Tens of thousands of chanting supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez rallied outside his presidential palace Thursday, January 10 in an exuberant alternative inauguration for a leader too ill to return home for the real thing, AP reported.

Backers wearing T-shirts with the slogan "I am Chavez" waved flags while upbeat music from Chavez's last presidential campaign blared from speakers, proclaiming: "Chavez, heart of the people!"

The government organized the unusual show of support for the cancer-stricken leader on the streets outside Miraflores Palace on what was supposed to be his inauguration day. With Chavez out of sight in a Cuban hospital fighting a severe respiratory infection more than a month after cancer surgery, his swearing-in ceremony has been indefinitely postponed, despite opposition complaints.

The government invited leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean to add political weight to the inauguration without an inauguree, while the domestic opposition demanded details about Chavez's state and called the delay of the formal swearing-in a violation of the constitution.

Presidents attending from allied countries included President Jose Mujica of Uruguay, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.