Chavez back in Venezuela for independence bash

His return from Havana has allowed him to reassert control over the South American OPEC member but not dispelled concerns his condition may crimp his capacity to rule and prevent him from fully campaigning for a 2012 presidential election.

An aggravation of his illness could create political chaos in the oil exporting nation, where neither allies nor adversaries have designated leaders to succeed his charismatic rule, which has dominated Venezuela for 12 years.

Chavez last week shocked the nation of 29 million with a terse statement saying he had been operated on for cancer, following a 10 June operation to remove a pelvic abscess.

Chavez's allies, who are known for internecine disputes and vying for the president's attention, looked relieved and euphoric to see him back in Venezuela. Many in Venezuela had expected he could be in Cuba for weeks or even months.

The 56-year-old leader has built up broad support among the country's poor by spending oil revenues on social programs ranging from literacy courses to free medical clinics.

And his vituperative criticism of US foreign policy has made him a hero of leftists around the world.

But he faces a host of problems that threaten to weaken his domestic support including high crime, frequent blackouts, soaring prices and a lack of affordable housing – issues that made the 2012 election race look tight even before his cancer.

On Monday, Chavez made his first appearance at home in almost a month on his palace balcony, the same spot where he greeted supporters after a botched 2002 coup against him. He rallied the crowd in an example of the political showmanship that has made him famous in Latin America and the world.

Citing doctors' orders, he said he might skip Tuesday's celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence, an event central to his self-styled socialist revolution inspired by independence hero Simon Bolivar.

He has prepared for the anniversary for years.

Street parties are to be held across the nation, while tanks and jets will headline a military parade in Caracas to commemorate Venezuela's fight against Spanish colonial rule.

Chavez's physical presence again in Venezuela has helped restore some of the aura of invincibility to a man famous for nearly superhuman stamina that has allowed him in the past to speak for hours and make dozens of appearances each month.

Opposition leaders, who have spent more than a decade pillorying his personalized state-centric leadership, have struggled to develop a coherent response to his illness.

They do not want to appear to be revelling in his suffering, but desperately need to take advantage of the moment after repeatedly failing to unseat him through mass demonstrations, a failed 2002 coup and a two-month oil industry shutdown.