Hugo Chavez recovering well, says his brother

By Fiona Govan

From The Telegraph (U.K.)

MADRID – The 58-year-old president, who has not been seen since he underwent a fourth round of cancer surgery a month ago, “continues to respond well to treatment and his recovery is advancing daily,” said his older brother, Adan Chavez, following a visit to his bedside at a clinic in Havana.

“Reports that the president is in a coma and that the family is discussing ending life support, are totally false,” insisted Mr. Chavez, who is also governor of the state of Barinas, in a statement on Saturday.

The true state of health of socialist president Mr. Chavez, who missed his own inauguration for a new six- year term last Thursday, has unsettled Venezuela and left opposition politicians calling for clarity over his condition.

The government was forced to postpone indefinitely the swearing in ceremony and insisted he should be given time to recover and take the oath of office at a later date.

Venezuela’s supreme court ruled such a measure was within the constitution and said his vice president, Nicolas Madura, could deputize in the meantime.

But opposition politicians, warning of a power vacuum, have said they are preparing a legal challenge to the decision and demand that a new interim government is formed.

Scant official information and no photographs of the ailing leader, who has been in power since 1999, have been released following the December 11 surgery, fuelling speculation that he is close to death.

His brother joined authorities in dismissing such rumors as part of a conspiracy to unstable the government.

“We know this is part of a dirty war by the necrophilic opposition,” Mr. Chavez said in the statement. “We are sure that with the support of God, science and the people, our president will triumph in this new battle.”

Last week Globovision, Venezuela’s lone remaining opposition broadcaster, was banned from questioning the legitimacy of the government granting Mr. Chavez an open-ended leave of absence and from challenging the official line regarding his health.

The weekend was marked by protests across Venezuela by those demanding the “veil of secrecy” over his condition be lifted.