Anti-Chavez protesters hope a march tomorrow will see his removal, Michael McCaughan reports from Caracas
Venezuela is on the edge of a nervous breakdown as the entire population takes sides in the battle to defend or topple President Hugo Chavez, the former paratrooper turned democratic leader who has introduced radical social reforms aimed at diminishing the gap between rich and poor.
In the leafy surroundings of middle-class Parque del Este small children chanted "death to Chavez" on a school outing this week while teachers looked on impassively, unaware of any wrongdoing. In an upmarket restaurant in Altamira, a diner wondered aloud if Mr Chavez had finally been shot when a firecracker exploded outside. The entire restaurant burst into a round of spontaneous applause.
Teachers in Catholic schools dress in black to show their support for the opposition while the prestigious San Ignacio school is showing documentaries this week on how civil disobedience can overturn totalitarian dictators.
High noon has been coming ever since Hugo Chavez stepped into the presidential palace in December 1998, winning a landslide victory which buried two discredited parties that had dominated Venezuelan politics for 40 years.
Mr Chavez won the presidency but the opposition retained control of the media, the central worker's union and the employer's federation. These combined forces, with tacit US support, have made life impossible for President Chavez.
President Chavez has contributed to his own downfall with brash, aggressive speeches, surrounded himself with loyal allies rather than efficient administrators and squandered oil profits on misguided social projects.
However he remains popular among the majority poor, who have hardened their resolve to defend his administration.
In the noisy ramshackle neighbourhood of Petare, home to 600,000 poor Venezuelans, support for Mr Chavez is steady, despite the lack of material progress. "Chavez means hope," said Mr Luis Valencia, strumming a guitar as he served fruit in a small shop... "the rich are afraid of him but we will defend him to the death if necessary".
A "Bolivarian" market was in full swing, selling meat and vegetables at the lowest prices in the city. "Every Wednesday we meet the traders and set prices for the following weekend," explained Ms Coromoto Canelo, a local youth activist.
In addition each stallholder pays $2 per day for the right to trade, funds which are used to support local initiatives.
After a brief walk up a steep stairwell I came to the home of a blind woman, Ms Petra Lopez, aged 86, who lives alone, a plastic bag of clothes by her side.
A year ago drug dealers used to wander into her home, using the walls for target practise. A group of Chavez supporters, grouped into a "Bolivarian Circle", forced the dealers out, installing a heavy lock. They painted the walls and fixed the toilet. "This woman has no vote, no money, nothing to offer in return," said Ms Mariela Pineda, who lives nearby, "but now she has her dignity". President Chavez's "peaceful, democratic revolution" has rewritten the constitution in the name of the poor, while respecting the rules of the free market. Mr Chavez takes his inspiration from Simon Bolivar, an independence hero admired by all Venezuelans.
The opposition will march tomorrow on the presidential palace, repeating the mass mobilisation which ousted Mr Chavez for 48 hours in April.
The killing of 19 civilians in confused circumstances persuaded a group of army officers to turn against Mr Chavez, but evidence has surfaced to suggest the entire tragedy was a set-up by the opposition. At least 34 members of the Metropolitan police (PM), which answers to an anti-Chavez mayor, Mr Alfredo Pena, discharged their weapons the day the plot was discovered. The officer in charge of the operation killed himself soon after, inside police headquarters.
The government has announced plans to prevent tomorrow's march from reaching the presidential palace but opposition leaders have ordered supporters to ignore the ruling.
The issue that is likely to spark violent conflict, however, is the emergence of class warfare as a permanent, daily presence among the middle classes. Hundreds of businesses were looted during the April disturbances, leading Venezuela's wealthy elite to a frenzy of speculation about armed Chavez mobs planning to descend on their homes.
Residents of luxury apartment blocks on the city's horizon have held a series of meetings to organise defensive measures should D-day come. Gun shops report a run on their stocks while family outings to the majestic Avila mountainside have been replaced by target practise at the Magnum shooting range, which is now packed to capacity each Sunday.The economy continues its downward spiral, with food prices rising 20% this month.