President Hugo Chávez’s fight against cancer has taken another surprising turn, with Venezuela’s leftist leader announcing plans to fly back to Cuba on Saturday to begin chemotherapy.
Chávez has kept a close lid on information about his health problems over the past month but has made headlines with unexpected announcements and appearances.
The latest came on Friday after Chávez met with Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala, when Chávez said he was asking permission from lawmakers to return to Havana. That’s where he spent much of June undergoing surgeries to remove an abscess and a cancerous tumour in his pelvic region before making a surprise return home on July 4.
“This second phase will begin in the next days with the application of chemotherapy, scientifically planned, in detail,” Chávez said on the steps of the presidential palace. “I am sure, I repeat, that the second stage will contribute to following the path to the recuperation of my health.”
It was not clear how long Chávez planned to remain in Cuba.
Chávez said he was sending a letter to the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Fernando Soto Rojas, to request immediate “legislative authorisation” for his trip as required by the Constitution.
The National Assembly called a special session for Saturday morning to take up the president’s request. It was due to begin at 9am but appeared to be running late. Chávez’s allies hold a majority of seats in the assembly.
The president’s press office announced plans for a sendoff ceremony at Caracas’ international airport in Maiqueita in the afternoon.
Lawmaker Alfonso Marquina, an opposition leader, told the Associated Press that opposition lawmakers intended to vote in favor of granting the president a “temporary absence”. He said they also hoped to receive “a medical report that dispels doubts for all Venezuelans about what the president’s true state of health is”.
Uncertain political landscape
Marquina said he and other opposition politicians think Vice-President Elias Jaua should temporarily assume Chávez’s duties while the president is away receiving treatment.
The 56-year-old’s cancer diagnosis has thrown uncertainty into Venezuela’s political landscape. Chávez, who has held dominant power during more than 12 years in office, has said he’s confident he will rebound but has also admitted a long road to recovery remains.
Outside the presidential palace, Chávez read his letter aloud, saying: “Now I should follow the path toward that long and difficult return.” He likened it to an “ascent toward Chimborazo”, the highest mountain in Ecuador and one of the highest in the world.
Chávez underwent surgery in Cuba on June 20 to remove the tumor from his pelvic region. He has said the tumor was the size of a baseball, but has not specified where it was located or said what kind of cancer was involved.
He received a hero’s welcome from supporters upon his return and has since kept up near daily public appearances. He’s rallied crowds from the presidential palace and in a downtown plaza, presided at Cabinet meetings, addressed troops and generally sought to reassure Venezuelans that he is firmly in control in spite of his illness.
Yet he has also reminded his audiences of the challenges he faces, frequently saying he is fighting for his life and is under doctors’ orders to not overexert himself.
He acknowledged on Wednesday for the first time that he expected to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment, which he said would “armour the body against new malignant cells”.
During much of his nearly month-long stay in Cuba in June, Chávez revealed limited information about his medical state. Then, on June 30, he announced on television that doctors had removed the tumor in the second of two surgeries.
During the past two weeks, Chávez’s Twitter account has posted a flurry of messages commenting on everything from the Venezuelan soccer team’s performance to a concert led by Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel. He’s also appeared on television leading Cabinet meetings and attending Mass.
Chávez, who is up for re-election next year, has sought to project confidence while often telling supporters: “We will live!”
His revelation of his trip to Cuba came after reports from Brazil said the Venezuelan leader could undergo his next round of treatment at the Sirio-Libanes Hospital in Sao Paulo, which is considered one of the best hospitals in South America.
After meeting with Humala, Chávez said he has been going through a “slow and complex process of recuperation, which is going well.”
“I have faith in God, in medical science, and in our Cuban, Venezuelan doctors … and lastly in myself and this will to live — to live for our people, to live for my daughters, to live for my grandchildren,” Chávez said. “To live for myself also.”
Humala told Chávez: “Count on our prayers.”
“You still have to fulfill a mission with your people as president,” Humala told Chávez.
Meanwhile, other developments in the political arena drew condemnation from Chávez’s opponents.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Friday gave initial approval to a complaint that could lead to a corruption case against leading Chávez opponent Henrique Capriles, a state governor and presidential hopeful.
The Supreme Court’s preliminary decision opened the way for authorities to attempt to strip Capriles of his immunity from prosecution as a state governor, which would be a first step toward any criminal case. Capriles is among politicians vying to be the opposition’s candidate in next year’s presidential election and has been a leader in recent opinion polls.
The court announced its decision in a statement, saying it was accepting a request by pro-Chávez party leader Gerson Perez to take up corruption accusations against Capriles. Perez alleges that Capriles gave contracts for government projects to companies owned by his family.
Capriles’ campaign chief, Armando Briquet, condemned the legal action as “political tricks”.
The main opposition coalition expressed support for Capriles in a statement Saturday, saying it hopes the court’s action “doesn’t constitute a new maneuver of the government intended to disqualify a political adversary in a false and unconstitutional way.” — Sapa-AP