If Chavez were to die or resign, the vice president would serve the remainder of Chavez’s term. “If for some reason Chavez was not able to continue as president or to run in the 2012 election, it would produce a tectonic shift in Latin American politics.” “The revolution is really about one man.” Hirst, an international affairs fellow at the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations. “Chavismo without Chavez doesn’t exist,” said Joel D. Some analysts predict that if Chavez’s illness worsens, his socialist-inspired Bolivarian Revolution movement might face troubles due to the lack of a clear successor. influence and rally the radical left in Latin America and beyond. A weakened Chavez also poses potential challenges for his long-running efforts to counter U.S. His illness has created uncertainty in a political system that has been dominated by Chavez during his more than 12 years in power. Now he has yet to say whether that plan still stands. The socialist leader had previously vowed to win re-election next year and govern for another decade or more. The 56-year-old Chavez was noticeably thinner and pale as he disclosed he had two operations in Cuba, including one that removed a tumor in which there were “cancerous cells.”
Before his speech on Thursday, Venezuelans had heard only that Chavez had undergone surgery to remove a pelvic abscess. The effort to portray business as usual comes after three weeks of uncertainty in which Chavez was largely out of sight and speculation was rife that he might be seriously ill. Venezuelan state television aired prerecorded video of a meeting in Cuba on Wednesday in which Chavez was shown discussing road projects and other issues with his brother Adan, his foreign minister and a military chief. “The president is going to be (in Cuba) for the time period his doctors prescribe,” Jaua said, noting that the National Assembly has authorized Chavez to remain in Cuba for as long as needed. Vice President Elias Jaua assured Venezuelans on Friday that there was no need for Chavez to cede his duties as president.
“Those who are in charge, like the vice president, have to lead the country forward.” I feel that it’s the whole country,” she said. “It has pained me a lot, and not just me.