* Doctors found malignant cells in his pelvic area
* New operation due to take place in Cuba within days
* Vice President Maduro tapped as possible successor
CARACAS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
returns to Cuba on Sunday for more surgery after a recurrence of
cancer led him to name a successor for the first time in case
the disease ends his 14-year dominance of the OPEC nation.
Throngs of shocked supporters gathered in squares across the
South American country to pray for and show solidarity with the
58-year-old socialist leader, who was re-elected as president in
October.
In his first public acknowledgement that cancer could put an
end to his tumultuous rule, Chavez said Vice President Nicolas
Maduro would take over if he is incapacitated, and urged
supporters to vote for him if an election is held.
"With God's will, like on the previous occasions, we will
come out victorious," Chavez said late on Saturday from the
presidential palace next to ashen-faced ministers.
His departure from office, either before or after the
scheduled Jan. 10 start of his new term, would trigger an
election within 30 days. It would mark the end of an era for the
Latin American left, depriving them of one of their most acerbic
voices and Washington's main irritant in the region.
A clutch of Latin American and Caribbean neighbors, from
Cuba and Nicaragua to Bolivia and Ecuador, depend on Chavez's
oil-financed generosity to bolster their fragile economies.
An unruly transition from Chavez's highly centralized rule
also could raise the specter of political instability in
Venezuela, which holds the world's largest crude oil reserves.
Allies lack Chavez's famous charisma and may struggle to
control his unwieldy coalition of military and leftist leaders.
FORMER BUS DRIVER NAMED SUCCESSOR
Among them, though, Maduro - a 50-year-old, mustachioed
former bus driver and union leader - is widely viewed as the
most popular among Venezuelans, thanks to his affable manner,
humble background and close relationship with Chavez.
Speculation about Chavez's health had grown during a
three-week absence from public view that culminated in his
latest trip for medical tests in Cuba. He has undergone three
cancer operations and had two tumors removed there since June
2011.
He had twice claimed to be cured, only for the cancer to
return.
Chavez arrived in Venezuela on Friday after the latest
tests, and is due to have the operation in Cuba in the next few
days. Venezuela's National Assembly was to hold a special
session on Sunday to formally approve his trip.
Chavez said he had rejected the advice of his medical team
to have the surgery sooner, on Friday or this weekend, telling
them he needed to fly back to Venezuela to seek that permission.
"I decided to come, making an additional effort, in truth,
because the pain is not insignificant," Chavez said in a
televised address also shown live in Cuba.
The president's return to Cuba may mark the start of another
lengthy period of silence from government officials, combined
with furious rumors over what political changes might be in
store and what Chavez's actual condition is.
He has never revealed what type of cancer he has, saying
only that it was in the pelvic area. He said on Saturday that
the latest recurrence was in the same region.
Opposition leaders wished Chavez well but criticized him for
excessive secrecy and not using local healthcare.
"A president should be treated in his country. We have the
best equipment and doctors here. But we respect the fact he will
be in Cuba," one leader, Julio Borges, told local media.
He criticized Chavez for declaring himself cured prior to
the election campaign then admitting he had been unwell after
winning.
"We have the right to demand to be told the truth," Borges
said.
NEW PRESIDENTIAL VOTE?
Chavez has been receiving treatment at Havana's Cimeq
hospital as a guest of his close friend and political mentor,
former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. He is guaranteed tight
security and privacy on the communist-led Caribbean island.
The usually loquacious Venezuelan leader had sharply cut
back appearances since winning the Oct. 7 election, saying the
campaign and radiation therapy had left him exhausted.
Venezuela's constitution stipulates a new election if Chavez
leaves office, unless it is in the last two years of his
six-year term, when his vice president would take over.
Publicly naming long-time ally Maduro was a surprise.
"He is a complete revolutionary, a man of great experience
despite his youth, with great dedication and capacity for work,"
Chavez said.
Maduro's trade union background appeals to Chavez's
working-class supporters, while his years as foreign minister
provided opportunities for networking abroad.
He may win less support from the military wing of the
Socialist Party, which controls many top government posts.
The naming of Maduro sidelines Diosdado Cabello, who heads
Congress and is a former military comrade of Chavez. Perhaps
fearing in-fighting, Chavez urged unity again and again in his
comments.
"I never argue with Chavez's instructions, I obey them,"
Cabello said afterward. "I am at the service of the vice
president, at the service of the fatherland."
If a new election were needed, the opposition could be in
its best position to win since Chavez took power in 1999. Many
voters have ignored the failings of Chavez's government because
of their intense emotional connection to him.
Henrique Capriles, a state governor, lost to Chavez in the
October election, winning 44 percent support and a record 6.5
million votes for the opposition. He has broad support in
opposition ranks and could run for president again.
Although past polls have shown Capriles is more popular than
any of Chavez's allies, including Maduro, the vice president
will benefit from his boss's personal blessing.
Venezuela's widely traded bonds are likely to soar when
markets open on Monday on bets that Chavez's renewed illness
will lead to a more market-friendly government.
Chavez's cancer saga has once again distracted attention
from major national issues like state elections in a week, a
possible devaluation of the bolivar currency, and a proposed
amnesty for jailed and exiled political foes.
Messages of support for Chavez poured in from friends and
sympathizers round the region, including Colombia's FARC rebels.
"Onward, my president. I love you, we need you, not only us
but many other countries," said housewife Gladys Millan, 45,
weeping as she stood with other Chavez supporters in Caracas'
Bolivar Square for a prayer meeting.