VENEZUELA: Diosdado Cabello is re-elected as National Assembly leader, putting him in line to be the country's caretaker president if Hugo Chavez fails to recover from cancer surgery

Record ID: 187204

  • Title: VENEZUELA: Diosdado Cabello is re-elected as National Assembly leader, putting him in line to be the country's caretaker president if Hugo Chavez fails to recover from cancer surgery
  • Date: 5th January 2013
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF LAWMAKERS GATHERED
  • Embargoed: 20th January 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABJ9KGZ52EC8D98NHIPBJSS2OT
  • Story Text: Venezuelan lawmakers re-elected a staunch ally of Hugo Chavez to head the National Assembly on Saturday (January 5), putting him in line to be caretaker president if the socialist leader does not recover from cancer surgery.
    By choosing the incumbent, Diosdado Cabello, the "Chavista"-dominated legislature cemented the combative ex-soldier's position as the third most powerful figure in the government, after Chavez and Vice President Nicolas Maduro.
    Thousands of the president's red-clad supporters gathered outside parliament hours before the vote, many chanting: "We are all Chavez! Our comandante will be well! He will return!"

    "The 10th of January, Comandante Chavez, as in article 231 of the constitution, if he cannot be here for some unexpected reason he will be inaugurated in front of a tribunal of the supreme court when, it doesn't say. Where, neither does it say. And it doesn't say because it knows that it is necessary to prevent whatever contingency of this nature. Now, Comandante Chavez, the leader of the revolution, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, he has been granted a permission from the National Assembly for unanimity, and even the opposition, who were at this session, they voted to give President Chavez permission to be attended to medically," Cabello told crowds of Chavez supporters after he took the oath.

    "With the support of the people, and the saints and our prayers, comandante Hugo Chavez will be with us and this will be the truth," he added.
    If Chavez had to step down, or died, Cabello would take over the running of the country as Assembly president and a new election would be organized within 30 days. Chavez's heir apparent, Maduro, would be the ruling Socialist Party candidate.
    Chavez, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in his pelvic area in mid-2011, has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks.
    Officials say the 58-year-old is in delicate condition and has suffered multiple complications since the Dec. 11 surgery, including unexpected bleeding and severe respiratory problems.
    Late on Friday, Maduro gave the clearest indication yet that the government was preparing to delay Chavez's inauguration for a new six-year term, which is scheduled for Thursday.
    Maduro said the ceremony was a "formality" and that Chavez could be sworn in by the Supreme Court at a later date.
    The opposition says Chavez's absence would be just the latest sign that he is no longer fit to govern, and that new elections should be held in the South American OPEC nation.
    Addressing crowds outside the National Assembly, Maduro spoke of the day Chavez would return after his treatment.

    "Comandante, you are our leader, you are our president, you are our commander-in-chief, look after yourself because we want you for years to come, here in the motherland," he said.

    "We continue putting our backs, hearts and souls and minds, so that sooner rather than later, God will deliver to the greatest gift of 2013, the comandante and president here in the motherland of Bolivar in front of and leading the revolution," he added.
    Last year, Chavez staged what appeared to be a remarkable comeback from the disease to win re-election in October, despite being weakened by radiation therapy. He returned to Cuba for more treatment within weeks of his victory.
    Should the president have to step down after 14 years in office, a new vote would probably pit Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver and union leader, against opposition leader Henrique Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state.
    Chavez's condition is being watched closely by leftist allies around Latin American who have benefited from his oil-funded generosity, as well as investors attracted by Venezuela's lucrative and widely traded debt.
    The country boasts the world's biggest crude reserves. Despite the huge political upheaval Chavez's exit would cause, the oil industry is not likely to be affected much in the short term, with an extension of "Chavismo" keeping projects on track, while a change in parties could usher in more foreign capital.
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