• Submitted by: manso
• International
• 07 / 13 / 2011

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12:09pm UK, Tuesday July 12, 2011. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has tried to quell concerns about his health with pictures of himself exercising in public.Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stretches during his daily exercise routine in Caracas. Mr Chavez has a stretch during one of his exercise routines. The president is back home after cancer surgery in Cuba and his aides say he does not need chemotherapy.

Pictures taken in recent days show Mr Chavez dressed in bright tracksuits, stretching and walking with his entourage.

They appear to be aimed at dispelling fears he has grown too frail to lead.Officials have said the president is recovering well, but have not said what sort of cancer he was treated for.

Former vice president Jose Vicente Rangel said: "He is sick but he is not gravely ill." Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez walks during his daily exercise routine in Caracas. Doubts remain whether Mr Chavez is strong enough to run the oil-rich nation and have a full-scale campaign for the 2012 presidential election.

The leader had an operation on June 10 to remove a pelvic abscess, followed by a second procedure to remove a cancerous tumour.

A significant deterioration of his condition could up-end politics in Venezuela, which has been dominated for 12 years by his self-styled socialist revolution.

Since returning home, the convalescing leader has considerably scaled back his long-winded oratories, opting instead for brief television appearances.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reacts as he watches the Copa America soccer match between Venezuela and Ecuador in Caracas

The president has also been pictured watching a football match. He has also turned to philosophy and Twitter - summoning the words of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche."I find myself before my highest mountain and my longest walk," said a message on his Twitter account. "That's how Zarathustra spoke!"

The post was a reference to Nietzsche's book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book For All And None, about a prophet who reflects on his life as he descends from a mountain retreat and returns to mix with mankind.

Chavez told his aides the government must "project unity to our people amid adversity." He said: "We will live and we will win!"

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/