Chavez hails Venezuela independence, foes fume

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez salutes militia members as he arrives for a ceremony to commemorate the eighth anniversary of his return to power after a brief coup, in Caracas April 13, 2010.

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez kicked off a national party on Sunday for the 200th anniversary of Venezuela's independence, but critics used the date to accuse him of turning the nation into a Cuban-style dictatorship.

The socialist leader -- who casts himself as the heir to 19th century South American independence hero Simon Bolivar -- was welcoming fellow left-wing heads of state, such as Cuba's Raul Castro and Bolivia's Evo Morales, through the day.

On Monday, exactly 200 years after Venezuela's initial declaration of independence from Spain, the leaders of the Chavez-led ALBA alliance of Latin American countries are to hold a summit in Caracas amid celebrations across the nation.

"Happy commemoration of 200 years of struggle," Chavez wrote in a message to the nation. "Fatherland, Socialism or Death! We will overcome!"

As well as echoing the language of his mentor Fidel Castro, the former Cuban president, Chavez has likewise presented his rule as a chance to bury the influence of capitalism.

"We're still not fully independent but now we'll finish the job," he told a group of children, some dressed as Bolivar. "A patriot has to be like Bolivar, revolutionary and socialist."

The Venezuelan president, who came to prominence in a failed 1992 coup then won power at the ballot-box six years later, has taken over Fidel Castro's role as the continent's leading critic of U.S. power.

Street-parties and special events took place all over Venezuela on Sunday. Armies of workers and volunteers -- dressed in the red T-shirts and caps of Chavez supporters -- swarmed over Caracas, sprucing up streets and buildings ahead of a military parade and other events planned for Monday.

Raul Castro said he was "overjoyed" to be in Venezuela, adding the 49th anniversary of the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was another cause to celebrate. "In the future we will celebrate the 490th anniversary," he joked.

OPPOSITION FRUSTRATION

Chavez opponents, who have only beaten him once in about a dozen votes since 1998, fumed as they saw him turn the bicentennial into a huge show of support for his government.

Some supporters of the "First Justice" party rallied at a Caracas square for an alternative "independence declaration".

"After 200 years, we are again under an odious foreign domination," its leader Julio Borges said, accusing Chavez of an "indignant submission" to the Castro brothers. "The freedom fighters 200 years ago did not fight for ... dictatorship."

Thousands of Cubans work with the Chavez government, in shanty-town medical clinics and sports training centers, plus politically delicate areas such as the security agencies.

Chavez supporters view that as a model of international cooperation, while critics say it breaches sovereignty.

Former Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez, whom Chavez failed to oust in 1992, also weighed in.

"It is not possible to celebrate when a militarized, authoritarian and pro-Communist regime, headed by a murderous coup-monger, has kidnapped the nation," he said.

Perez even compared Chavez to Hitler in his buildup of a pro-government militia. The training of teenage "communications guerrillas" -- to counter the anti-Chavez push of private media -- has divided Venezuelan opinion this week.

Venezuelan politicians are gearing up for a September assembly vote, where opposition parties hope to cut into the government's majority and show Chavez's popularity is waning.

Though opinion polls are difficult to follow in Venezuela, due to accusations of political bias, it is clear Chavez's popularity has fallen in the last year, from more than 60 percent to about 50 percent or less.

That, however, is still a relatively high rating and enough to help him win in September, analysts say. Venezuela's poor majority give Chavez high marks for social policies including free clinics and schools, and subsidized food networks.

"This idea that Chavez is losing approval and is on the way out is absolute rubbish," said pensioner Edith Valencia, eating at a state-run "socialist pancake" shop in Caracas.

"We admit not everything is perfect and it is a tough year, we even admit he has made some mistakes. But will we vote for him? You bet! I am a Chavista to the core."

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko -- both recent visitors to Venezuela -- sent congratulations for the 200th anniversary.

Chavez wants to strengthen global ties that work against U.S. dominance and would also have been hosting President Hu Jintao this weekend were it not for the earthquake in China.

(Additional reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel, editing by Anthony Boadle)