Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hailed the release of new footage of the socialist leader as proof he was recovering well from surgery in Cuba despite speculation he may have cancer. As rumours about Chavez's disappearance from public view since the June 10 operation reached a crescendo, both governments put out new video and photographs of him walking and chatting with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
The new images don't disprove the most extreme rumour - that Chavez has prostate cancer - but they do support the official line that he is simply recuperating from an operation to remove a pelvic abscess. "Chavez's absence has led, whether the government admits it or not, to an ongoing crisis of governance and to a vacuum of power," said Venezuelan analyst Diego Moya-Ocampos of IHS Global Insight. Famous for hogging the airwaves and giving hours-long speeches, Chavez went to ground after his surgery in Havana, triggering a wave of speculation across the politically polarised South American nation he has ruled since 1999.
The focus now is on whether the 56-year-old will be back in Venezuela to host a regional summit planned for July 5. The meeting on Margarita island is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the country's independence from Spain. Venezuela's widely-traded debt had rallied this week as some on Wall Street viewed the possibility of a major health problem for Chavez as a positive development for markets.
But his reappearance would immediately dispel rumours about his future and partially reverse recent gains, said Siobhan Morden, head of Latin America strategy at RBS. The benchmark US dollar-denominated 2027 bond was bid down 0.25 points in price to 73.75 on Wednesday, with a 13.213 percent yield, according to Thomson Reuters data. One state media employee told Reuters that coverage plans for the summit were on hold after word Chavez would not return on time. There were rumours on Wednesday the meeting might be moved to the capital Caracas, but it was unclear when.
In the new images released late on Tuesday, the Venezuelan leader looked thinner than usual but in better condition than photos released shortly after his operation. He is seen walking, chatting and sitting with the former Cuban president, who is a close friend and political mentor. Venezuelan and Cuban state media plastered the pictures on their front pages on Wednesday. "Onward, Comandante, your people await you!" trumpeted Caracas daily Vea.
Both governments said more footage of Chavez would be shown later on Wednesday. Hundreds of supporters held an emotional prayer service for his health at a big Caracas church. The new footage left plenty of questions unanswered: Why has Chavez still not addressed the nation? If his surgery was straightforward and successful, why is he still in Havana 19 days later? Who is running government? The affair has highlighted the lack of an obvious successor for Chavez, who has utterly dominated Venezuelan politics while driving forward his "21st Century Socialism" reforms.
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