But now, after astonishing his countrymen by revealing that he had a cancerous tumor, the 56-year-old former paratrooper appears vulnerable. Gone is the indomitable combatant who has rolled over political opponents and emerged victorious when defeat seemed certain, as when he was briefly overthrown in 2002.
Instead, the Chavez who went public Thursday about his condition, after nearly three weeks of intensive medical care in Cuba, sounded like a humbled man, telling a national television audience in his country of the “fundamental errors” he had made in not watching his health.
“Without a doubt, what a fundamental error, especially in a revolutionary with some modest responsibilities,” Chavez said in an uncharacteristically short speech from Cuba, where he has been in seclusion with doctors, his aides and top Cuban officials, including Fidel Castro.
Quite suddenly, Venezuelans have begun to consider the possibility that the man who once vowed to rule the oil-rich nation well past 2020 might not even run in next year’s presidential election — in which he has already announced his candidacy.
Carlos Ayala, a constitutional and human rights lawyer who opposes the president’s policies, said he gleaned much from the speech. To him, the boisterous, energetic and unflappable leader who gives speeches lasting seven hours and revels in the fight sounded guarded, even shaken, as he read a prepared text for 13 minutes.
“He looked weak,” Ayala said. “And he looked like everybody looks when they’ve been through major surgery, and he looked more reflective and less passionate as we are accustomed to seeing him.”
Chavez has not said what kind of tumor doctors in Havana removed. Nor has he given details about the treatment he is receiving. He did speak on Friday, though, of continuing with his life’s work, accelerating the transformation of Venezuela.
“No one expected this illness,” he said in a phone call to “Round Table,” a program on Cuban state television. “But we are overcoming, living as before. This will make us stronger.”
Quite human after all
Chavez’s closest associates, some of whom expressed surprise about the gravity of his condition, tried to assure Venezuelans that it was still business as usual and that Chavez would run in 2012.
Vice President Elias Jaua spoke Friday of moving forward on housing programs and “deepening the revolution.” Others in the state apparatus, among them Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, a member of Chavez’s inner circle who met with him in Havana last week, said Chavez was recovering fast.
Loading...
Comments