Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela
"It's September, but it already feels like Christmas"
In Venezuela, South America, amid ongoing controversies over election fraud in the presidential vote count, President Nicolas Maduro announced that he would move up the Christmas season this year.
According to foreign media including AFP on the 3rd (local time), President Maduro appeared on TV on the 2nd and said, "It’s September, but it already feels like Christmas," adding, "I will order Christmas to be moved up to October 1st this year to pay tribute and thanks to you all."
This statement came amid continuing controversies over election fraud triggered after the Venezuelan presidential election in July. At that time, the pro-government Venezuelan National Electoral Council and the Supreme Court announced that President Maduro had won (a third term) after the vote count. However, the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado claimed victory based on their own secured vote count data.
As doubts about the vote counting process grew, large-scale protests demanding transparent disclosure of results took place across the country, including the capital Caracas. In mid-last month, a survey showed that only 6% of Venezuelans recognized President Maduro’s victory.
Furthermore, the United States supported the opposition candidate’s victory, and Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, which had expressed 'ideological solidarity' with the Maduro government, refused to recognize the announced election results, deepening President Maduro’s international isolation.
AFP pointed out that President Maduro’s recent decision appears to be "an attempt to divert public attention from anger over the election fraud controversy." The US daily The New York Times (NYT) also evaluated, "In a situation where the country’s democracy is in shambles, President Maduro is trying to create a festive atmosphere," adding, "Facing widespread criticism at home and abroad, he is trying to divert Venezuelans’ attention."
President Maduro has previously changed the Christmas season. In 2013, when he took power as the 'successor' to former President Hugo Chavez, he also moved Christmas up to November.
In addition, in October 2021, he sparked controversy by posting a video celebrating Christmas two months early. The video showed him viewing Christmas trees and decorations, saying, "Christmas has come with joy to the presidential palace and Venezuela." However, citizens suffering from economic recession and skyrocketing inflation voiced criticism.
Meanwhile, President Maduro is a politician who fully inherited the leftist ideology of former President Hugo Chavez, who died of cancer in 2013. He started as a bus driver in the capital Caracas and became involved in politics after serving as a union leader and campaigning for Chavez’s release following the failed 1992 coup. Maduro officially entered politics as a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1999, was elected to the National Assembly the following year, and grew his influence while serving as Speaker of the National Assembly (2000?2006) with Chavez’s full support. After Chavez’s death, Maduro was first elected president in the April 2013 election and has been in power for nearly 11 years.
However, amid a sharp drop in international oil prices and an economic crisis, President Maduro has faced continuous pressure to step down. During his tenure, Venezuela’s annual inflation rate soared to as high as 65,000%. Citizens, unable to endure the hardships, abandoned the country and became refugees or illegal immigrants.
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