BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

 CARACAS -- Business and labor leaders prepared for legal action against President Hugo Chávez on Tuesday as the nation's cities came back to life following a
 paralyzing protest strike against his government.

 Saying they no longer viewed Chávez as a legitimate commander in chief, organizers of a general strike that virtually shut down the nation said they must now seek relief from the highest court and search for a leader who would listen to their concerns.

 "The person who represents this country is not willing to dialogue, so we no longer consider him to be our president,'' said José Luis Betancourt Ramírez, who represents ranchers. ``We need to find someone who we can talk to, someone who can interpret the message sent by the strike.''

 HARD-LINE STANCE

 Meanwhile, Chávez maintained his hard-line stance, saying Monday's 12-hour stoppage served as proof that his 49 presidential decrees governing land, fishing and energy reserves -- the target of the protests -- were the proper course of action.

 ``This was a strike of the powerful,'' Chávez said Tuesday at the start of a Caribbean summit in the island of Margarita, attended by heads of state that included his Cuban ally, President Fidel Castro. ``It's good that it happened because it confirms that the revolution is on the right path.''

 Although the strike was by far the largest display of discontent by Venezuelans against Chávez's presidency, analysts say its ultimate success will depend on the
 opposition's ability to maintain the pressure. That has been difficult because no clear-cut political opponent has emerged since Chávez was elected by 59 percent of the vote in 1998.

 The traditional political parties have failed to regain their standing following a vote largely interpreted as a shattering rebuke to their claims of leadership.

 ``There are qualified people out there but what's prevented them from stepping out was this environment of intimidation Chávez put in place,'' said Miguel Diaz, director of the South America project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

 That fear was diminished, at least for the moment, by the success of Monday's strike as employees of the vast majority of businesses across the nation chose to stay
 home. Labor leaders have sided with the anti-Chávez forces because of his failed effort to impose his own candidate to head the labor movement.

 ``The political field is wide open to new leadership,'' Diaz said. ``There should be no lack of volunteers to take on Chávez. It's just a matter of time.''

 Aníbal Romero, a political scientist from Simón Bolívar University in Caracas, said: ``This was a mortal wound for the government. I see Chávez as very weakened.
 Venezuela is approaching some type of watershed event, whether it be for or against Chávez.''

 The private sector is upset over an agricultural plan that opens the door to land confiscation, a fishing law that makes concessions to small fishermen and a hydrocarbons measure that requires the state-owned oil company to hold a majority stake in all future joint ventures with private companies.

 LAND REFORM

 But it is the land reform law that has fueled much of the conflict.

 The law -- the first attempt at land reform in four decades -- seeks to redress a situation in which 1 percent of Venezuela's population owns 60 percent of its arable land.

 It also provides for credits and machinery for small farmers and calls for a sweeping revision of land titles. Business interests oppose the law because it requires farmers to conform to the government's agricultural strategy or risk the confiscation and redistribution of their land to the poor, Chávez's base of support.

 Betancourt said a lawsuit to be filed this week would seek the annulment of the land law on charges that it is illegal because it was implemented without consulting those in the industry. It was among 49 measures passed under special powers held by the president, which make it possible to bypass parliamentary debate.

 Betancourt said the matter also will be challenged on constitutional grounds.

 Special correspondent Christina Hoag contributed to this report.

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