Venezuelan Businesses Plan Work Stoppage

Stores will close and public transportation will be idle Monday as Venezuelan business leaders stage a nationwide work stoppage to urge President Hugo Chavez to compromise on new economic legislation.

Labor unions and many newspapers also will join the 12-hour stoppage in one of the biggest challenges to Chavez since he rose to power, promising social revolution for the poor.

Fedecamaras, the business association leading the strike, represents companies that generate 90% of Venezuela’s non-oil production, which is about 60% of its gross domestic product--nearly $100 billion.

One day ahead of the work stoppage, many multinational corporations were deciding whether to close for security reasons, while small businesses were considering whether the concerns of big business were worth sacrificing a day of critical holiday-season earnings.

Last week, business leaders brushed off Chavez’s last-minute offer to have Congress review some of the most contentious laws, which the president passed under special powers allowing him to bypass parliamentary debate.