Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is battling for his life after undergoing cancer surgery at a hospital in Cuba. However, with Chavez seemingly incapacitated to attend his own inauguration in just a few days, a constitutional catastrophe appears on the horizon for the South American nation.
Amidst cheers of support, Chavez was reelected to another term in October of 2012, but was forced to undergo yet another surgical procedure for cancer soon afterwards. Before Chavez departed for Cuba for the procedure, he delivered a speech that some considered to be his farewell. He also named Vice-President Nicholas Maduro as the country’s leader in his absence. But Chavez has since experienced a series of severe setbacks to his health and hasn’t been seen in public since the December 11th procedure, which has prompted a swarm of rumors despite the heavily guarded secret of his actual condition. Word that Chavez is suffering from a life threatening chest infection and is in the final stages of his life makes it fairly inevitable that he will be unable to attend this week’s inauguration, which would be unprecedented.
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| Chavez with Vice-President Maduro |
Chavez’s swearing-in ceremony is set for this Thursday, January 10th, but questions linger as to whether the inauguration could legally be postponed, if Supreme Court justices could be allowed to travel to Havana to administer the oath of office, or what would happen if Chavez is too ill to recite the oath or even dies.
There already appears to be a riff developing between Vice-President Maduro, Chavez’s chosen successor, and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, who wields a great deal of power within the military and who is in line to temporarily assume the presidency until a new election can be held.
Venezuelan lawmakers could grant Chavez up to 90 days of “sick time” before needing to act. But with an inaugural celebration only days away and Chavez’s health seemingly in the final stages of life, no one is really sure what may happen next.
