After Hugo Chavez -?

It's informative to hear that revealing presidential health issues could place on in danger.

For certain.

I don't know enough about Venezuelan politics beyond Chavez. He has overshadowed parties and I wonder if he has an heir-apparent, or if his party will find their own man to step in. I find it hard to believe they would allow the system to revert to pre-Chavez rules.

Will read.

I have never thought Dan Rather to be one of the more reliable news sources on any subject. As long as he's the only one who has this story, I'll sit back and watch to see what develops. The whole thing could be a plant to discredit Chavez before the elections. (OMG! Whoever heard of such a thing! Right?)

I figured somebody would want to make the thread about Rather. I prefer to focus on Venezuela and leave that to another thread.

I don't want to make it about Rather at all. I, too, would rather discuss Chavez. But when you cite only one source, I think it's only fair to comment on that source instead of accepting it as incontrovertible fact.

Chavez hasn't tweeted in a couple of days, but yesterday he was joking (in a speech) about hooking up with Obama (and the Castro bros) to restore baseball to the Olympics.

What makes you think the posting of a story means the poster automatically accepts it all? It is intended to be a starting point for discussion.

I would say the validity of the topic is an important part of any discussion.

Chavez cannot go on forever. I am wanting to get at what happens when he is gone.

That was indicated by your title, but the text did seem to lead elsewhere.

Well, if that's the question, I don't expect improvement with any likely replacement. I don't know who that may be, but it's about typical.

New boss, same as the old boss? Probably.

His cancer (if reports are true) really is in the worst possible place. Plus, it's relatively difficult to diagnose, since symptoms don't normally reveal themselves unless there's an injury (so that doctor from Argentina could be right when he says the Cuban surgeons botched his prostate surgery).

He's not that old, though. I thought he must be like 150, but he's only 57!

I had my colon cancer surgery when I was 56. That was was more than 17 years ago.

Seven months later, he is headed to Cuba for more cancer treatment. First, he names his choice for successor.

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez returns to Cuba on Sunday for more surgery after a recurrence of cancer led him to name a successor for the first time in case the disease ends his 14-year dominance of the OPEC nation.

Supporters gathered in squares across the South American country, shocked and saddened by the news from the 58-year-old socialist leader, who made the announcement in a late-night broadcast on Saturday from the presidential palace.

I have yet to see any credible report of the specific type or location of the cancer that Chavez has developed. I believe that, in terms of relative occurrence of cancer in the abdomen; prostate, colon, bladder and connective tissue sarcoma are the most likely causes. However tha's only a statistical guess.

However, in the case of all three types, a reoccurrance this soon following chemical and radiation therapy is very strongly suggestive of metastatic aggressive disease, for which the prognosis is not good. Chavez appears healthy and vigorous in the photos relaeased to the press, however that too many not be a reliable indicator.

In the designation of his successor there was a very strong hint of resignation to a bad outcome fairly soon.

What will follow in Venezuels is something I don't feel able to guess reliably. There is strong support for the Cahvez version of socialism among its direct beneficiaries. However, the Venezuelan economy is in growing distress with falling production, a flight of domestic capital to more relaible places, and, most remarkable, falling petroleun production. It seems the many cronies Hugo has appointed to run the state oil corporation have transformed it from a once very efficient operation to an increrasingly chaotic and inept socilist bureaucracy. So far that has been the source of the funds Hugo has so lavishly doled out to friends and sup[porters. With less of it, and an accumulating perception of promises unmet, there may be trouble ahead.

The political opposition, such as it is in Venezuela, united around a young and vigorous candidate in the recent election. It will be interesting to see how the contest between him (I assume) and the designated socialist successor works out (or if there even is an election). The Army has declared that the Bolivarian Revolution is irreversable, so any of several possibilities may unfold.

Thanks.

Caracas – President Hugo Chávez delegated to Vice President Nicolás Maduro increased administrative duties on a bunch of financial areas, further sparking rumors about the real health condition of the Venezuelan leader.
In a decree issued Wednesday from his hospital bed in Havana, Chávez granted Maduro the power to perform all government functions related to budget management, credit emissions and public appropriations.
The decree also empowers the vice president to appoint deputy ministers, presidents and board members of public entities, as well as to decree expropriations, liquidate agencies, grant pensions and approve tax exempt for some activities.
The announcement came just 48 hours after Maduro reported success in Chávez's recovery, saying that he was already walking and exercising.
Chávez had passed on the duties to Maduro on Dec. 8, three days before the socialist leader underwent cancer-related surgery in Cuba. He has been silent since the operation, raising doubts among Venezuelans regarding his health.
Vice President Maduro surprised Venezuelans with a Christmas Eve announcement that President Hugo Chávez is up and walking, but the news did little to ease uncertainty surrounding the leader's condition.
Sounding giddy, Maduro told state television Venezolana de Television that he had spoken by phone with Chávez for 20 minutes Monday night. It was the first time a top Venezuelan government official had confirmed talking personally with Chávez since the Dec. 11 operation, his fourth cancer surgery since 2011.
"He was in a good mood," Maduro said. "He was walking, he was exercising."
Chávez supporters reacted with relief, but the statement inspired more questions, given the sparse information the Venezuelan government has provided so far about the president's cancer. Chávez has kept secret various details about his illness, including the precise location of the tumors and the type of cancer. His long-term prognosis remains a mystery.
Dr. Michael Pishvaian, an oncologist at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington, said the long term outlook remained poor. "The overall prognosis is still pretty poor. He likely has a terminal diagnosis with his cancer that has come back," he said.
Pishvaian and other outside doctors have said that given the details Chávez has provided about his cancer, it is most likely a soft-tissue sarcoma.
Over the weekend, Chávez's ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales, made a lightning visit to Cuba that only added to the uncertainty.
Journalists had been summoned to cover his arrival and departure in Havana, but hours later that invitation was canceled. No explanation was given, though it could have been due to confusion over Morales' itinerary as he apparently arrived later than initially scheduled.
Cuban state media published photos of President Raul Castro receiving Morales at the airport and said he came "to express his support" for Chávez, his close ally, but did not give further details. He left Sunday without making any public comments.
For the second day in a row Tuesday, Morales made no mention of his trip to Cuba during public events in Bolivia.
Yet more questions surround Chávez's political future, with the surgery coming two months after he won re-election to a six-year term.
If he is unable to continue in office, the Venezuelan Constitution calls for new elections to be held. Chávez has asked his followers to back Maduro, his hand-picked successor, in that event.
Venezuelan officials have said Chávez might not return in time for his Jan. 10 inauguration.


Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/12/26/hugo-chavez-delegates-financial-duties-to-venezuelan-vp-further-sparking-rumors/#ixzz2GCfMF700

I wouldn't be surprised if Chavez manages to get through the inaugriation and them pass the presidency on to his designated successor without an election.