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| Chávez Returns to Venezuela, Trailing Doubts | |
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| CARACAS, Venezuela — In a surprise predawn homecoming, President Hugo Chávez returned to Venezuela on Monday more than two months after having cancer surgery in Cuba, potentially clearing up some of the legal questions that have roiled the nation during his long absence but doing little to dispel the deep uncertainty over who is running the country. | |
| Mr. Chávez’s plane touched down around 2:30 a.m., according to Vice President Nicolás Maduro, and Mr. Chávez was immediately taken to a military hospital in Caracas. Employees there said he was installed as the only patient on the top floor of one wing. Members of the presidential honor guard, with their red berets, guarded the hospital’s lobby, elevators and floors. | Mr. Chávez’s plane touched down around 2:30 a.m., according to Vice President Nicolás Maduro, and Mr. Chávez was immediately taken to a military hospital in Caracas. Employees there said he was installed as the only patient on the top floor of one wing. Members of the presidential honor guard, with their red berets, guarded the hospital’s lobby, elevators and floors. |
| Unlike Mr. Chávez’s other returns from treatments in Cuba, this was hardly a triumphant arrival. There were no television images or photographs of him descending from the presidential plane in a track suit and greeting officials on the tarmac, as there were in the past, raising questions about whether the government was seeking to keep a severely weakened president out of public view. | Unlike Mr. Chávez’s other returns from treatments in Cuba, this was hardly a triumphant arrival. There were no television images or photographs of him descending from the presidential plane in a track suit and greeting officials on the tarmac, as there were in the past, raising questions about whether the government was seeking to keep a severely weakened president out of public view. |
| “The only thing that has changed is the location of his seclusion,” said Vladimir Villegas, a former ambassador for Mr. Chávez’s government. “The uncertainty is the same. Nothing is certain.” | “The only thing that has changed is the location of his seclusion,” said Vladimir Villegas, a former ambassador for Mr. Chávez’s government. “The uncertainty is the same. Nothing is certain.” |
| For the last two months, Venezuela has been in a state of suspense, with Mr. Chávez out of sight and the government insisting that he continued to run the country from a hospital bed in Cuba while the political opposition demanded proof that he was capable of doing so. | For the last two months, Venezuela has been in a state of suspense, with Mr. Chávez out of sight and the government insisting that he continued to run the country from a hospital bed in Cuba while the political opposition demanded proof that he was capable of doing so. |
| As news of his return spread, small groups of supporters took to the streets, setting off fireworks, chanting and painting his name on passing cars and buses. But the moment everyone had been waiting for was anticlimactic: Mr. Chávez remained sequestered, just as he had been for weeks. Beyond his ability to travel, there was little indication that his health had taken a significant turn for the better or that he could soon resume his place at the head of the nation. What might have been a sign of recovery instead provided further evidence of continued fragility. | |
| Until now, the government has studiously avoided talking about the possibility of holding an election to replace Mr. Chávez. But on Monday, a government-run newspaper, Correo del Orinoco, ran a banner front-page headline saying that Mr. Maduro, who is Mr. Chávez’s designated successor, would win an “eventual presidential election” — a shift in tone that analysts viewed as particularly significant. | |
| Last Friday, government officials announced for the first time that Mr. Chávez, known the world over for his volubility, now had difficulty speaking because of a tube inserted in his trachea to help him breathe. His son-in-law, Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, said Mr. Chávez had lost his “characteristic voice” but still participated in meetings with top officials and had made every important decision in his government since leaving for surgery. He said Mr. Chávez sometimes writes notes and manages to make himself understood. | Last Friday, government officials announced for the first time that Mr. Chávez, known the world over for his volubility, now had difficulty speaking because of a tube inserted in his trachea to help him breathe. His son-in-law, Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, said Mr. Chávez had lost his “characteristic voice” but still participated in meetings with top officials and had made every important decision in his government since leaving for surgery. He said Mr. Chávez sometimes writes notes and manages to make himself understood. |
| Such assertions have been met with disbelief by opposition leaders, who say that a man who is too sick to appear or speak to the nation cannot be capable of leading. | Such assertions have been met with disbelief by opposition leaders, who say that a man who is too sick to appear or speak to the nation cannot be capable of leading. |
| Even some Chávez supporters have voiced skepticism. When officials said a major currency devaluation announced this month had been approved by Mr. Chávez directly, they showed a signed document to prove it. | Even some Chávez supporters have voiced skepticism. When officials said a major currency devaluation announced this month had been approved by Mr. Chávez directly, they showed a signed document to prove it. |
| “If he was sick, how did he sign it? That’s what doesn’t convince me,” said José Alberto Fernández, an ardent Chávez supporter who sold plantains on a street corner a few blocks from the military hospital. He said he did not have faith in Mr. Maduro or the other officials running the government and was elated to have the president back on home soil. “We need a leader,” he said. | “If he was sick, how did he sign it? That’s what doesn’t convince me,” said José Alberto Fernández, an ardent Chávez supporter who sold plantains on a street corner a few blocks from the military hospital. He said he did not have faith in Mr. Maduro or the other officials running the government and was elated to have the president back on home soil. “We need a leader,” he said. |
| Beyond orating, singing, reciting poetry and lecturing on television for hours at a time, Mr. Chávez would communicate to the nation through Twitter. But even that fell silent soon after he was re-elected to another six-year term on Oct. 7. On Monday, however, his account was suddenly active again. | Beyond orating, singing, reciting poetry and lecturing on television for hours at a time, Mr. Chávez would communicate to the nation through Twitter. But even that fell silent soon after he was re-elected to another six-year term on Oct. 7. On Monday, however, his account was suddenly active again. |
| “We have arrived again in Venezuela,” said the first of three posts, which appeared at 3:42 a.m. “Thank you, my God!! Thank you, beloved people!! We will continue treatment here.” | “We have arrived again in Venezuela,” said the first of three posts, which appeared at 3:42 a.m. “Thank you, my God!! Thank you, beloved people!! We will continue treatment here.” |
| Later, Mr. Maduro announced that Mr. Chávez had surpassed four million followers on Twitter after his posts went up on Monday. Then on television, he presented a 20-year-old woman, Rosnaty Jiménez, and identified her as the president’s four millionth Twitter follower, saying her prize would be a new home and a new job for her mother. | |
| Mr. Chávez’s health remains the biggest question mark. His return raised the question of whether he will now be sworn in for the new term that started on Jan. 10, while he was incommunicado in Cuba. His absence for the start of his term set off a constitutional controversy, but the Supreme Court said he could be sworn in later. | Mr. Chávez’s health remains the biggest question mark. His return raised the question of whether he will now be sworn in for the new term that started on Jan. 10, while he was incommunicado in Cuba. His absence for the start of his term set off a constitutional controversy, but the Supreme Court said he could be sworn in later. |
| Once he is sworn in, he could reappoint Mr. Maduro and other cabinet members, clearing up lingering questions about the legitimacy of the top government officials who have been running the country in his absence. Some constitutional experts had warned that their mandates had ended with the president’s last term. | Once he is sworn in, he could reappoint Mr. Maduro and other cabinet members, clearing up lingering questions about the legitimacy of the top government officials who have been running the country in his absence. Some constitutional experts had warned that their mandates had ended with the president’s last term. |
| But what comes after that remains uncertain. If Mr. Chávez dies, resigns or is incapacitated, the Constitution says that a special election should be called to replace him. Before leaving for his surgery in December, he named Mr. Maduro as his political heir and said that if anything happened to him, Mr. Maduro should be elected in his place. | But what comes after that remains uncertain. If Mr. Chávez dies, resigns or is incapacitated, the Constitution says that a special election should be called to replace him. Before leaving for his surgery in December, he named Mr. Maduro as his political heir and said that if anything happened to him, Mr. Maduro should be elected in his place. |
| “The return of the president in delicate health, running certain risks, evidently has political motives,” said Elsa Cardozo, a political science professor at the Central University of Venezuela. “It would appear that the president is not in any condition to begin a new term and that his presence here is meant to reinforce a political campaign for Maduro.” | “The return of the president in delicate health, running certain risks, evidently has political motives,” said Elsa Cardozo, a political science professor at the Central University of Venezuela. “It would appear that the president is not in any condition to begin a new term and that his presence here is meant to reinforce a political campaign for Maduro.” |
| But officials on Monday refrained from saying what would happen next and did not immediately provide new details about Mr. Chávez’s condition. | But officials on Monday refrained from saying what would happen next and did not immediately provide new details about Mr. Chávez’s condition. |
| “He remains in a very delicate and complex situation,” Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a radio interview conducted by his brother, the former ambassador, who has a daily program. He avoided answering directly when he was asked if there were plans for Mr. Chávez to take the oath of office. “We have him here,” he said, “and we celebrate this small victory.” | “He remains in a very delicate and complex situation,” Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said in a radio interview conducted by his brother, the former ambassador, who has a daily program. He avoided answering directly when he was asked if there were plans for Mr. Chávez to take the oath of office. “We have him here,” he said, “and we celebrate this small victory.” |
| Mr. Chávez has had four operations for cancer since June 2011. Mr. Arreaza, his son-in-law, said Friday that he was undergoing palliative treatment. | |
| On the front of the red-and-cream-colored hospital, in a run-down section of Caracas, was a huge banner with the words “Revolution, Independence, Health or Nothing” and a two-story-tall picture of Mr. Chávez’s face. | On the front of the red-and-cream-colored hospital, in a run-down section of Caracas, was a huge banner with the words “Revolution, Independence, Health or Nothing” and a two-story-tall picture of Mr. Chávez’s face. |
| From an internal parking lot, it was possible to see the part of the building that employees said had been set aside for the president, with the blinds drawn on most windows. Inside, the upper floors of the hospital were clean and hushed, with pale green walls. | From an internal parking lot, it was possible to see the part of the building that employees said had been set aside for the president, with the blinds drawn on most windows. Inside, the upper floors of the hospital were clean and hushed, with pale green walls. |
| But a hospital employee, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the quiet routine would soon be altered by the comings and goings of the powerful. | But a hospital employee, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the quiet routine would soon be altered by the comings and goings of the powerful. |
| “This is going to become the new center of government,” he said. | “This is going to become the new center of government,” he said. |
María Eugenia Díaz contributed reporting. | María Eugenia Díaz contributed reporting. |