An Eerie silence enveloped Venezuela on December loth, as every city in the country came to a standstill. Offices, factories, schools, shops and other businesses remained closed and shuttered in a 12-hour stoppage called by the private sector, and backed by the main labour confederation, in protest at a bundle of laws decreed by the increasingly authoritarian government of President Hugo Chavez. With the president showing no sign of backing down, Venezuela looks to be heading for an extendedperiod of political turmoil and confrontation.
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