Venezuelan president Hugo Ch vez switched from battling cancer to fighting a re-election campaignon Monday as he formally declared his candidacy in typicallyebullient style with an open-top parade through a sea of supportersand a ten minutes singing performance. Blowing kisses and waving vigorously to the crowd as they chantedpolitical slogans and get-well wishes, the former paratroopcommander made his way to the National Electorate Office where heregistered for the 7 October elections. Amid rumours that his cancer is so far advanced that he may notsurvive until voting day, all eyes were on Ch vez's physicalwell-being but the charismatic leader surprised many of hisdoubters by walking the short distance from his open-top truck tothe registration desk. If there was any variation from the usual public appearances of thethree-time incumbant, it was that he remained closely flanked byaides rather than reaching out to the masses who are at the centerof his socialist programme. Nonetheless hundreds of thousands of red-shirted supporters,including the flag waving-urban militia, turned out to see himspeak for more than two hours. Some chanted "Ooh-Ah! Ch vez'sisn't going away!" and waved flags. Ch vez has scaled down his usually energetic schedule of ralliesand TV appearance in the past year, during which he has undergonesurgery on three occasions to remove tumors from his pelvic region. He spent most of last month in Cuba for radiation treatment.Although his precise diagnosis is treated as a state secret, thepresident said at the weekend that recent tests showed histreatment was going well. He was in good voice on Monday, when he followed up on hisregistration parade with a lengthy TV appearance that includedten-minutes of singing "joropo" folk-songs and the anthem of thearmed forces. He also accused the opposition - which he hasnicknamed the "Majunches" (or 'Insipid Ones') - of trying to sellthe country's too cheaply to multinationals. Health concerns do not appear to have dented his popularity. Pollsput him ahead of his rival, Henrique Capriles, a 39 year-old lawyerwho highlighted his own physical fitness on Sunday by walking andjogging 10km during a large rally of his supporters. "At many levels, Ch vez is battling himself," says ProfessorMiguel Tinker-Salas, a historian and expert in Venezuela at Pomona College in Los Angeles. "Many polls, including some from the opposition sectors have himwinning the election. The campaign will test whether or not Ch vezhas overcome the illness that has plagued him for the past year. Ifhe is able to mount an active campaign similar to past years itwill be difficult for Capriles to defeat him." In his appearance on Monday, Ch vez belied rumours that he is nolonger able to walk due to metastasis. But concerns persist - andnot just at street level. Last week, the veteran US journalist Dan Rather, said apresidential aide had told him Ch vez was suffering frommetastatic rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that had "enteredthe end stage" which meant he would only have a couple of months tolive. This was only partially contradicted by Eva Gollinger, a staunchCh vez supporter and editor of the English version of Correo delOrinoco who wrote in response: "Ch vez has cancer and he isbattling hard against it, with the same strength that he has usedto propel a nation forward, and very often, against insurmountableobstacles, but president Ch vez is not 'out of the game' as DanRather implies morosely". The firebrand leader - who changed the constitution in 2003 toabolish term limits - is now in a position where his mere existenceis enough to confound opponents, but he will have to show strongersigns of recovery to quash questions about his fitness to lead forthe next six years. "There is no doubt that Ch vez is the most competitive candidate,and that without him the continuity of his socialist project is atrisk, but winning the elections (without a clear diagnosis of hishealth) only extends the uncertainty the country is living in,"says John Magdaleno, a political analyst in Caracas. "The key mystery is why there is no talk about a Plan B in thegovernment," says Javier Corrales, professor of Political Scienceat Amherst University. "That is what's unusual. They are postponing, rather than solving,the possibility of chaos within the leadership.". I am an expert from jsczhy.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Sliding Seat Manufacturer , Seat Slider, Auto Seat Slide,and more.
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