Christmas begins in Venezuela, but the festive spirit is nowhere to be found

CARACAS – It doesn’t feel like Christmas in Venezuela. At least not yet. Even if the president wants it.

Residents of Caracas, the capital, woke up Tuesday to a towering Christmas tree standing in a popular public square, weeks after President Nicolás Maduro declared the cheerful season would begin in the South American country earlier this year.

Workers rushed to set up decorations in several neighborhoods, but the atmosphere was far from festive.

“I hate it because it’s October,” said Desiré Aguiar, 32, before setting up her jewelry and accessories stand at a local market. ‘Halloween isn’t even over yet and it’s already Christmas? Do we celebrate them together?”

Venezuelans, especially those who remember life at the turn of the century, have long associated Christmas with careless shopping and bulging wallets thanks to profit sharing and holiday bonuses paid by employers at the end of the year. Employees often received three times their monthly salary in one go. The smell of fresh paint even heralded the arrival of Christmas as many had applied a new coat to their walls.

Today, however, the meager wages and bonuses resulting from the country’s economic collapse have turned the season into a time of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. And this year, the season started amid a collective pessimism following the July 28 election.

“If they… start paying the Christmas bonus upfront, we’ll have nothing left in December,” Aguiar complained. “I think it’s a very bad idea.”

It remains unclear whether public and private employers will make changes to bonus payments this year. Maduro, who has been granted a third six-year term by electoral authorities, surprised the country on September 2 when he declared on state television that the Christmas season would start earlier than ever.

Maduro’s decree was followed by ridicule on social media, but few on the streets dared to say anything about the decision – another sign of the chilling effect resulting from the campaign of repression unleashed by the government after the long-awaited elections.

Thousands of people, including minors, took to the streets across Venezuela, hours after ruling party-loyal election authorities declared Maduro the winner without showing any vote tally. The protests were largely peaceful, but demonstrators also toppled statues of Maduro’s predecessor, the late leader Hugo Chávez, threw rocks at law enforcement officers and buildings, and burned police motorcycles and government propaganda.

Maduro and his ruling party allies, who control all aspects of the government, responded to the demonstrations in full force. Security forces detained more than 2,000 people, including minors, and more than 20 protesters were killed.

Maduro also called on Venezuelans to expose election doubters through a government-run app originally created to report power outages and complaints about state-provided services. This prompted people to delete photos, videos, memes, messages and apps from their phones to avoid prosecution.

While some rejected Maduro’s decree on Tuesday for economic or political reasons, others rejected it for puritanical reasons.

“Christmas falls in December. We have to be clear about that, we are celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ,” said Wilfredo Gutiérrez, 61, as he observed a group of workers setting up decorative lighting along a main street in Caracas.

“The only good thing is that they picked up the trash. Normally this place is dirty.”

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.