Definition: In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
Input: (CNN) -- Health problems prevented Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez from coming to Caracas for an inauguration ceremony Thursday, but throngs of supporters swore an oath of loyalty in his absence. Thousands of red-clad Chavez supporters packed the streets around the presidential palace for a symbolic swearing-in for the president's fourth term. Read more: Venezuelan court says inauguration day delay for Chavez is OK Chavez, 58, is undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba and has not made a public appearance since doctors operated on him a month ago. On Thursday, Vice President Nicolas Maduro called on the masses gathered to take an oath of "absolute loyalty to the leadership of Comandante Hugo Chavez."Venezuela's vice president asks throngs of Chavez supporters to take a loyalty oath"I swear...to defend the presidency of Comandante Chavez," they sayRally comes as authorities reassure residents that Chavez's government continuesChavez is undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba and battling complications 
 Question:Read more: As Chavez battles cancer, _ waits in the wings.

Nicolas Maduro