Chávez Family ‘Encouraged,’ Bolivia Leader Says at U.N.
|
Version 0 of 1. President Evo Morales of Bolivia said Wednesday that Hugo Chávez, the cancer-stricken president of Venezuela and one of his closest friends, had endured “most difficult moments” and that Mr. Chávez’s doctors and family were encouraged now that he had returned home, more than two months after surgery and convalescence in Cuba. Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Mr. Morales said he had not seen Mr. Chávez while visiting Venezuela on Tuesday, a day after the Venezuelan leader’s surprise predawn homecoming. “Yesterday I tried to visit, we spoke with his doctors, he’s resting, he’s still in treatment,” Mr. Morales said, speaking in Spanish. “We talked to the family, the family fortified, of course, the presence of Chávez in Caracas, Venezuela.” President Chávez’s prolonged absence from Venezuela created deep political uncertainty in the country, and his return did little to assuage the tensions or resolve basic questions over who is in charge. He has not been seen in public and is occupying a top-floor wing of a military hospital. The tight seclusion has raised further doubts among Venezuelans over his condition, and it seemed extraordinary that even one of Mr. Chávez’s best friends and allies had been unable to see him after traveling to Caracas at least partly for that purpose. Mr. Morales was at the United Nations as part of a day of events to inaugurate 2013 as the “Year of Quinoa,” a campaign to raise awareness of the high nutritional value of quinoa, an ancient plant of the Andes that has become one of Bolivia’s most profitable export crops. Mr. Morales said even some lawyers in Bolivia had become quinoa farmers. At a news conference, a few questions turned to whether he had seen Mr. Chávez. Both leaders have a penchant for leftist rhetoric, have been strong proponents of nationalizing natural resources, and are highly critical of what they regard as Western-led capitalist exploitation in Latin America. “You know that colleague Chávez has gone through his most difficult moments,” Mr. Morales said. “There are moments, there are days, his health situation has been very, very difficult, as his ministers have informed. Returning now to Caracas is a great relief.” He said he felt that Mr. Chávez’s doctors and family “are very encouraged.” <NYT_AUTHOR_ID> <p>William Neuman contributed reporting from Caracas, Venezuela. |