Venezuelan president's illness makes supporters ponder life without him

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Since Hugo Chavez became Venezuela's president more than 12 years ago, he's been a constant presence in the lives of Rosiri de Blanco and her family.

The 41-year-old mother of four has loyally watched Chavez's weekly TV program "Hello, President" and received subsidized food from the popular markets his government set up.

When her hillside slum home was damaged in a mudslide in November, she and her neighbors moved into a public housing complex covered with posters of the charismatic leader.

Then, without warning nearly four weeks ago, t he ever-present "comandante" disappeared from public sight.

De Blanco and her fellow evacuees in the Conde housing complex are now discussing what would have been unthinkable just a month ago: the possibility of a Venezuela without Chavez.

"Without Chavez, there's nothing," de Blanco said as she and her neighbors prepared to hold a small Mass for the president's recovery in their building's courtyard.

"It's necessary to think about him, but it's necessary to have a positive attitude. We are asking God that Chavez leave all this behind him."

Despite the president's return from Cuba on Monday, his health and political future remain very much in doubt as he recovers from a June 20 surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pelvic region.

The 56-year-old leader appeared fatigued during his speech to thousands of supporters Monday afternoon from a balcony of the presidential palace.

He himself admitted during the address, "No one should believe that my presence here ... means that we've won the battle. No, we've begun to climb the hill. We've begun to beat the illness that was incubated inside my body."

Talk about Chavez's future is buzzing across this bustling capital city, as newspapers, radio programs and conversations on the street weigh questions of succession and the fate of Chavez's socialist-inspired Bolivarian Revolution.

De Blanco said she wept the night of June 30 when she watched a thinner, weakened Chavez reveal his medical state for the first time.

For much of the past month, Venezuelans had the unusual experience of seeing little of Chavez publicly. He arrived in Cuba on June 8 for what his government said was a scheduled visit.

Chavez hasn't said what type of the disease he was fighting or reveal his prognosis for the future.

Chavez supporters in Caracas have tried to keep the president in the spotlight by holding daily rallies wishing him a quick recovery.

Over the weekend, hundreds of children and their parents marched through the center of town waving signs printed with slogans such as "We'll have Chavez for a while" and "You are my inspiration." They finished in a park and wrote notes to their president on a wall topped with the words "A Rainbow of Love for Chavez."

Government news media have joined in by running ads blaring an administration slogan: "Onward, Commander."

Computer programmer Carlos Rivas, 38, said he's enjoyed the break from his ever-present leader.

"I feel more peaceful without Chavez talking everyday," Rivas said. "He's mortal like anyone else. A Venezuela without Chavez is possible."

For de Blanco and her fellow evacuees, the uncertain fate of Chavez's government has sparked worries that they could lose benefits such as government-subsidized food and shelter.