CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez introduced price controls and announced subsidies to soften the impact of an economic crisis after a two-month opposition strike slashed the nation's vital oil production.

Chavez, a populist former paratrooper locked in a bitter struggle with foes of his self-styled "revolution," said the government planned to subsidize basic food items such as rice, beef and milk that are covered by the new price controls.

"We're preparing subsidies. Why? To sell the goods whose prices we are setting even more cheaply, for the poor ... we'll subsidize as much as money allows," Chavez told cheering supporters at a youth rally.

Thousands of anti-government demonstrators later packed an eastern Caracas avenue for a series of concerts in support of the opposition campaign for elections to oust Chavez, who is resisting their demands he go to the ballot box.

The opposition strike, which started on Dec. 2, initially crippled the oil sector that provides half of state revenue for the world's fifth largest oil exporter. The stoppage fizzled in recent weeks after many businesses reopened under the threat of bankruptcy.

Still, the shutdown battered Venezuela's recession-bound economy. Chavez suspended foreign exchange trading on Jan. 22 before announcing austere currency controls to shore up international reserves and the bolivar currency.

Currency markets were still closed Wednesday, leaving much of the economy paralyzed as businesses were starved of the U.S. currency they need for transactions in a nation that imports more than 60 percent of its goods.

Officials at the New Currency Control Board Cadivi are still hammering out details of the new mechanisms.

Cavidi said in a statement Wednesday that it could be several months before Venezuelans are allowed to use their credit cards overseas.

The government on Wednesday also introduced price curbs on 106 basic foods and more than 60 other essential items.

Officials have said priority under the new control regime will go to medicines and imports of basic goods.

(Reuters) CAPTION Customers exit a clothing store with a display window sign reading: 'Liquidation, Everything 5,000 Bolivares, or $2.50, during the reopening of Sambil mall in Caracas, Venezuela.