Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared Monday that this year's Christmas will start on October 1. The announcement was made at a time of extreme political escalation following the highly-contested July presidential election, in which both Maduro's regime and the opposition party declared victory.
"It's September, and it already smells like Christmas," Maduro said during a television interview, according to the AP. "That's why this year, as a way of paving tribute to you all, and in gratitude to you all, I'm going to decree an early Christmas for October 1."
Not all are on board with the president's declaration.
Jose Ernesto Ruiz, a 57-year-old officer worker, told the Associated Press: "Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, family reunions, parties, presents. But without money, and with this political crisis, who can believe that there will be an early Christmas?"
Maduro claimed the season would come "with peace, happiness, and security," but the political climate has citizens fearful and living on edge.
Ruling party-loyal electoral officials declared Maduro, who first became president in 2013, the winner on election night without providing election data results to back up Maduro's reported win. The United States recognized Maduro's opponent, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the winner of the election in August, rejecting Maduro's claim of victory. This, after Gonzalez's faction supplied electronic copies of electoral tallies that showed Gonzalez had won the most votes.
Mass protests erupted in opposition to Maduro after the election, which has since resulted in the arrest of roughly 2,000 people including politicians, journalists, and aid workers.
Just moments before Maduro's holiday announcement, a judge ordered the arrest of Gonzalez on charges of usurpation of powers, conspiracy, and falsifying documents.
Ines Quevedo, a 39-year-old mother of two children, suggested to the paper that it's hard to be jolly when "we are all worried about how we are going to put food on the table."
