Venezuela will postpone the inauguration of President Hugo Chávez for a new term due to health problems, the government said today.
The 58-year-old former soldier who has dominated the South American OPEC nation since 1999 has not been heard from since surgery on Dec. 11 in Cuba – his fourth operation since he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer in June 2011.
The announcement outraged opposition leaders who insist that Chávez must be sworn in before the National Assembly on Jan. 10 as laid out in the constitution, or temporarily step aside and leave an ally in power.
«The commander president wants us to inform that, based on his medical team’s recommendations, the post-operative recovery should extend past Jan. 10,» said Vice President Nicolás Maduro, Chávez’s chosen successor, in a letter read to the legislature.
«As a result, he will not be able to be present at the National Assembly on that date.»
The letter said authorities would seek another date for the inauguration ceremony but did not say when it would take place or give a time frame for Chávez’s return from Havana.
Rather than being sworn in by the legislature, he would take his oath at a later date before the Supreme Court, the letter said, as allowed by the constitution.
Government leaders insist Chávez is completely fulfilling his duties as head of state, even though official medical bulletins say he has a severe pulmonary infection and has had trouble breathing.
The government has called for a massive rally outside the presidential palace on Thursday, and allied presidents including Uruguay’s Jose Mujica and Bolivia’s Evo Morales have confirmed they will visit Venezuela this week despite Chávez’s absence.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has announced plans to visit Chávez in Havana on Friday.
But the unprecedented silence by the president – famous for regularly speaking for hours in meandering broadcasts – has left many convinced he could be in his last days.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald