Chavez delivers 11-hour address to MPs in Caracas.

Irar-Tass - On Friday, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela made an 11-hour speech to the lawmakers in the National Assembly on his country's achievements in 2011.

He ascended the rostrum at one o’clock in the afternoon and would not come down until almost midnight. During his speech, he kept referring to his illness.

He said that following the removal of a tumour, he has recovered pretty fast, but needs to undergo a medical check-up once every four months, look after himself and eat healthy food.

Now that he’s managed to make such a lengthy speech, hardly anyone will doubt that Chavez will be able to conduct a fully-fledged election campaign ahead of the October 7th presidential election in Venezuela. His last year's address to the National Assembly was 7 hours long.