Chavez’s doctor wants him to shut up too

Over the years, a lot of people have wanted Venezuela’s loquacious president Hugo Chavez to just be quiet for a minute. The King of Spain even said “shut up” to his face one time. Now, even Chavez’s own doctor wants him to pipe down. The president will not be silenced though:  “I am a little ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
588122_090302_chavezresized2.jpg
588122_090302_chavezresized2.jpg

Over the years, a lot of people have wanted Venezuela’s loquacious president Hugo Chavez to just be quiet for a minute. The King of Spain even said “shut up” to his face one time. Now, even Chavez’s own doctor wants him to pipe down. The president will not be silenced though: 

“I am a little affected by the intensive, continuous and permanent use of this cannon I’ve got here and the doctor has told me not to talk,” Chavez said to audience laughter.

Chavez immediately responded that silence was not the best medicine for him.

“I said ‘listen friend, do what you can but how am I going to follow this treatment?’ Three days without talking? I lasted one, not even one,” Chavez said at the start of a television show he presents every week.

Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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