Chavez`s cancer not affecting popularity: Poll

Caracas: A poll in Venezuela says President Hugo Chavez`s public approval rating remains at 50 percent and has not significantly varied since his cancer diagnosis.

The Caracas polling firm Datanalisis surveyed 1,300 people earlier this month, giving the poll a margin error of about 2½ percentage points.

A survey in June by the polling firm had a similar result, with 52 percent expressing approval of Chavez.

Pollster Luis Vicente Leon says the President`s popularity has hovered around that level for two years.

Leon says Chavez`s June 30 announcement that he underwent cancer surgery hasn`t affected his standing. He says the results show "the illness is not a variable”.

Bureau Report