CARACAS (Reuters) ? Venezuela celebrated the 200th anniversary of its independence on Tuesday with President Hugo Chavez back in his palace after a triumphant return from cancer surgery in Cuba that has left him weakened but defiant.
"Happy Birthday, Dear Fatherland!" the 56-year-old Chavez said via Twitter as his ministers led ceremonies to mark the bicentennial of the end to Spanish colonial rule.
Chavez's return from Havana has allowed him to reassert political control over the South American OPEC member but failed to dispel concern his condition may crimp his ability to rule or effectively campaign for a 2012 presidential vote.
In a homecoming speech to delirious supporters from the palace balcony late on Monday, Chavez said he still needed medical treatment but vowed to win his health battle.
The socialist leader had a cancerous tumor removed in Cuba and it is unclear if malignant cells have spread further.
Any complications of his illness could create political chaos in the oil-exporting nation, where there is no designated leader among his allies or adversaries to succeed the charismatic Chavez, who has dominated Venezuela for 12 years.
Fireworks blazed from various areas of Caracas as Chavez supporters marked the historic July 5 anniversary at midnight.
Fellow Latin American leftist leaders Evo Morales of Bolivia, Jose Mujica of Uruguay and Fernando Lugo of Paraguay -- himself diagnosed with cancer last year -- were due to join the independence celebrations and visit their ally Chavez.
BONDS FALL ON RETURN OF CHAVEZ
Casting himself as the successor of Venezuela's independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez has for years been building up to Tuesday's celebration, even naming some nationalized companies "Bicentennial" in its honor.
Street parties were being held across the nation, while tanks and jets were to headline a military parade in Caracas.
Chavez said he would not take part on the street, though some Venezuelans thought their ever-unpredictable leader would not be able to resist the temptation of more grandstanding.
Venezuelan bond prices had risen last week on market sentiment that Chavez's ill health might foreshadow a change of government -- but his return to Caracas stemmed the rally.
The benchmark 2027 global bond fell 2.375 points to 74.500 in trading on Tuesday, though volume was low.
Chavez's allies, known for internecine disputes and competition 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.
"You have no idea how much I cried that day," said Denis Leon, 40, a government worker, recalling Chavez's momentous announcement last week that he had been treated for cancer.
"Now all of those (opposition sympathizers) who wished him dead are the ones crying," he added.
2012 ELECTION LOOMS
Chavez 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 U.S. foreign policy has made him a hero for many leftists around the world.
But he faces a host of problems that threaten to weaken 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.
Singing, waving a flag and making the Christian sign of the cross, he thrilled the crowd in an example of the showmanship that has made him famous in Latin America and the world.
"Chavez hasn't lost his touch. He still has the magic," U.S. analyst Michael Shifter told Reuters.
"He needed to show that he was still in control, to head off infighting among Chavista ranks. He is no doubt seriously ill, and major questions loom, but his charisma, the basis for much of his support, remains intact."
Chavez's health problems have dented some of the aura of invincibility for a man famous for his nearly superhuman stamina that has allowed him in the past to speak for hours on end 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 reveling 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.
(Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago, Mario Naranjo, Girish Gupta and Diego Ore; Editing by Eric Walsh)
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