Amid myriad social and economic problems in Venezuela and after a hotly contested election, which saw Nicolas Maduro falsely claim victory, the dictator is attempting to shift focus by declaring Christmas is coming early.
According to his announcement on Monday, the holiday season will begin on Oct. 1.
"September smells like Christmas! This year and to honor you all, to thank you all, I am going to decree the beginning of Christmas on October 1," he said. "Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!”
Hours earlier, Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for Maduro's main political rival, Edmundo Gonzalez, and security forces have cracked down on dissent, rounding up more than 2,000 people in the nation.
🚨🇻🇪 MADURO: CHRISTMAS WILL START ON OCTOBER 1 THIS YEAR!
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 3, 2024
"September is coming, and I said: September already smells like Christmas.
It smells like Christmas, it smells like Christmas.
So this year, as a tribute to you and in appreciation of you, I am going to decree that… https://t.co/NGc15h028s pic.twitter.com/XKrUv7ZXdb
The attempt to deflect didn't sit well with the populace.
This is not the first time that Mr. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has begun the holiday season so early.
But the announcement, coming amid so much national turmoil, only underscored the widening chasm between the government’s assertion that Venezuela is flourishing and the reality on the ground. One journalist for Univision, Félix de Bedout, called it part of the “dictator’s delirium.”
Inside the country, many people responded with deep sadness — the autocrat co-opting even their favorite holiday — and anger.
Marco, 63, a bus driver in the city of Maracaibo, called the announcement a “mockery” of all those suffering under the current government, adding that Christmas in October was “great news” only for the president and “those in the government who have become richer as we have become poorer.”
Anabella, 25, a university student also in Maracaibo, said that the country was not in the mood for a “party until dawn.”
“It is in the mood for freedom,” she said. “It is in the mood for democracy, it is in the mood for its vote to be respected.” (NYT)
The U.S. is reportedly drafting new sanctions on Venezuelan government officials who worked with Maduro to undermine the results of the July election, according to Bloomberg.