Chavez Set on 2012 Re-Election Bid Despite Cancer

Posted July 25th, 2011 at 4:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says in a new interview that he will seek another six-year term next year even as he struggles to overcome cancer.

President Chavez made the remark in an interview published Monday in the government newspaper Correo del Orinoco. The president said he has not thought for a moment about leaving his post and that he would have left the job if he had valid health reasons to do so. Mr. Chavez said he is pursuing his candidacy with more strength than before.

Mr. Chavez returned to Venezuela Saturday after a week of chemotherapy in Cuba where he was operated on last month to remove a malignant tumor.

Mr. Chavez said he returned home in better condition than when he left. The president has not said what kind of cancer was being treated. He turns 57 this Thursday.