Chávez rival's future uncertain after court ruling in Venezuela

The political future of one of President Hugo Chávez's main rivals remains unclear following a decision on Monday by Venezuela's Supreme Court that he cannot hold public office.

The decision contrasts greatly with a resolution handed down on September 16 by the Inter American Human Rights Court, which ordered the Venezuelan government to lift a two-year ban to allow Leopoldo López to run for public office.

He had been disqualified from holding office until 2014 after administrative findings showed that López had misused public funds while he served as mayor of the affluent Caracas suburb of Chacao. The highly popular López, who has said the findings against him are politically motivated, has never been put on trial or officially charged with any crime.

In their ruling, Venezuela's justices said that the human rights court order could not be applied because inter-American treaties from 1997 and a UN resolution from 2003 have determined that no bodies other than the courts of each country can impose "no limits" on sanctions, such as whether a person can hold public office.

However, the ruling was made more confusing when Supreme Court Justice Luisa Estella Morales explained at a news conference that López can "run for office and get elected" because he was not "politically disqualified." What Morales declined to answer was whether he could be sworn in if he won next year's presidential election. "This is a future and uncertain scenario that is not at this time under legal study," she said.

For its part, the Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition of opposition parties that will select one candidate in a February 12 primary, has announced that they will take the battle to the Organization of American States (OAS).

More Chávez checkups

Meanwhile, Hugo Chávez arrived in Cuba late Sunday to undergo "routine medical checkups" to determine if the four rounds of chemotherapy have eradicated all the cancer from his pelvic area, Cuba's state-run media reported on Monday. Before he left, the 57-year-old Chávez said he would "inform the people" on his return.

On Sunday, the Mexican newspaper Milenio Semanal published an interview with Chávez's former surgeon Salvador Navarrete, who said that the Venezuelan leader may only have two years to live. The doctor said his prognosis is "not good." He added: "When I say this, I mean that he has no more than two years."