Chavez made the announcement as Venezuela marked the fifth anniversary of his return to office after a failed coup. Thousands of people took the streets of Caracas.

Government supporter Josefina Penalver: “Today, this march is a celebration. It’s not a commemoration, but a celebration of the return of the constitutional course, of the people who took to the streets, the revolt of a people who took to the streets for their constitutional course to be restored to them, to look for their hope, which is President Chavez.”