Hugo Chávez just had that effect on people. Prior to his death from an unspecified cancer at age 58, he could regularly send his detractors into fits of indignation or mortification. Yet to many defenders he was (and continues to be) a divinity: “the Eternal One,” “the Giant” or, in the words of one Caracas mayor: “the Galactic Commander who is universal, celestial, terrestrial, human and divine, and can be found within the heart of every good man and woman.”

This intense loyalty has been actively promoted by Venezuela’s successor government. Chávez’s signature and face—even his disembodied stare—are ubiquitous around Caracas, appearing far more frequently than images of his successor, Nicolás Maduro. Maduro, for his part, has largely rested his own legitimacy on having been publicly anointed by Chávez as his rightful political heir, claiming to receive visitations from the former leader’s supportive ghost and even styling himself as “Chávez’s son” on occasion.

And yet Maduro is not Chávez’s son. Chávez had no shortage of biological offspring—fathering two daughters and a son from a first marriage, one daughter from a second, and a daughter by a mistress whom he kept hidden from public view until his death. Of these, María Gabriela, 33, the younger daughter by the first marriage, was his favorite and the most like her father—at least according to his ex-wife. While his other children might float in and out of his good graces, for being indiscreet or spendthrift, María Gabriela was his consentida. When Chávez was removed from office for two days following a coup against him in 2002, it was reportedly María Gabriela whom he called first, allowing her to spread the word to allies at home and abroad that he had not willingly resigned. Following the president’s second divorce in 2004, María Gabriela unofficially took on the role of first lady, traveling with Chávez internationally and undertaking minor hosting duties at state affairs.

At times, Chávez seemed to hint at a possible succession by María Gabriela—once expressing, for example, a preference for a female successor despite a noticeable lack of women among his top lieutenants. Yet his unforeseen and rapid physical decline negated any possibility of leaving her in charge.

Following Chávez’s death, the Maduro government sought to co-opt the image of his biological family. María Gabriela has regularly appeared alongside Maduro in state media, and was ostentatiously supportive of his rule in public. In exchange, Maduro relegated himself to less lofty vice-presidential digs, allowing María Gabriela and her older sister Rosa Virginia (who, ironically, is actually married to Venezuela’s current vice president) to remain in the presidential palace with their families, where they continue to be lavishly maintained at public expense.