* Says headed for 2012 presidential election win

* Criticizes speculation he has made up cancer tale

CARACAS - Venezuela's convalescing President Hugo Chavez laughed off talk of succession on Wednesday and lashed out at speculation his cancer diagnosis was made up to boost his popularity.

"They say I'm putting on a show; it's they who are putting on a macabre show," said Chavez in another TV appearance that has marked a growing public presence since two trips to Cuba for surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then chemotherapy.

The ever-theatrical Chavez loudly patted his stomach to show he was not wearing a colostomy bag, responding to one theory doing the rounds that his problems are intestinal.

Though no leading opposition figures have publicly suggested Chavez's version of his cancer is untrue, precise medical details have been scarce, and Venezuelans have been endlessly speculating about what condition the president has.

Some in the militant anti-Chavez circles have been muttering that the cancer story is a ploy to boost his prospects ahead of 2012 when he plans to seek re-election in the South American OPEC member he has dominated for 12 years.

"Some of the spokesmen for the squalid ones, the counter-revolution, the right wing, capitalism and the empire ... first they were celebrating because Chavez was dying," he said, laughing. "Now they say I'm making it up."

In a buoyant mood ahead of his 57th birthday on Thursday, Chavez also mocked another topic of national speculation: who might replace him if he becomes incapacitated.

"Hey Adan, you look well-shaven, dressed up, I can see you're preparing for the succession," he said in a TV linkup with his older brother Adan, a governor of Barinas state who has been something of an ideological mentor to the president.

"I'LL WIN IN 2012"

Some have also said that Chavez's daughter, Maria Gabriela, who is an unofficial First Lady, could be a possible successor.

"Don't mess with my daughter," Chavez said. "I am the candidate for the 2012 elections and I'm going to win again."

In a flurry of TV and radio appearances, plus brief attendances or phone-ins to public ceremonies, Chavez has sought in recent days to show he remains firmly in control of government, is recovering and will be fit to seek re-election.

"Fortunately, among all the scenarios, we're seeing the best one, the best recovery scenario," he said, adding that second and third chemotherapy sessions awaited him soon.

"For sure, within a few days you will see Chavez bald," he said in a telephone call to a business meeting in Caracas, referring to a common side effect of the cancer treatment.

"The hair starts falling out for a few months. It's tough."

Though declaring that his operation removed all the malignant cells and no others have been found, Chavez has said he must delegate more, follow a strict medical regime and tone down his famously micromanaging style of leadership.

But the somber and almost fatalistic tone of his first days after announcing the cancer -- when he chided himself for neglecting his health and said he had seen the "abyss" -- seem to be giving way to his old folksy and self-confident style.

"I say to all Venezuelans, however many difficulties there are, we will get through!" he told the business meeting.