Chavez scoffs at health emergency rumours

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo  Chavez today mocked a U.S. media report that he had been  rushed to a hospital with kidney failure linked to the  socialist leader’s ongoing treatment for cancer.
“I’m fine, here having my first coffee of the day,” a  sprightly sounding Chavez, 57, said in one of his regular,  lengthy dawn telephone calls to state TV.
“Those who don’t love me and want me ill, well bad luck!”
The Miami-based El Nuevo Herald reported overnight that  Chavez had been admitted to a military hospital in Caracas due  to kidney failure that left him in a dangerous condition.
The president did not specify from where he was phoning,  but insisted the latest rumours about his health were wrong.
“Last night, I heard a group of people were spreading  rumors,” said Chavez, who like his mentor Fidel Castro is now  the subject of constant speculation over his well-being.
“We must stop the speculation. I ask the Venezuelan people  to ignore these rumors. If anything happened, I’d be the first  person to tell you about any difficulty. Nothing’s happened  beyond what’s normal in the treatment process.”
Chavez has completed four chemotherapy sessions after  surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor earlier this year.
The former soldier says he is now recovering fully and will  win a new six-year term in an election in 2012. He accuses his  opponents of exploiting his illness for political gain.
“The rumours are part of their strategy, but they are going  to founder against reality,” Chavez said.
‘A MADHOUSE’
Information Minister Andres Izarra said it was  irresponsible reporters, not his boss, who needed medical  treatment. “The ones who should be admitted are the journalists  of the Nuevo Herald, but to a madhouse,” he said on Twitter.
Chavez has had to drastically cut a famously tough work  schedule. Prior to his illness, he would frequently give  speeches to the nation for up to six or seven hours, drink  dozens of cups of coffee a day, and sleep just a few hours.
The president said he was working “at half-throttle” during  his convalescence. He said that while rumors circulated about  his health on Wednesday he had been meeting his foreign  minister for a briefing on the U.N. meeting in New York.
Beyond Chavez, an inner circle of confidants and his  doctors, very little is known about the president’s precise  condition, leading analysts and medical experts to speculate he  may be putting a brave face on his treatment.
Chavez had cultivated an image of a robust, sports-loving  leader, so while his sickness has given him a small sympathy  bounce in opinion polls, it has also threatened to dent an aura  of invincibility he has built up during 13 years in power.