It’s Christmas in Venezuela as Maduro tries to turn page on political and economic crisis

October has just begun, and there’s a huge Christmas tree in front of the Navy Headquarters in downtown Caracas.

The Paseo de Los Próceres, a promenade located next to the Fuerte Tiuna military facilities, is covered in lights. Ministries and other public institutions have decorated their facades. And on the Ávila, the mountain that marks the north of the Venezuelan capital, the cross that traditionally announces the arrival of the holidays on December 1 was lit up this past week (with blue bulbs) by Minister of Culture Ernesto Villegas. As is customary, there was a thunderous display of fireworks.

The Venezuelan government hasn’t announced which bonuses will be paid out to workers, or in how many installments, as has been happening for years during the holiday season.

But President Nicolás Maduro — in yet another year in which he’s trying to turn the page on his country’s economic and political crisis — has decreed that Christmas began on October 1 and will last until January 15. It’s not the first time he’s done this: he began the practice in 2018, and usually decides that the season starts at the beginning of either October or November.

This is an official celebration of Christmas that, for the moment, is only taking place in one part of the capital. Merchants are still trying to recover from the slump that followed the month of August — a month of repression, uncertainty and conflict after the presidential elections of July 28, which have triggered a new political crisis in Venezuela, due to the voting fraud demonstrated by the opposition. The main anti-Maduro candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, ended up in exile in Spain: he claims to have won 67% of the vote, based on ballot receipts obtained from the machines. Last week, the Carter Center presented the same long-form ballots to the Organization of American States (OAS). Someone then turned the ballots into a meme, grouping them in an image shaped like a Christmas tree. The collage has been widely circulated on social networks.

Maduro has begun to sing Christmas carols and eat candied papaya, a typical Christmas dessert in Venezuela, amidst this governing crisis. And the gesture has come back to hit him like a boomerang. News of the “early Christmas” has spread around the world with irony, while international forums have denounced the serious human rights violations committed in recent weeks, including the torture of minors detained in the context of protests against the election results.

Maduro’s main rival, González Urrutia, who sought asylum in Madrid last month, has mocked the idea. “President Maduro brought Christmas forward to October 1. So, it wouldn’t be strange if I move up my return [to Venezuela] as well,” he joked with the press, during a forum held in northern Spain.

The leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) who succeeded former president Hugo Chávez upon his death in 2013 gave the order to bring forward the celebrations on September 2, the same day that the arrest warrant was issued against González Urrutia, who ended up landing in Spain a week later. “In gratitude to [all of you, my people], I’m going to decree bringing forward Christmas to October 1. Christmas starts on October 1 for everyone. Christmas has arrived with peace, happiness and security,” Maduro declared at the time.

This “Chavista” Christmas has coincided with the beginning of the school year throughout the country, after the vacation break. Children returned to classes weighed down with a kind of jet lag. In public schools, by official order, events were held that involved red Santa caps and the songs that are usually sung in December.

As if that weren’t enough, Maduro’s convulsive government opened up a new front. The bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela (CEV), following weeks of reactions and statements amidst the political crisis that Venezuela is experiencing, also made a point of emphasizing what Catholics have been saying for 2,000 years: that Christmas is intended to mark the birth of Jesus on December 25.

The CEV also claimed its exclusive jurisdiction in these matters: “Christmas is a celebration of a universal character. The manner and timing of its celebration are the responsibility of the ecclesiastical authorities. This holiday should not be used for propaganda or for particular political purposes.” And Maduro, of course, responded: “No, sir in a cassock — you are not decreeing anything here! Jesus Christ belongs to the people. Christmas belongs to the people and the people celebrate it when they want to celebrate their Christmas.”

Beyond the dazzling decorations put up by the government, Caracas is still trying to regain its footing after weeks of uncertainty. A few days ago, a representative of the customs sector warned about delays in the arrival of imported merchandise for the Christmas holidays, due to missing permits and logistical issues, along with the general decrease in shipments from China.

Speaking from a women’s clothing store in a busy shopping center in downtown Caracas, Ruth, the manager, predicts that sales could pick up in the coming weeks. She has recent evidence of this. During the widespread blackout that the country experienced a few weeks ago, she managed to sell some clothes. “Even though politics matters a lot, people live in their own world. They say there’s no money… but there’s always something. I’ve seen people leave the stores with their decorations,” the 32-year-old woman notes. She’s hoping for a December with lots of customers.

The establishment she runs still hasn’t been taken over by the Christmas trees, stars and reindeer that the government has ordered. Ruth also has an explanation for this: “Halloween comes first.”

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