MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez confirms he will run for a third six-year term in 2012

The Venezuelan leader said no malignant cells were detected during the latest exam

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has pledged to run for re-election next year, dismissing speculation that cancer treatment would force him out of the political arena.

“I have not thought for even an instant of pulling out of the presidency” Chavez said in an article published Monday in the state-run Correo del Orinoco newspaper.

The article appeared two days after Chavez returned to Venezuela from Cuba, where he underwent chemotherapy for about a week.

Over the weekend, he told state-run VTV that doctors had not detected any malignant cells during a recent exam.

“Still the risk exists, and that's why I was given chemotherapy all week in several sessions” he said. “It was hard, but my soldier's body was able to withstand the small discomforts of this difficult treatment”.

Chavez announced last month that doctors had removed a cancerous tumor from his body. The Venezuelan leader has not specified what type of cancer he has.

Chavez unexpectedly returned from the Caribbean island on the night of July 23 and immediately congratulated his cabinet and Vice President Elias Jaua.

Speaking on state television from Caracas airport, he expressed “personal recognition and my political and moral support” for Jaua.

Chavez’s return and show of support for his ministers were needed to prevent the opposition and his allies from reaping political benefit amid his ill health and absence, said Margarita Lopez Maya, a professor of history at Venezuela’s Central University.

“With all the currents inside the government, it’s important that the boss show up to calm down the gossip and the pushing and shoving between groups” Lopez Maya said.

Chavez plans to run for a third six-year term as president in elections scheduled for next year. The Venezuelan president intends to remain at the forefront of his populist revolution until 2031 the Caracas-based state-run newspaper quoted him as saying.

“He used to drink 40 cups of coffee every day, which means he didn’t sleep,” Lopez Maya said. “Now he’s de-intoxicated. That will introduce changes in the government’s work. Now he is forced to delegate”.