Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro has declared Christmas will start three months early in the country, in a move which some have suggested was made to further his own political goals.

Venezuela has been gripped by protests over July’s contested presidential election, which saw Mr Maduro re-elected for a third term despite global scepticism over the results.

But despite the arrests of thousands of his critics, the former bus driver-turned-politician seems to have been focusing on something else entirely: Christmas.

“It’s September, and it already smells like Christmas,” the 61-year-old said on Monday night during his weekly television show.

“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.”

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The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference on Tuesday criticised the announcement as they warned the holiday “is not to be used for political or propaganda goals”.

They added in a statement that Christmas starts on 25 December, CNN reported.

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Speaking from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, José Ernesto Ruiz, a 57-year-old office worker, said: “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?”

Christmas benefit?

Inés Quevedo, a 39-year-old secretary and mother of two children, said: “We are all worried about how we are going to put food on the table, how we are going to pay for the bus, send the children to school and buy medicine when we need it.

“I don’t think they will improve our salaries or pay us the ‘aguinaldo’,” she added, referring to the Christmas bonuses that workers usually receive at the end of the year.

The minimum wage in Venezuela has not changed since 2022: 130 bolivars per month, or about $3.55 (£2.70).

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This is not the first time Mr Maduro has declared the early arrival of Christmas.

He did so during the COVID-19 pandemic, but never this early.

Despite the particularly tense political mood, Mr Maduro said the season will come “with peace, happiness and security”.

Protests erupted over Mr Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, claiming yet another term at the helms of the South American country. More than 2,000 people have been arrested since.

Just hours before Mr Maduro’s holiday announcement, a Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González, the main political opponent, accusing him of various crimes including conspiracy, falsifying documents and usurpation of powers.

His party, unlike Mr Maduro’s, provided evidence of it winning the most votes in the July election.

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