Chavez reelection bid in question

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Chavez reelection bid in question

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Rumours have fueled that Chavez will name a successor to run in October presidential elections.

06 May,2012 10:50 am

President Hugo Chavezs repeated trips to Cuba for cancer treatment and the governments silence about his health are fueling such rumours.However, the government has fiercely maintained that there is no alternative to Chavez, who still leads in the polls. But several names have begun to circulate among observers to take the helm should Chavez delegate his powers.Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, Vice President Elias Jaua and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello are considered potential candidates. They are already cited in polls, triggering speculation over the ramifications of a possible succession battle.Any departure of Chavez from the national stage would have profound consequences in Venezuela, where he has governed since 1999. It would also have a huge impact across Latin America, especially in leftist ally nations which have been showered with his countrys oil wealth.Jaua will soon be named president of the Council of State, an advisory body whose creation this week is seen by some analysts as the first step toward a potential political transition since Chavez experienced a relapse of the cancer first detected in June 2011.With the lack of information, all scenarios are possible, including Chavezs absence and the naming of a successor for the October 7 vote, said Datanalisis polling firm president Luis Vicente Leon.Chavez returned to Cuba on Tuesday for what he called the home stretch of his radiation treatment, without providing more details. His previous stay, which was supposed to have been his last, stretched out for 11 days.The exact nature of the cancer has never been disclosed. The 57-year-old underwent an operation in Havana on February 26 to remove a second cancerous tumor in his pelvic area, where a baseball-sized growth was extracted a year ago.Usually all over the Venezuelan media, Chavez now rarely appears in public and has been reduced to sending out tweets during his long absences in Cuba.Chavez is running for reelection as a revolutionary socialist against Henrique Capriles, the youthful Miranda state governor and center-left candidate for the united opposition.