CARACAS, - Looking stronger after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he felt reborn, phoenix-like, on his 57th birthday, in a sign the socialist believes he is overcoming his illness.
"I've arrived at 57 being reborn, a new life, my eternal return," said Chavez, who opponents accuse of having messianic tendencies. In the past he triumphantly came back from a failed coup he led and a putsch that briefly drove him from power.
"I'm like the phoenix, I've returned to life," he said during a phone call to state TV from the presidential palace, where a cockerel crowed in the background.
He said he expected the tough stage of his illness to be over by year-end and invited Latin American presidents to a December summit he had earlier canceled for health reasons.
A former soldier whose greatest victory was the collapse of a 2002 military rebellion after massive popular protests demanded his return, Chavez has used the 10 years since to nationalize much of the economy of the major U.S. oil supplier.
Chavez vowed to beat the cancer and said he was happy and healthy despite preparing himself for a second bout of chemotherapy, in an interview shown on state broadcaster VTV.
He said, "I am now like the phoenix. A new life is born in me. [This is] a sublime birthday, fueled by many people, love and affection. And I invite you to the 67th."
After returning to Venezuela on Saturday, the populist leader said that he was "in better condition than when I left" and vowed to carry on his political duties.
Chavez, who did not specify which type of cancer he has, underwent two surgeries in Cuba last month -- one to remove a baseball-sized cancerous tumor and the other to treat a pelvic abscess.
Before going abroad for medical care, the 56-year-old former army officer handed a few of his presidential functions to Vice President Elias Jaua and Finance Minister Jorge Giordani, including some budgetary duties and greater oversight of government expropriations.
Throughout his treatment, Chavez so far remained publicly upbeat and declared Saturday that "doctors did not find any malignant cells in any part of my body." However, he warned that a relapse was possible and is expected to undergo a second round of chemotherapy, possibly in Brazil.
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