Chavez supporters pray for 'comandante'

2011-07-03 18:24

Caracas - Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez prayed and rallied on Sunday for the speedy recovery of a man whose revelation of cancer treatment has rocked the country dominated by him for more than a decade.

In bread-shops and bars, streets and homes across the volatile South American OPEC member, there is only one topic of gossip and debate: just how bad is Chavez's health?

On a day usually revolving round Chavez's weekly Alo Presidente show - hours-long TV soliloquies to tell stories, sing songs, nationalize companies or bait foes - loyalists instead held a Roman Catholic mass and march for their man.

Chavez is receiving treatment in a Cuban hospital after surgery June 10 to remove a cancerous tumor.

No word has been given on when he might return.

The 56-year-old socialist, one of the most globally recognisable faces thanks to his flamboyant anti-Americanism and self-styled domestic "revolution", waited until June 30 to admit he had cancer.

Only Chavez, his doctors and closest allies know if the malignant cells have spread or been stemmed, with speculation he may have colon cancer and face months of chemotherapy.

The implications are immense: Chavez has no obvious successor, and an opposition browbeaten by him since his first election win in 1998 is sensing a chance in next year's vote.

Even if he recovers perfectly, Chavez's health crisis already looks like a game-changer for the nation of 29 million people. It has exposed the lack of replacements, galvanised the opposition and dented his aura of invincibility.

- Reuters