Tens of thousands rally for Chávez
Foes try to boost opposition as ties to US falter
CARACAS -- President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela rallied tens of thousands of supporters in Caracas yesterday as the socialist leader squared off with Washington in a diplomatic spat over allegations of US espionage.
In a sea of red banners and flags, state oil workers, students, and public employees marked the anniversary of a 1992 coup Chávez led as a young soldier, while his opponents marched to protest against a leader they accuse of authoritarian rule.
Ties between Washington and oil producer Venezuela hit a new low in the past week after Chávez expelled a US military attaché accused of spying and the US government responded by ordering a Venezuela Embassy official to leave.
Chávez has put himself at the center of regional opposition to President Bush, whom he calls ''Mr. Danger," while Washington brands Chávez a threat to regional stability and criticizes his alliance with Cuba.
''There is no opposition here, the only opposition is Bush and his gang in Washington," Vice President José Vicente Rangel said at the rally. ''The real modern-day Hitler is George Bush. For me he is Adolf Bush."
Marchers hoisted placards praising Chávez's social programs for the poor and bearing images of Argentine revolutionary hero Ernesto ''Che" Guevara and President Fidel Castro of Cuba as the rally snaked along a highway toward the center of the capital.
Flush with cash from high crude prices, Chávez is promoting socialist reforms at home and aggressively challenging US free-market proposals by allying himself with his South American neighbors, Cuba, and Iran.
Since his 1998 election, Chávez has clashed repeatedly with the United States, which he accuses of trying to overthrow his government.
Critics accuse the Venezuelan leader of eroding democracy by controlling institutions such as the courts.
In another part of Caracas, several thousand opposition supporters took to the streets yesterday as they tried to rally their ranks before elections in December.
''This march is motivated by heart. The one Chávez has organized is moved with money and pressure and tricks," said Antonio Ledezma, leader of the ABP party.
