Marchers Rally for Ailing Chavez on Democracy Anniversary

Thousands of Venezuelans marched in support of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez in Caracas Wednesday on the anniversary of the day the country's last dictator was overthrown.

Meanwhile, an opposition planned a separate rally for later in the day, marking the same anniversary in 1958 -- when Marco Perez Jimenez was ousted -- but from a different perspective.

The opposition has seized on the date to protest the way the government has handled Chavez's prolonged absence and medical condition after his fourth round of cancer surgery in Havana on December 11.

The Venezuelan leader was too sick to attend his scheduled inauguration on January 10, prompting the government to delay the swearing in indefinitely under an interpretation of the constitution vehemently criticized by the opposition.

The Chavez-controlled National Assembly and Supreme Court both approved the arrangement, which keeps his administration in place under Vice President Nicolas Maduro until Chavez can take the oath of office for his fourth term.

Opposition lawmakers initially called for a massive demonstration on the January 23 anniversary, but scaled back the scope of their protests after the ruling party countered by calling Chavez supporters to march on the same day.

Meanwhile, Chavez himself has not been seen in public since December 10 and official information about his health has been sketchy. But Venezuelan officials have said in recent days they are encouraged by his progress.

Bearing flags and clad in red shirts with the phrase "Chavez is all of us," the pro-government demonstrators came in three columns from the city's center and west towards the January 23 neighborhood of the capital, where the main event was planned.

"The goal is to confirm the people's commitment to President Chavez, for support wherever he may be, however he may be, and so the world will know that the seed he planted is growing and will continue to grow," Audrey Ramirez, 43, a state bank employee, told Agence France Presse.

"We are with Chavez because he is the only president who has, for 14 years, fought for the people -- because he is one of the people. We are with Hugo because we are Hugo," Nora Machado, 44, said.

In a sign that Chavez's health status may be improving, Maduro predicted on Sunday that the president would return home soon, and Bolivian President Evo Morales said Chavez was undergoing physical therapy in preparation.

Before Chavez first took office in 1999, "democracy for Venezuelans was tied to freedom of expression and electoral participation," political pollster Oscar Schmel explained.

"But in recent years, there has been a reframing of the idea of democracy as a system that provides social inclusion -- and that is what's most important to the majority," he explained.

But the opposition is using the January 23 anniversary to make a pitch for its vision of democracy.

"La Mesa de la Unidad is an achievement of Venezuela and its democratic calling," a leader of the 'La Mesa' opposition coalition, Ramon Guillermo Aveledo, wrote in the Ultimas Noticias newspaper.

The opposition is "a fighting instrument in the service of all the country ... To strengthen, improve, expand, open its doors to better unite the group is the constant fight of every day," he wrote.