Hugo Chavez Says He’s Free Of Cancer

Running for another term as President, Hugo Chavez says he’s free of cancer:

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez declared himself fully recovered from cancer on Monday, three months before an election in which he is seeking another six-year term.

“Free, free, totally free,” he told reporters when asked if he was free of the disease that struck a year ago.

The 57-year-old socialist leader was first diagnosed with cancer in the pelvic region in mid-2011. He wrongly declared himself cured at the end of that year before having a recurrence of the disease in February.

But after repeated cycles of treatment in Cuba and Venezuela, Chavez is once again declaring himself fully fit at a crucial time when his health is the main wild card before the October 7 presidential vote.

Perceptions of Chavez’s ability to campaign for the election, and govern afterwards, are crucial among voters in what could be one of Venezuela’s tightest elections of recent times.

At a four-hour news conference that offered more evidence of Chavez’s increasing energy levels, he promised to begin campaigning on the streets with a series of caravans in provincial Venezuela from Thursday.

“Now is when I’m stepping into the action. Our offensive begins right now!” said an ebullient Chavez, who disappeared for long periods during treatment over the last year but has been back dominating Venezuela’s airwaves in recent weeks.

“Chavez is back in the street, the Bolivarian hurricane!” he added, referring to his spiritual idol and Venezuela’s independence hero, Simon Bolivar.

Despite Chavez’s optimism, doctors say it is impossible to be sure someone is completely cured until at least a couple of years have passed since the last recurrence of cancer.

The former soldier is leading most opinion polls by double digits, but one recent survey put him neck-and-neck with opposition candidate Henrique Capriles and up to a third of voters remain undecided.

Of course, whether Chavez would actually let an unfavorable election result occur remains an open question.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    Thanx for ruining my day, Doug.

  2. Jenos Idanian #13 says:

    Correction: Cancer has announced it’s free of Hugo Chavez.

    Sadly, the rest of the world is still afflicted with this malignancy…

  3. Sandra says:

    Heard this before from some “celebrities”… I give him 6-9 weeks, maybe till New Year’s.