Left-winger Chavez, who is resisting opposition calls to resign and hold early elections, went ahead with the rally despite the blast, which occurred several blocks away from where he was greeting supporters. He and the crowds around him were not immediately aware that it had taken place.

Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno told Reuters a 45-year-old man was killed on the spot and 14 other people were taken to hospital, most suffering from shrapnel injuries.

"It was apparently an explosive device," he said. No one claimed responsibility and police were investigating.

The blast marred what had been a peaceful demonstration called to show support for Chavez and oppose the opposition strike, which has ground on for more than seven weeks, slashing oil output by the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup last year, has vowed to beat the shutdown.

"The people don't want war or violence," he told the rally. Condemning his striking opponents as a "coup-mongering oligarchy" he said: "They need to be aware that the people will do whatever is necessary to defend ... their revolution."

At least six people have been killed in clashes since the strike began Dec. 2. To avoid confrontation Thursday, opposition supporters stayed at home, following instructions from their leaders.

International Concern

The explosion occurred on the eve of the first meeting in Washington Friday of a six-nation "friends group" created to back efforts to solve the Venezuela crisis by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria.

The group, comprising the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Portugal, are due to hear proposals by former U.S. president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter for elections to end the conflict between Chavez and his foes.

Chanting "Hey, hey, Chavez is here to stay," his supporters had earlier marched in their thousands through the city. The government brought many of them by bus from other cities.

Several carried Cuban flags and portraits of the guerrilla legend Ernesto "Che" Guevara, reflecting the left-wing ideology that permeates the president's self-styled "revolution."

"We have to support our president," said Chavez supporter Atilio Mata, a 50-year-old grocer.

The 53-day-old opposition shutdown has choked off the government's oil income, triggering a fiscal crisis and forcing the government to temporarily suspend foreign currency trading and slash budget spending for 2003. The Central Bank is preparing foreign exchange controls to stem a sharp slide in the bolivar currency and falling international reserves.

Supplies of gasoline and some food items have been disrupted, causing anger and frustration among the population.

The cut in oil exports has helped push up the price on international markets at a time when it is already high because of fears of a possible war in Iraq, another major producer.

But, despite the economic damage caused by the strike, Chavez has insisted he is winning what he calls the "oil war."

Oil Output Creeping Back

Following an initial plunge after the strike began Dec. 2, Venezuela's oil production has been steadily creeping back up as the government slowly restarts oil fields and refineries.

The strikers put output Thursday at 812,000 barrels per day (bpd), or 25 percent of normal capacity. The government says production is already running at more than 1 million bpd.

Chavez has proved many pundits wrong by holding out so long. "I think he's winning this round ... his strategy is to wear down the opposition and wait. It's a war of attrition he thinks he can win," Michael Gavin, Head of Latin American Economic Research for UBS Warburg, told Reuters.

The president, who appears to have the backing of the military, has sent troops to take over strike-hit oil sites and raid food plants he alleges are hoarding products.

Opposition hopes of testing Chavez in a national vote next month were dashed Wednesday when the Supreme Court suspended a nonbinding referendum on his rule planned for Feb 2.

Opposition leaders accused the tribunal of bias. They said the ruling showed how the president had taken over the nation's democratic institutions and was ruling like a dictator.

Chavez tells foes they should wait until Aug. 19, halfway through his term, when the constitution allows for a binding referendum on his rule, which is due to end in early 2007.

The negotiating proposals made by former U.S. president Carter to Chavez and his foes offer two options: one for an amendment to Venezuela's constitution that would trigger early elections and the other for the Aug. 19 referendum.

The United States, hit by the loss of more than 13 percent of its oil imports because of the Venezuela crisis, Thursday endorsed Carter's proposals. "We consider the situation in Venezuela still to be very tense ... and the urgency of reaching a peaceful solution remains," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.

(China Daily January 25, 2003)