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Chavez turns back clock - 30 minutes

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez is taking Venezuela back in time - by 30 minutes, to be exact.

His government's plan to turn back clocks by a half-hour has some Venezuelans pleased at the prospect of sleeping in. Others seem vexed that Chavez is making the entire nation change its daily rhythm. Some bloggers suggest Chavez wants to get out of Washington's "imperialist" time zone, but it will also mean that Venezuela will be a half-hour apart from his Cuban allies.

"It seems crazy to me," says 38-year-old Maritza Mendoza, who sells orange juice from a sidewalk stand in downtown Caracas. "It's a whim, just like the change of the currency."

Venezuela's upcoming launch of the "strong bolivar" - eliminating three zeros and reducing bills to 2-, 5-, 10-, 20-, 50- and 100-bolivar denominations - joins a growing list of changes promoted by Chavez. He has transformed the national seal, the national flag and even the country's name - now the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, after independence hero Simon Bolivar.

Chavez insists the time change isn't arbitrary. Officials have been studying it since 1999, seeking a compromise for a country wide enough for two time zones along South America's north coast. The change will be year-round - there's little need for daylight savings time along the equator, where daylight hours vary little by season.

Chavez hasn't mentioned wanting to be in a different time zone from the U.S. government in Washington, though some have poked fun at that aspect.

Chavez initially said clocks would roll back on Sept. 24, no matter what. But government officials said it would take at least two or three weeks to revise a law, allow time for computer adjustments, update official time recordings and coordinate the switch with international agencies. Now officials hope to make the change in late October.

Venezuela won't be the only country insisting on such a half-hour difference from the rest of the planet. Others include India, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran and Sri Lanka, along with Canada's Newfoundland, parts of Australia and some islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Nepal goes it alone at 15 minutes off the nearest hour.

[Last modified October 3, 2007, 01:11:57]