President Chavez reveals that he needs to return to Cuba to have a lesion removed. This may prove a major hurdle in his quest for re-election. Director of the Latin American Program Cynthia Arnson argues that this will be a major factor that will make "the race even tighter" against Capriles.
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Analyst Cynthia Arnson of the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington said the new surgery seriously complicates Chavez's re-election prospects.
"It's now clear that Chavez's cancer is far from cured. Chavez's illness — his ability to campaign as well as to govern — is a major factor in the race. It erodes the aura of invincibility as well as inevitability that Chavez has always tried to create," she said.
The governing party will also be vexed as it lacks an alternative candidate with Chavez's charisma and popular following, Arnson said. She predicted the development will make "a tight race even tighter" against Capriles.
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The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
