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“pugnacious” Chavez Rallies Supporters in Venezuela Poll Contest***To secure its own referendum against the 38 opposition deputies, several of whom had deserted Chavez's ruling coalition, the government side must obtain 20 percent of the registered voters in each relevant constituency.

Near the square where the president signed, his supporters fired exploding firework rockets directly into surrounding apartments where anti-Chavez protesters had beaten pots and pans on balconies, witnesses said.

Brushing aside opinion polls that show two out of three Venezuelans would vote him out in a referendum, Chavez insists he will win and serve out his term until the end of 2006.

Chavez's foes accuse him of ruling like a dictator and of trying to install Cuba-style communism. He says his self-styled "revolution," including cheap credits and land grants for the poor, seeks to distribute Venezuela's oil wealth more equally. ***