Maduro's regime once again brought Christmas forward in Venezuela

Venezuela's dictator, Nicolás Maduro, announced  once again  that Christmas will begin early in the country.

This year, the celebrations will start on October 1st,  in a decision that aims, according to the president himself,  "to stimulate the economy, culture, and the people's joy".

However,  the measure takes place in a context of severe internal crisis and growing tensions with the United States, which reinforces the view that it is a political tool intended to maintain social cohesion and divert attention from structural problems.

During the presentation of this measure,  the dictator stated that the early Christmas will allow"maintaining the people's joy and promoting local commerce", with cultural activities such as Christmas carols, gaitas, hallacas, and celebrations in working-class neighborhoods.

Maduro also lashed out against the Catholic Church and the opposition: "Some guys in cassocks came out to say that there is Christmas only if they decree it.  No, no, sir in cassock,  you don't decree anything here. Jesus Christ belongs to the people, Christmas belongs to the people, and the people celebrate it whenever they want to celebrate their Christmas".

Maduro highlighted that it was "a good and beautiful year", in which, according to him, Venezuela managed to "remake and rebuild itself" despite internal problems and international pressures. In this sense, the early celebration becomes another political tool of the regime to reinforce the official narrative of recovery, despite international complaints about human rights violations, the collapse of basic services, and the mass emigration of citizens.

This is not the first time the dictator has used this strategy. Since 2013, he has repeatedly imposed the advancement of Christmas as a resource to "lift the people's spirits".

That year,  after the death of Hugo Chávez, he stated: "We are going to move Christmas forward so that people can enjoy this time of peace and love, and forget a little about the difficulties". Since then,  the date has varied each year, moving forwardeven in 2023 to September 1st.

The current situation is marked by increased tension with Washington,  after the deployment of U.S. military assets in the Caribbean. Maduro replied  in a defiant tone:  "No one is going to humiliate Venezuela, we are not going to accept the humiliation of the gringo empire (...) No generation of Venezuelans is going to humiliate itself before the gringo empire. Never. Not today, not ever".

Tensions escalated after the United States formally accused Maduro of "narcoterrorism" and in August raised the reward for his capture to 50 million dollars.

Meanwhile, the regime insists that these are attempts at destabilization, while the international community keeps pressure to force a political transition in Venezuela, where Christmas once again becomes a propaganda tool for the dictator.