Caracas - Shops, businesses and banks across Venezuela stayed closed yesterday at the start of a one-day strike called by business and labour groups to protest against President Hugo Chavez's left-leaning policies. In the biggest show of public opposition to the outspoken president in his three years of rule, Caracas, one of Latin America's most bustling capitals, woke to the unusual sight of light traffic on its avenues and streets of shuttered shops.
Television and radio stations also reported apparently strong support for the national 12-hour shutdown in other cities.