Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Hugo Chavez and Cancer Treatment

Hello, everyone.  It's been a while, but I'm back!  It's been a couple of busy months, and my new goal is to write a new post once a week...we'll see if that happens...

Anyway, the topic for today is: Hugo Chavez and his cancer treatment fiasco, which has blown up in the past 60 minutes, or so.  Since he last
had treatment, he's won re-election to a fourth term in office.  Strangely, soon after his election, he filed paperwork to with own country's legislature in order to leave the country for more treatment in Cuba.

My question is: did he know that he needed more treatment before the election, but kept it secret so he could win re-election first?  It would seem so, and his people are NOT happy about it.  This makes for a great case study - any volunteers to write it? - on lying, politics and the public's right to information in third-world countries.

The American Cancer Society confirms that the cure he's now seeking, hyperbaric oxygen treatment, is useful for dealing with many different ailments, but cancer is not one of them.  So why is he going to Cuba?  Are these the desperate attempts of a dying man to cling to a life that is all but gone?  And why, then, did he seek for re-election, knowing that he was still sick?  Plus, he's been keeping most of his medical information a secret.  Why?

The Marketing Take-away

If you're in political marketing, make sure you give out the correct information, because political figures make for great PR, specifically.  And while a positive spin put on a story as grave as cancer might be difficult, pretending like NOTHING is happening is the worst move possible.  Silence is never the right tactic to use with politics, because the ROI will always be negative.


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