Chavez announced Wednesday that he has designated the three days after Easter Sunday as days off. Coupled with Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, already holidays, Venezuelans will now have an entire week off from work.

“It's not about lethargy, but saving energy,” the president said.

The socialist leader's announcement irked Venezuela's business community. Chamber groups said the decision would disrupt industrial production, interfere with tax deadlines and possibly cause shortages of some foods that are already scarce.

Noel Alvarez, who heads an electricity committee for Venezuela's largest business chamber, Fedecamaras, said the measure will not significantly curb power consumption and businesses will have to scramble to pay taxes by the April 1 deadline.

Vice President Elias Jaua said the decree would not affect food producers, restaurants, hotels, pharmacies and banks, where businesses and citizens file their taxes.

Carlos Larrazabal, president of Venezuela's industry chamber, disputed that. He said businesses like food producers require relatively continuous production activity and will suffer.

And food distributors could be hard pressed to reach retailers before the weeklong holiday begins, Larrazabal said. Many supermarkets usually don't keep inventories that last more than a week, he said.

Many Venezuelans usually take the whole week off while schools are out of session, flocking to the country's Caribbean coast to relax.

Chavez blames Venezuela's energy shortages on a drought that has pushed the country's main hydroelectric dam to low levels. Critics, including many business leaders, argue the government failed to invest enough in the electrical sector amid rising demand over the last decade.

Chavez's administration has imposed a series of measures aimed at reducing electricity consumption, including rolling blackouts in some parts of the country, limited office hours at state institutions and hefty surcharges levied on businesses that use what officials consider excessive energy.