Venezuelan Congress Speaker "surprised" at Chávez's "new lesion"

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Psuv) remarked on Wednesday that the finding of a new "lesion" in Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez changes nothing at all and the president "will be and continue being" their candidate in the presidential election next October 7.

"We will not change the schedule at all. President Chávez is and will continue being our sole candidate ahead of the election of October 7. He will remain the chief, the leader of the Bolivarian revolution," exclaimed during a press conference Diosdado Cabello, the Speaker of the National Assembly (AN) and Psuv vice-president, Efe quoted.

He added that he was surprised to hear Chávez saying that he would undergo surgery again in the upcoming days after the finding of a "new lesion" on the same site where he was removed a cancerous tumor eight months ago.

"The president has directly reported on his disease and for us, who follow and love the commander, the news took us unawares and made us very sad," Cabello bemoaned.