Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said he would continue his cancer recovery through the end of this year but pledged to be fit and in form to run for reelection in the new year.
"At Christmas, I am still going to be regaining my strength (but) in 2012, break out the cavalry!" Chavez, who just finished a third round of chemotherapy after cancer surgery in June, told VTV state television.
The 57-year-old Chavez also said he might be able to be out visiting neighborhoods in late October or November. He insisted he was "not sick but recovering."
Chavez has said he underwent surgery in Cuba in June for a tumor in his pelvic area. He has not offered more detailed information on his cancer, for which he underwent chemotherapy in Cuba in July and August. His third round was done in Caracas.
Since the operation, Chavez has reduced his public appearances, lost some weight and his hair from his cancer treatment. He says he has been working on physical therapy and a recovery plan that requires him to work fewer hours than normal.
But the leftist populist, a former paratrooper and staunch critic of the United States who has been in power since 1999, says he will run in and win the 2012 presidential race for what would be his third term.
A recent Datanalysis survey gave him a 49-percent approval rating.
Opposition forces are expected to pick a candidate to run against him on February 12.