Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has revealed plans to move Christmas to October.
Maduro said on his weekly television appearance, “It’s September, and it already smells like Christmas.”
“That’s why this year, as a way of paying tribute to you all, and in gratitude to you all, I’m going to decree an early Christmas for October 1.”
The 61-year-old president’s choice is viewed as an attempt to divert attention away from the chaos that has gripped the country since July’s controversial presidential election.
“Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, family reunions, parties, presents,” José Ernesto Ruiz, a 57-year-old office worker, told the Associated Press. “Without money and with this political crisis, who can believe that there will be an early Christmas?”
More over five weeks ago, Maduro’s ruling party claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election.
The Venezuelan Supreme Court has upheld Maduro’s claim that he won the presidential election.
The results have been challenged by the country’s most significant opposition party, the United Nations, and the non-governmental organization Carter Center.
Presidential candidate Edmundo González and his party have provided electronic copies of their own election results, claiming that the proper vote tallies named González the winner.
Only hours before his joyful announcement, Maduro issued an arrest warrant for González on charges of conspiracy, falsification of papers, and usurpation of power.
Maduro’s detractors, both domestic and foreign, have accused him of suppressing opposition in Venezuela.
Since the election in July, Maduro has reportedly jailed more than 2,000 protestors and promised to send them to maximum-security to serve 30-year sentences. Several journalists have also been deported from Venezuela, according to the country’s reporter’s union.
