Strike fault line divides Venezuelan capital

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Thousands of holiday shoppers throng the streets of working-class western Caracas, where a general strike designed to oust President Hugo Chavez seems a figment of the imagination.

Meanwhile, in well-to-do eastern Caracas, the work stoppage is very much real, with shops and restaurants closed, the sidewalks mostly devoid of pedestrians.

Entering its fourth week on Monday, the strike has cut a fault line through the center of the capital, creating two cities that look nothing alike and underscoring political divisions.

Western Caracas is a Chavez stronghold, and its bustling streets help explain why Chavez is certain the strike will fail. Merchants here gave up the strike within days after it began Dec. 2 -- if they heeded it at all.

Many shop managers and street vendors dismiss the strike as a conspiracy by the rich to prevent Chavez from distributing the nation's oil wealth among the majority of Venezuelans who are poor.

"I'm sure the leaders of government and the wealthy have full bellies, so why should we be the ones to suffer by going on strike?" asked Elsa Parra, assistant manager of a purse and jewelry shop.

Making money

Others broke the strike reluctantly, saying they're barely making ends meet and need to make some money during the Christmas buying season.

In some cases, their customers are residents of eastern Caracas, who must use scarce gasoline to drive to the west to go shopping.

Chavez's government even held a weekend "Megafair" at a Caracas arena "for the people who are prevented (from buying) in some eastern parts of the city," said Agriculture Minister Efren Andrades Linares.

Downtown Caracas, part of the western half of the city, has been converted into a huge bazaar by thousands of sidewalk stands -- a stark contrast to the ghost-town feel of eastern shopping districts.

Incense from a stand mixes with the smell of hot dogs being sold nearby. Salsa music blares from huge boom boxes at stands selling music CDs, some of them pirated.

The stands spill into the street, pinching the flow of traffic. An endless stream of people squeezes between stalls, examining jeans, dresses, cell phones, video games, remote-control toy cars, sunglasses, shoes and caps.

"There's a strike on, but, hey, it's Christmas and we need to buy gifts," said Nancy Gonzalez as she and her husband bought an electronic keyboard in western Caracas for their son.

The strike comes at a time when retailers are already being hit hard. Venezuela's economy shrank 6 percent in the first nine months of the year.

"Business is horrible," moaned Conchita Valenti, who owns a jewelry and watch shop in the Sabana Grande neighborhood, near the city's fault line.

"People don't have money. Before, we used to sell plenty of Rolex and Longines watches. Now we sell lots of Swatch watches."

The fault line runs along the western edge of the upscale Chacao district, which has a plaza where dissident military officers denounce Chavez and stage rallies. Chavez's opponents accuse him of mismanaging the economy, polarizing Venezuelan society and trying to impose a Cuban-style dictatorship. Chavez rejects the charges.

Chacao boasts the Sambil shopping mall -- one of the biggest in Latin America -- but its hundreds of businesses are closed. No one has bothered to remove a huge sign hanging from the mall that proclaims it open until 11 p.m. every day until Dec. 30.

Sambil's 58 escalators are frozen, the piped-in Christmas carols turned off. Usually packed with shoppers, its halls are patrolled by a couple of security guards.

Isabel Yanez, who owns a formal wear shop in the mall, said she and other merchants were determined to stick with the strike, no matter how long it lasts, until Chavez resigns or agrees to early elections.

"This is the peak season for me," Yanez said. "But I would rather be closed for 30 days and lose some money than to have a Communist country for 30 years."