In Venezuela the calendar of the parties now follows all particular rules. For 2025, in fact, Nicolás Maduro has decided that the Christmas celebrations will begin on October 1st. The announcement came during the television program With Maduro +broadcast by the state TV, where the president spoke of a choice made for “defend the right to joy, happiness and culture of the Venezuelan people“.
It is not the first time that Maduro anticipates Christmas. Since 2013, the year in which it has risen to power, the Venezuelan leader has repeatedly decreed the early start of the holidays. In the past he has done so as a “tribute” to citizens, other times as a signal of political relaxation in moments of strong tension. This year’s choice comes against the background of increasingly difficult relationships with the United States and the American military presence in the Caribbean Sea.
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A propaganda move by a dictator
According to the president, the advance of the celebrations brings both economic and social benefits. The Christmas lights and the festive atmosphere should stimulate consumption and give citizens some lightness. An initiative that actually appears completely propaganda since Maduro is accused by multiple fronts of being a dictator who even uses the calendar as a political tool. Transforming October in December is therefore a mere expedient to distract public opinion from the difficulties of the country and the growing international isolation.
Not all Venezuelans willingly accept this “Christmas on the ordinance”. Already last year the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela had taken a position, remembering that Christmas is a universal party and that its celebration should not be folded for propaganda purposes. Many citizens, even without exposing themselves openly for fear of retaliation, live this forced tradition with a certain distrust.
From 2021, the year of the pandemic, the practice of anticipating the holidays has become a constant habit of the Venezuelan government. Trees, garlands and popular songs thus peek two months before the rest of the world, with the hope that the Christmas spirit will be able to suffocate discontent and protests.
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