CARACAS (Reuters) – the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, will start on Sunday the first round of sessions of radiotherapy in Havana by cancer who suffer, a treatment that could weaken it in the hard-fought race towards the elections of October.
The Chavez trip occurs two days before the Pope Benedict XVI arrives to the island from Mexico, preceded by his statements that communism doesn’t work in Cuba and that the Catholic Church is prepared to help the authorities to move in new models without “trauma”.
“ask the God of armies, the God of us soldiers, to the Virgen del Valle to the Virgen del Carmen, (…) everything goes well, I’ll start the phase of radiotherapy in the coming hours”, said the President in a mystical tone before flying to the Caribbean country.
Chavez said he will return to his country “in the coming days” and announced that it will be “going and coming” of Cuba during the five weeks that will survive the radiation therapy, a treatment whose side effects could limit their participation in the daily life of Venezuelan politics before that looms as the tougher campaign since to power in 1999.
“Beyond that detected me the cancer, it was beyond they operated me emergency the first time and the second and then the third.” “We considered and I have taken the (…) decision to follow the treatment (in Cuba) and come back in a few days,” said the 57-year-old retired military.
From his first surgery in June to remove a cancerous tumor the size of a baseball, the Venezuelan President has seen his friend Fidel Castro as his “personal physician” staff.
Analysts believe that in addition to its close relationship with the former Cuban President, who he often called father, Chávez seeks in Havana to obtain more privacy and tranquility while refuses to reveal details of his condition.
Rumors about meeting with Pope
Treatment of Chavez has monopolized the political agenda Venezuela to less than six months for the elections, while the Venezuelans and the markets are wondering if the Socialist leader will be in shape to fight for a new six-year re-election.
Convalescent representative must be measured with young Governor Henrique Capriles, 39 years, after becoming the only opposition candidate in February has launched a tour House to house looking for fall in love with the supporters of the ruling party.
However, Chavez still has broad support. Three recent polls give him an advantage of more than 20 points over Capriles, while a respected pollster says that the President and opposition leader are in a technical tie that will reject by the undecided.
In Venezuela, where the lack of details about the sickness of Chavez or his agenda in Cuba have unleashed a series of rumors, social networks rebozaban message pointing to a meeting between the President and the Pope.
Despite proclaiming Christ follower and use biblical quotations in his speeches, Chávez is faced with the Venezuelan Catholic hierarchy, which has come to be called “devils with cassock” accusing them of allying with the elites of the oil country to derail his “socialist revolution”.
The military removed from 57 years ensures that the Venezuelan Catholic leaders gave the blessing to the coup d ’ état that pulled him out of power for a few days in 2002.
Benedict XVI, which on Tuesday will meet with the Cuban President, Raúl Castro, could also meet with his brother Fidel, but so far has ruled to receive some of the so-called dissident groups on the island.
/Por Mario Naranjo /
