Nicolás Maduro has found a way to distract his population from the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela. The head of state, whose re-election is contested by the opposition that claims victory, has brought forward the start date of Christmas festivities to October 1.
“In your honor, in gratitude to you, I will declare an early Christmas on October 1,” he said Monday during his television show, meaning three months of festivities. Earlier, he said he was celebrating the “peace” that had come to the country after the “criminal attacks” on his government. “Christmas begins on October 1 for everyone. Christmas has come with peace, happiness and security,” he said.
Standoff over polling station minutes
Nicolás Maduro is no stranger to this; last year he had already brought forward the start of Christmas festivities to November 1, and had already “launched” Christmas in October 2019 and 2020.
This year, the president announced the advancement of the date for the start of the festivities (including decorations) while the country is still immersed in a post-election crisis. The socialist president, whose victory was validated by the Supreme Court on August 22, was proclaimed the winner with 52% of the vote by the National Electoral Council, which did not make public the minutes of the polling stations, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking. Such an attack is considered implausible by the opposition and many observers, who see it as a maneuver by the government to avoid disclosing the exact count.
Pressure from Washington
According to the opposition, which published the minutes provided by its scrutineers, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia obtained more than 60% of the votes. On Monday, the justice system issued an arrest warrant against him in the context of investigations for “disobedience to the laws”, “conspiracy”, “usurpation of functions” and “sabotage”.
Our file on Venezuela
A large part of the international community, led by the United States, does not recognize the re-election of Nicolás Maduro, who has led the country since 2013.