从巴士司机到查韦斯接班人

Nicolas Maduro has gone from driving a bus to becoming ailing President Hugo Chávez's handpicked choice to continue his vision of socialism and possibly lead Venezuela, an oil-rich republic of 29 million.

尼古拉斯·马杜罗(Nicolas Maduro)从巴士司机成为身患重疾的委内瑞拉总统查韦斯(Hugo Chavez)钦点的接班人，以延续查韦斯提出的社会主义愿景，并可能领导这个有2,900万人口、石油资源丰富的共和国。

Mr. Chávez, who said this past weekend he has suffered another relapse in his long battle with cancer, named Mr. Maduro as his successor. It was the first time Mr. Chávez talked publicly about who might replace him, prompting many analysts to speculate that the former army tank commander believes himself to be terminally ill.

查韦斯上周末说，他在与病魔的长期斗争中，癌症再次复发。他已经指定马杜罗为其接班人。这是查韦斯首次公开谈论他的可能接班人选，很多分析人士不禁猜测，曾经担任陆军坦克指挥官的查韦斯认为自己已病入膏肓。

Mr. Chávez heaped praise on the man who has been his globetrotting foreign minister, as well as vice president, for the last six years. 'Comrade Nicolas Maduro, a true revolutionary, a man of great experience despite his youth, of a great dedication to work, and a great capacity to conduct groups, to manage difficult situations. I have him seen him do it,' the president said.

查韦斯对马杜罗大加赞赏。马杜罗现任委内瑞拉副总统兼外交部长，他已担任外交部长达六年，在全球奔波忙碌。查韦斯说，尼古拉斯·马杜罗同志是一位真正的革命者，他年轻有为、经验丰富、热爱工作、领导有方，有着极强的应对困难局面的能力。我亲眼看到了他的才干。

Tall, mustachioed, and affable, the 50-year-old Mr. Maduro came up through working class ranks─a tale that could help his street credibility with Chávez backers.

马杜罗现年50岁，他身材高大、蓄着胡须、对人态度和蔼可亲。马杜罗出身工人阶级，这个故事可能有助于使他获得查韦斯支持者的认可。

In middle school, he was a member of a socialist youth organization and played bass in a rock band called Enigma. He later drove a bus linked to Caracas's subway system, and rose up to become union leader of the subway workers. He eventually won a seat in congress and went on to hold the legislature's top post.

中学时，马杜罗曾是一个社会主义青年组织的成员，并在一个名叫“Enigma的摇滚乐队中担任贝斯手。后来他当上了加拉加斯地铁系统的巴士司机，并逐渐成为地铁工会领袖。他最终在议会中赢得了一个席位，后来担任议会最高职位。

For the past six years, he traveled the globe, cementing Mr. Chávez alliances with anti-American allies like Libya's late Moammar Gadhafi and Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Maduro also helped forge a new relationship with Colombia's center right President Juan Manuel Santos and has played an important role in supporting Colombia's peace ongoing peace talks with the country's Communist guerrillas, Colombian officials say.

过去六年中，马杜罗奔波于全球各地，巩固查韦斯与利比亚已故总统卡扎菲(Moammar Gadhafi)和伊朗总统内贾德(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad)等反美盟友之间的同盟。哥伦比亚官员说，马杜罗还帮助查韦斯与哥伦比亚中右翼总统桑托斯(Juan Manuel Santos)之间建立了新的关系，并在支持哥伦比亚与该国共产主义游击队之间正在进行的和平谈判中发挥了重要作用。

Analysts say Mr. Maduro has the support of Cuba's Castro brothers, who are important power brokers in Caracas. He accompanied Mr. Chávez during the Venezuelan president's long stays in Havana for medical treatment.

分析人士说，马杜罗拥有古巴卡斯特罗兄弟的支持。卡斯特罗兄弟是加拉加斯重要的政治掮客。查韦斯在哈瓦那进行治疗的漫长时期，马杜罗曾陪伴左右。

Venezuelan business leaders, whom Mr. Chávez has kept under siege through constant nationalizations, believe Mr. Maduro is a relative moderate. International officials who have dealt with Mr. Maduro say he appears more open to dialogue than other Chávez administration officials. He is a devotee of the late Hindu mystic Sai Baba.

委内瑞拉商界领袖认为，马杜罗是个相对温和派。查韦斯通过持续不断的国有化将委内瑞拉的商业控制在自己手中。与马杜罗打过交道的国际官员说，相比其他委内瑞拉政府官员，马杜罗对对话的态度似乎更加开放。他是已故的印度灵性大师赛巴巴(Sai Baba)的忠实拥趸。

Mr. Maduro is a long time partner of Cilia Flores, now Mr. Chávez's attorney general, and the first woman to serve as the head of the National Assembly, a post to which she was named after Mr. Maduro, then a congressman, vacated the legislature to become foreign minister. The two are seen as a Caracas 'power couple.'

马杜罗与现任委内瑞拉总检察长弗洛雷斯(Cilia Flores)结婚已久。弗洛雷斯也是首位担任国民大会主席的女性。在时任议长的马杜罗离开议会出任外交部长后，弗洛雷斯被任命为国民大会主席。马杜罗和弗洛雷斯被认为是加拉加斯的“权力夫妻。

But Mr. Maduro could face an important challenge from Diosdado Cabello, the president of Venezuela's congress. Mr. Cabello, a contemporary of Mr. Chávez who served with him in the army with Mr. Chávez, has a strong base of support in Venezuela's armed forces, where he has cultivated his ties with fellow officers as they rose through the ranks. Analysts say that unlike Mr. Maduro, Mr. Cabello is seen as a foe of Havana, a worrisome development for the Castro brothers whose regime depends on Venezuelan largesse for its economic survival.

不过，马杜罗可能面临来自委内瑞拉国民大会主席卡贝洛(Diosdado Cabello)的一项重要挑战。卡贝洛曾与查韦斯一起在陆军服役，他在委内瑞拉军中有着强大的支持基础，在和军中同仁不断晋升的过程中逐渐建立了人脉。分析人士说，与马杜罗不同，卡贝洛被认为是哈瓦那的一个敌人。若卡贝洛在委内瑞拉掌权，对卡斯特罗兄弟来说将是一种可怕的发展，因为古巴政府依靠委内瑞拉的援助才使经济支撑下来。

Mr. Cabello is widely believed by analysts to have amassed a large fortune, and has good relationships with the so-called 'Boligarchs'- businessmen who have used their ties with the Chávez government to amass huge fortunes.

分析人士普遍认为卡贝洛积累了巨额财富，并且与所谓的“波利寡头(boligarch)有着良好的关系。“波利寡头指的是利用与查韦斯政府的关系积累巨额财富的商界人士。

'Maduro's allies are around the world, but Diosdado's allies are in the barracks,' says one prominent Chávez supporter, who asked not to be named.

查韦斯一位不愿具名的主要支持者说，马杜罗的盟友遍布全球各地，而卡贝洛的盟友则在军中。