Venezuela's Chavez laughs off court's election ruling

[naaman fletcher]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/17/us-venezuela-election-idUSTRE78G1RC20110917

The opposition -- galvanized by a recent decision from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that cleared rival Leopoldo Lopez to run against Chavez -- aims to bring that revolution to an end in the October, 2012, election.

The court is part of the Organization of American States, or OAS, and its decisions are supposed to be binding. But Venezuela may keep Lopez out of the campaign just the same.

Despite being treated over the last three months for cancer, Chavez was in classic form on Saturday, breaking into song during marathon public appearances. In televised comments, he laughed the court decision off with a play on words.

"One of my haircuts is worth more than this court," he said to laughter from an audience of supporters. In Spanish, the word "corte" means "court" as well as "cut", as in haircut.