CARACAS , Venezuela ( CNN ) -- Latin American leaders assembled Monday to mark the 10th anniversary of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez 's rise to power , a period described by state-run television as `` a decade of successes . '' Venezuela 's Hugo Chavez , center , is flanked by Bolivia 's Evo Morales , right , and Nicaragua 's Daniel Ortega . Chavez and representatives of the leftist group Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas , or ALBA , walked through the National Pantheon , a square on the edge of the old town of Caracas that holds the sarcophagus of Simon Bolivar , whom Chavez credits with inspiring him as `` the father of the revolution . '' In 1819 , Bolivar founded Gran Colombia , a federation of what is now Venezuela , Colombia , Panama and Ecuador . In attendance were presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua , Jose Manuel Zelaya of Honduras and Evo Morales of Bolivia ; Roosevelt Skerrit , prime minister of Dominica ; and Cuba 's first vice president , Jose Ramon Machado Ventura . Absent was Chavez 's friend and mentor , former Cuban President Fidel Castro , who has been sick . But that did n't stop Chavez from addressing him . `` Fidel , from here I salute you , '' he said . `` Revolutionary father , from here we , your sons and daughters , salute you ! '' Chavez and his allies founded ALBA several years ago as a response to U.S. influence in Latin America . Chavez had a rocky relationship with former President George W. Bush , whom he once called `` the devil . '' Dressed in a dark suit and red tie , Chavez stopped frequently to embrace and kiss children , some of whom chanted , `` Chavez ! Chavez ! Chavez ! '' As he held Bolivar 's jewel-encrusted sword in his white-gloved hand , Chavez reaffirmed his commitment to the leftist path that has guided him : `` There is no other path to redemption for the human being than socialism , '' he said . With the day declared a national holiday , hundreds of people jammed the square to survey the pageantry . The leaders were to discuss the world economic crisis . Venezuela has been hit particularly hard by the recent drop in oil prices : Oil revenue accounts for about 90 percent of its export earnings , about half of federal budget revenue and some 30 percent of gross domestic product , according to the CIA Factbook . Chavez was elected president in 1998 , six years after a failed coup attempt to depose then-President Carlos Andres Perez . Chavez was sworn in on February 2 , 1999 . He was re-elected in a special election in July 2000 after a new constitution was adopted and again in 2006 . The new constitution limits him to two consecutive six-year terms , but the Venezuelan congress recently set a referendum for February 15 that would allow Chavez to run for a third term in 2012 . Venezuelans narrowly rejected a similar measure in a December 2007 referendum . Chavez has been campaigning hard in favor of the referendum , which he called for in November , a week after candidates he backed won a majority of seats in local elections seen as a test of his influence . Skerrit brushed aside the possibility that Chavez might lose . `` I want to say to you , my friends in Venezuela , that we will be back to celebrate the 20th , the 30th , the 40th and the 50th anniversary of President Chavez in office , '' he told Chavez supporters who braved a steady downpour to hear him . `` Chavez forever ! '' The opposition on Monday denounced Chavez 's effort to amend the constitution to get rid of term limits and criticized the declaration of February 2 as a national holiday that resulted in most stores being shut . `` Even today , as we are in this news conference , the national guard is on the streets asking who has opened their stores in order to make enough to carry food to their house , demanding and ordering their closure because today is a holiday , because we have 10 years of bad governance , '' said Tomas Guanipa , director of the opposition party First Justice . But Morales , Bolivia 's first indigenous president , credited Chavez with helping the country . `` These revolutions do n't go backward , '' he said . `` We can make mistakes , I can make mistakes , but the people do n't make mistakes . ''
Latin American leaders visit Caracas , Venezuela , for celebration . Socialism only `` path to redemption , '' Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says . Chavez trying to get constitutional change to allow him a third term .