Poll Shows Chavez's Cancer not Affecting Popularity

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 2.5 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."