Venezuela’s yawning political divide spilled into violence on the streets of Caracas last night as thousands of people rallied, some to protest and others to celebrate the shutdown of the country’s oldest and most watched private television station.

Radio Caracas Television, an opposition-allied station, went off the air at midnight on Sunday after President Hugo Chavez withdrew its licence, accusing the network of “coup plotting.”

But the move has fuelled accusations that Mr Chavez is moving towards an increasing authoritarian rule and quashing any dissent against his so-called “socialist revolution”.

Clashes broke out between police and protesters as thousands began rallying in the streets in protest in the lead-up to midnight, banging pots and pans and blowing whistles. Water cannons and rubber bullets were fired to disperse the crowds.

As the evening went on, protestors convened at the RCTV headquarters where the channel’s best-loved actors and presenters wept and embraced in their final moments on air.

They bowed their heads in prayer and a presenter declared “Long Live Venezuela! We will return soon,” before the national anthem was played and the screen went black.

Seconds later, it was replaced with the insignia of TVES, the new state-funded channel launched by Mr Chavez, which was beamed via huge screens to Chavez supporters gathering in the streets at the President’s instigation.

But the atmosphere turned ugly as pro-Chavez demonstrators began to surge towards the station headquarters, and police intervened, scattering crowds with a hail of rubber bullets.

Mr Chavez’s decision “marks a turn toward totalitarianism,” Marcel Granier, the station’s chief executive said. “He’s losing more than he thinks he’s gaining. He’s losing international recognition and he’s losing the respect of his people.”

Mr Chavez’s decision to withdraw the station’s licence is set to boost his control over the national media and aid his daily battle to dominate political discussion.

But observers say it is a high-risk strategy. Support for Mr. Chavez among Venezuela’s poor majority comes mostly from his high-spending social policies rather than any great sympathy with his ideology.

“People like Chavez not communism,” Luis Vicente Leon, an economist and pollster said. “And they like a free media. This may be a strike too far for them. The only check and balance left in Venezuela for Chavez is his popularity.”

Mr Granier said RCTV would continue its legal battle to stay on the air. “This Government is full of fear, it can’t stand criticism,” he told a press conference. “We will fight this in the courts. We’ll do what we have to.”

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