Venezuelans Grumble Over Forced Vacation

(March 25) -- What's not to love about a weeklong, government-mandated Easter holiday? For Venezuelans in the midst of a national energy crisis, plenty.

With a severe drought crippling the hydroelectric plants that supply much of Venezuela's power, President Hugo Chavez took another step in promoting what he calls the country's "electricity diet," shuttering businesses and government offices for three additional days after Easter Sunday.

"It's not about lethargy, but saving energy," Chavez said.

In January the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that Venezuela could have twice the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. But Chavez has not been able to translate that underground wealth into consistent energy supplies for Venezuela itself.

The long vacation is not welcome for many Venezuelans who have been coping with rolling blackouts and strict energy rationing since December. Business leaders have reported that the energy shortage has contributed to a 25 percent fall in economic activity as industrial production suffers along with sales and employment. They say the weeklong holiday would only intensify the country's economic woes.

"We feel as if the country is shutting down bit by bit," Damiano Del Vescovo, head of the chamber of commerce in Valencia, told London's Guardian newspaper earlier this month.

There have also been complaints that the Easter break will force businesses to scramble to pay taxes before the holiday begins April 1. Vice President Elias Jaua insisted the vacation would not affect tax-filing.

Noel Alvarez, the head of an electricity committee for Venezuela's largest business association, Fedecamaras, told the Guardian that Chavez's extended vacation is not worth the fallout, saying it would not significantly cut energy consumption.

Food production will suffer ahead of the holiday, according to Carlos Larrazabal, the president of Venezuela's industry chamber, who said distributors may have difficulty delivering sufficient products to supermarkets before stopping production for a week.

While some would assume granting a weeklong vacation to his country would bolster Chavez's popularity, his "electricity diet" may have political implications when Venezuela's legislative elections come in September. His critics have argued the government failed to invest enough in the electrical sector.

With offices closed, escalators halted and air conditioners forced into the "off" mode, Venezuelans seems less interested in vacation than in keeping cool and getting back to normal.

"I can't take it anymore. It's like an oven," Nazareth Garcia, 27, a civil servant, told the Guardian. "Look at me, drenched and stinking!"