Amid ongoing fallout from Venezuela's contested July presidential election, the country's authoritarian leader made what the Guardian refers to as a "curious announcement" during his weekly television show Monday. "September smells like Christmas!" he said (to, per CNN, the "apparent delight" of his audience). "So this year—as a way of paying tribute to you and thanking you—I'm going to decree that Christmas be brought forward to October 1," he said. "Christmas arrived for everyone, in peace, joy and security!" The move came as Venezuela has been cracking down on dissent in the country, jailing thousands of Venezuelans who dispute the official results of the election, which named Maduro the winner but did not offer any proof. The opposition coalition insists that vote tally sheets actually show Maduro lost.
Hours before Maduro's Christmas announcement, authorities in the country issued a warrant for the arrest of opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, who the coalition insists is the true winner of the election. As far as the odd Christmas move goes, Maduro has pushed the holiday earlier in the past as well, like in 2021 when, amid the COVID pandemic, he decreed that the Christmas season would start on October 4 in an effort to boost the economy. As CNN explains, in Venezuela, the "official national period of Christmas celebration ... often comes with extra bonuses for public employees and more lavish gifts in government handouts." (Meanwhile, a human rights group has implicated the country's security forces in some of the killings that took place during post-election protests.)
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