoyed not by his own background or campaigning, but his anointing by the very father of Venezuela's leftist Chavismo.
"It's Chavismo time," Leon added.
It's also anti-Chavismo time. In Miami, home of many Venezuelan self-exiles, the news of Chavez's death set off joyous champagne-swigging parties, according to pictures published by the Miami Herald.
Still, Chavez had a great many friends. The funeral's attendees include fellow leftist Latin American leaders such as Bolivia's Evo Morales and Uruguay's Jose Mujica and even some right-wing ones too. They also include the more controversial allies such as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Some reports said as many as 55 world leaders could attend.
In an open letter this week, Ahmadinejad wrote that Chavez would one day rise, "with Jesus Christ … to bring peace, justice and perfection to all."
Many Venezuelans are saying their longtime leader still lives on.
Crying waiting in the queue to see Chavez's body, Marina Castillo, 59, said: "Chavez is alive in my heart."