Venezuelans wonder how long they can go without a president

CARACAS -- Huddled in a doorway outside the pink and red presidential palace, Alexis Le?n said he has faith that its tenant, ailing President Hugo Ch?vez, will be home soon.

Government officials insist that Ch?vez is alert and speaking to his family as he recovers from cancer surgery in Cuba. But in Caracas ? where he hasn?t been seen or heard from in more than a month ? there?s little to do but worry and wait.

?If he was my family member, I would also keep him from making any public appearances until he was completely recovered ? anything for his health,? said Le?n, 51, a theater professor. ?He?ll be back; we just have to give him time.?

But many wonder how long Latin America?s fourth-largest economy can function with its leader in absentia and incommunicado.

On Monday, the coalition of opposition parties, known by its Spanish acronym MUD, released letters sent to the Organization of American States and the Mercosur trade group asking them to weigh in on what they see as a violation of the constitution that could ?affect the stability of the region.? The coalition also asked to make its case before the permanent council of the OAS.

Despite Ch?vez?s frail health, the Supreme Court insists he is still in charge. That means that Vice President Nicol?s Maduro does not have the power to appoint ambassadors or cabinet members or sign international treaties, legal experts said.

?How long do we have to wait for the president?? asked Miriam Berdugo de Montilla, an opposition lawmaker. ?Who can tell us where the president is? What condition is he in? Where are they keeping him? Nobody really knows.?

The government says Ch?vez is in Havana being treated by an international team of experts for an undisclosed form of cancer that he?s been battling since at least June 2011. On Sunday, officials said he was alert and reacting ?favorably? to treatment for a severe respiratory infection that has plagued his recovery.

But there are reasons for concern. Last week, Ch?vez purportedly sent a letter to congress asking for permission to miss his Jan. 10 inauguration. But the letter was signed by Maduro, not the president. And when tens of thousands of Ch?vez followers crammed downtown Caracas to mark his new six-year term, there were no recorded messages from Havana, as many were hoping.

?Imagine President Barack Obama not being touch, not even a picture or proof of life for 35 days,? Russ Dallen, a Caracas-based investor and journalist told a panel in Washington, D.C. on Monday. ?It?s an amazing, amazing scenario.?

To complicate matters, the Supreme Court has turned down requests to send a medical team to Havana, and no doctors or independent observers have commented on his status. When a Brazilian diplomat visited earlier this month he called the president?s condition ?grave,? but provided no details. Argentina?s Cristina Fern?ndez de Kirchner and Bolivia?s Evo Morales have also been recent visitors, but have remained mum about his condition.

The fact that the only people talking about the president?s health have a vested interest is suspicious, said Nelson Madrid, a 59-year-old music teacher who has lost confidence in the government reports.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/14/3182668/venezuelans-wonder-how-long-they.html

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