Venezuela’s presidential election

Cancer and the body politic

Before voting this year, Venezuelans have a right to know the state of Hugo Chávez’s health

Jan 7th 2012 | from the print edition

EVEN by the standards of one of the world’s great conspiracy theorists, it was wacky stuff. On hearing the news that Argentina’s Cristina Fernández had become the fifth left-of-centre Latin American leader to be diagnosed with cancer in the past three years, Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, himself unlucky enough to be one of them, mused that the United States might have developed technology to “induce cancer” in its political foes. “I don’t want to make any reckless accusation,” Mr Chávez said disingenuously, “but it’s very, very, very strange.”

This could be just another piece of self-evident nonsense from Mr Chávez. After all, several of the other stricken leaders have friendly relations with the United States and the health scares have thus far increased the popularity of both Mr Chávez and Ms Fernández: Latin American politics has featured a maudlin streak ever since the early death (yes, from cancer) of Eva Perón. But Mr Chávez may have been putting up a smokescreen. The recent cancer cases offer not just stories of personal suffering but also a striking contrast in the way that the leaders affected have handled the news about their health.

Four have been exemplary in releasing timely information about their condition, overcoming the human instinct for secrecy in such matters. Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 2009 on the eve of the campaign in which she was elected. Paraguay’s president, Fernando Lugo, was equally open when treated for the same illness. In October, when Ms Rousseff’s predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was diagnosed with throat cancer, he made a point of ordering his doctor to release full details of his condition to the press. Ms Fernández, who this week underwent surgery for thyroid cancer, has behaved similarly.

The odd one out is Mr Chávez. He has said that he had an operation in Cuba in June to remove a lump from his pelvic area; he insists that, after four sessions of chemotherapy, he has been cured. But he refuses to reveal what kind of cancer he had, nor have any of his doctors appeared in public to offer a prognosis. The obvious inference is that the problem may be more serious than he is letting on. Some foreign intelligence sources suggest that Mr Chávez has an untreatable sarcoma.

Democratic accountability should trump medical secrets

If this is true, he would not be the first political leader to try to hide a medical problem. François Mitterrand ruled France for 11 years while nursing prostate cancer. John Kennedy had daily injections of steroids for a rare endocrine disorder. But it is hard in today’s more open societies for such secrecy to be maintained. For instance, Indian officials have been tight-lipped about the illness afflicting Sonia Gandhi, uncrowned queen of the country’s ruling party; and the cloud of unknowing contributes to government paralysis in Delhi.

As for Mr Chávez, having largely misgoverned his country for the past dozen years, he is running for yet another six years as president in an election due on October 7th. Venezuelans have a right to know whether his health is good enough for there to be a reasonable prospect of his serving out his term. Cheery official assurances count for nothing unless backed with medical detail. This is especially important since Mr Chávez has systematically concentrated power in his own hands. His sidekicks are jockeying for position and he has started shuffling the pack of top jobs (see article).

Is that mere coincidence? Venezuela’s constitution, inspired by Mr Chávez, allows the president to change his vice-president at any time. He should now make it clear who he sees as his political heir. Continued silence will provide Venezuelans with yet another reason to vote for the opposition.

from the print edition | Leaders

Cancer and the body politic

Jan 10th 2012, 16:51

In addition to confronting the question of cancer, Hugo Chávez is still busy criticizing his self-proud anti-American Empirism, keeping the same strong willingness as what he founded the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement (MBR) in 1982. From the Economist’s articles for at least five years, Hugo Chávez was often reported for his outline of policy conflicting with the United States, depending on Venezula’s abundant oil product to earn more money. Also, he has done some land reform both in the oppsition side and while holding the power in order to adjust the economical embarassment since the tenure of former President Carlos Andrés Pérez until now. His unique socialist way is affected by Karl Marx, Noal Chomsky and Simón Bolívar.

According to NHK World, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently visits Venezuela for seeking support of present dilemma. Ahmadinejad praised Chávez as a champion of the fight against US imperialism. The Venezuelan leader responded in kind, calling the United States a threat with its ambition to rule the world. We can also see the network which Chávez is involved in from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s upcoming visit to Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador, especially Chávez’s strong personal relationship with Cuba’s Fidel Castro.

With the end of the American military mission to Iraq, and 2011’s Arabian pro-democracy action, many researchers and reporters want to find the next one to let this world be more brightness. But there is often a confused concern that this logic is whether pro-American belongs to the discuss of American democracy. In either way, American President Barack Obama and the Washington D.C. want to know whether he may be stronger enough to damage American benefit. Another example is China’s rising up. The contention is always unclear of money and right or power. Anyway, the sovereignty is more important than most of what you think of. If you use this norm, it is hard to get stuck while rethinking after any happens.

Finally, returning the matter that Economist care the most, I once met an direct affiliation under Hugo Chávez in August because of my inferior work on South American concerned (also due to my wife’s educational background in Paraguay). From this officer’s thought, I guessed Hugo Chávez might not be in bad health. Comparing with some information from Beijing in November, my advanced thought is that Hugo Chávez can keep himself in one tenure at least. He is indeed in worse situation than ever before, but there will be fewer problem after he re-elects with the high confidence from the electorate, as we see how he maintains the country for more than 12 years.

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委內瑞拉和筆者在查維茲在世還在當總統時有些往來，從1999年他上台後親北京仰賴解放軍培養陸軍，以及石油收入，近日和伊朗前總統阿瑪丹加有密切往來。就算石油價格波動，查氏的魅力仍不減當年，當年曾在美國前總統小布希任上去紐約哥倫比亞大學演講，提到緩和的反美情結和堅定自己的馬克思主義奉行者。對於現實上筆者常以為公式的錢和權擺不清，之類的問題，查氏算還能應付，有人傳言他的不久，他的內政由於繫於個人魅力而穩定，引起國際的關注。最後一段「returning the matter that Economist care the most」returning 後面要加to。當時筆者很難過的看到他的訃聞，他的下一任內政不佳又遇到石油價格大跌，近月才以石油數位券來救急。