Images of Hugo Chavez shown to quell health rumours

CARACAS (Reuters) - Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hailed the release of new footage of the socialist leader as evidence he was recovering from surgery in Cuba despite speculation he may have cancer.

As rumours about Chavez's disappearance from public view since the June 10 operation reached a crescendo, both governments put out video and photographs of him walking and chatting with revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

"He's fine, you see?" said Eva Golinger, a lawyer who is a vociferous Chavez fan.

The images shown on Tuesday night do not disprove the most extreme rumour -- that Chavez has prostate cancer -- but they give weight to the official line that he is simply recovering from a painful operation to remove a pelvic abscess.

"Let these images serve to bring peace to the people of Venezuela regarding the health of President Chavez," his gleeful-looking Communications Minister Andres Izarra said, repeatedly showing the images on Venezuelan state TV.

Officials are hoping the 56-year-old will be back for July 5 when Venezuela hosts regional heads of state. The summit on Margarita island is timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence from Spain.

But one state media employee told Reuters coverage plans had been put on hold after word the president would not return on time. There was no official confirmation of that.

Famous for hogging the airwaves and giving hours-long speeches, Chavez went to ground after his surgery in Havana, triggering a wave of speculation across the politically polarized South American nation he has ruled since 1999.

DOMINANT CHAVEZ

The affair has highlighted the lack of an obvious successor for Chavez, who has utterly dominated local politics while driving forward his "21st Century Socialism" reforms.

It had also threatened to turn the Venezuelan political scene on its head before next year's presidential election.

Were Chavez to be incapacitated, there would probably be a fight for power among his closest allies and the opposition might demand immediate elections, analysts said.

Given past violence, especially around a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez, the potential for more trouble always lurks in a nation brimming with arms and political bitterness.

Some Venezuelans think the president has deliberately let the rumours grow over the last two weeks so he can smoke out the opinions and positions of both allies and enemies alike, before making a triumphant return to the rejoicing of supporters.

"This way of handling information is typical of totalitarian regimes. It creates uncertainty and rumours and can be used in a political way to benefit his return," opposition legislator Maria Corina Machado told Reuters.

"This is profoundly irresponsible."

In the images, Chavez looked thinner than usual but in better condition than photos released shortly after surgery.

He is seen walking, chatting and sitting with the former Cuban president, who is a close friend and political mentor.

Venezuelan and Cuban state media plastered the images of Chavez and Castro on front pages on Wednesday. "Onward, Comandante, your people await you!" trumpeted the Caracas daily Vea.

Both governments said more footage of Chavez would be shown at midday on Wednesday. Supporters were planning to hold a prayer service for his health at a Caracas church.

Opposition politicians in Venezuela had been careful not to speculate too much in public about Chavez's condition, preferring to accuse him of abusing the constitution by prolonging his absence without naming a temporary substitute.

That left opposition-leaning media as the ones talking up the rumours of serious ill health with the most vigour.

"The opposition have tried to look serious throughout this, but Chavez will still come back spitting blood at the 'ultra-right' for wishing him dead," said one Western diplomat in Caracas. "It's classic Chavez tactics, probably learned from Fidel Castro's political book."

Venezuelan bond prices had risen this week as some on Wall Street viewed the possibility of a major health problem for Chavez as a positive development for markets. The new images of him could prompt profit-taking.

(Additional reporting by Diego Ore and Eyanir Chinea in Caracas, Nelson Acosta in Havana; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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