Amid a serious domestic political crisis with allegations of election fraud, Venezuela’s socialist ruler Nicolas Maduro has made a surprising announcement. “It is September, and it already smells like Christmas. As a thank you to the fighting people, I will move Christmas by decree to October 1,” the autocrat said on his own television show “Con Maduro+”.
This is not the first time Maduro has made such decisions. During the Corona pandemic in 2020, he moved Christmas to mid-October, and a year later it was October 4. With October 1, he is setting a new “Christmas record.” “The Christmas celebration comes with peace, joy, and security,” assured the head of state. The corresponding decree mainly ensures that Christmas decorations will be hung in public buildings.
Episcopal Conference: Festival is being instrumentalized
The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference criticized the political instrumentalization of the festival. “Christmas is a universal festival. The manner and timing of the celebration is a matter for the ecclesiastical authority. This should not be used for propaganda or specific political purposes,” the bishops stated.
Recently, Maduro also surprised with his own interpretation of the background of Jesus Christ. According to him, Jesus was actually a Palestinian child, the ruler informed. At the same time, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report with new serious allegations against the regime. “The oppression we are experiencing in Venezuela is shockingly brutal,” said Americas Director Juanita Goebertus.
In the South American country, there have been massive protests for weeks against the officially announced election victory of Maduro at the end of July. The opposition stated that according to their own counting of the election records, their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez clearly won the presidential election. Independent election observers confirmed this assessment. The USA, the EU, and numerous Latin American countries do not recognize the official result and are calling for an independent review. To this day, the Venezuelan judiciary has denied transparent access to the election documents. (KNA)