HAVANA -- The death of Hugo Chávez sent a ripple of sadness and uncertainty across this island on Wednesday as Cubans mourned the loss of an ideological son and generous ally, and worried about the economic pain that could lie ahead if the new Venezuelan leadership cut off hefty oil subsidies.
Granma, the Communist Party newspaper, turned its red masthead to black and white -- a gesture Cubans said was rare -- and dedicated six of its eight pages to Mr. Chávez's life, his death on Tuesday, and his legacy. In a statement that covered the front page and was read on national television on Tuesday night, the government hailed Mr. Chávez as a Cuban and pledged its "resolved and unwavering support for the Bolivarian Revolution in these difficult days."
"The Cuban people consider him one of their most accomplished sons, and they have admired him, followed him and loved him as one of their own," the government said in the statement. "Chávez is also a Cuban."
Flags at government buildings flew at half-staff after the government declared two days of official mourning, and canceled concerts and other public events on Friday. On the streets of Havana, where the Venezuelan leader battled cancer at a military hospital enveloped in secrecy and spent much of his last three months, some Cubans said they were deeply saddened by Mr. Chávez's passing.
Even those who had little time for his brand of socialism wondered if Cuba would descend into an economic chasm, much as it did in the 1990s, after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Cuba receives more than 100,000 barrels of oil a day from Venezuela, purchased on favorable terms as part of an exchange that has tens of thousands of Cubans working in Venezuelan clinics, schools and ministries. The subsidized oil accounts for about two-thirds of Cuba's consumption and is credited by many Cubans with keeping the lights on and the air-conditioners running during the brutal summer heat.
"A shudder ran through my body," said Marina Suárez, 48, of the moment when she heard the news of Mr. Chávez's death. Staring at the sky with a look almost of ecstasy, she added, "He has died, but for me, he is as alive as ever."
Ms. Suárez said that she was confident that Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's interim president and a Chavista, would win election and retain close ties with Cuba.
"With everything that Chávez did for the poor, for his people, for all peoples -- how could they not vote for Maduro?" she asked.
Luis, a 39-year old engineer who did not want his full name to be published because talking about politics in Cuba is very delicate, was more skeptical.
"It's scary. If there is a change in Venezuela, they won't keep the deal like it is," he said, referring to the subsidized oil.
The government would have to come up with a plan that did not depend on another nation's largess, he said.
"You can't have what happens inside your home depend on your neighbor," Luis added. "If your neighbor dies, then what? You don't eat? We need to be self-sufficient. But this system will never be self-sufficient."
Were Mr. Maduro to be defeated, or simply decide that Venezuela could no longer afford to subsidize Cuba, the government would have to speed economic reforms, added Luis, who recently began working for himself under a two-year-old program to encourage private enterprise.
"Cubans remember the special period," he said, referring to the severe economic hardships of the 1990s."They won't put up with another special period."
Other Chávez allies around the world were grappling with his death as well. The Iranian government declared a day of mourning on Wednesday and local news media reported that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would attend Mr. Chávez's funeral on Friday in Caracas. Over the course of several trips to Iran, Mr. Chávez forged a strong, if controversial, alliance that has drawn Iranian construction companies to several projects in Venezuela and deepened their financial ties.
Mr. Ahmadinejad said that Mr. Chávez would surely return to earth once the Shiite 12th Imam, who according to the sect's beliefs is a messiah, would come to liberate the world.
"I have no doubt he will come again along with all the righteous people and the Prophet Jesus and the only successor of the righteous generation, the perfect human," Mr. Ahmadinejad said, adding that Mr. Chávez had died of a "suspicious illness" -- a reference to theories espoused by some Venezuelan officials and allies that Mr. Chávez's cancer was somehow the work of the United States government.
In Cuba, state television and radio broke into regular programming on Tuesday night to show an extended newscast about Mr. Chávez's death and broadcast coverage from Telesur, the Venezuelan news channel. A Cuban official said he could not yet confirm whether Raúl Castro or Fidel, who is very ill, would go to Caracas for the funeral.
Members of the Venezuelan community, Cuban officials and diplomats, meanwhile, gathered at the Venezuelan Embassy in Havana, on a wide boulevard in an upscale neighborhood, on Tuesday to offer condolences. Applause and shouts of "Viva Chávez" could be heard from the sidewalk outside.
Elsewhere, however, the streets were quieter than usual: some residents of Old Havana, the city's main tourism spot, said they heard little music from the ubiquitous salsa bars on Tuesday night.
Thomas Erdbrink contributed reporting from Tehran.
First Published: March 6, 2013, 11:00 p.m.
