Dumb: Venezuela's Maduro declares that Christmas begins October 1st.

I truly feel bad for anyone who is living in Venezuela right now. I knew things were bad but when I saw that the minimum wage is set at under $5 I thought that was per day but then I read further and saw that it was per MONTH. Now I can stretch money very thin if I have to but that is just crazy and show that the government there really cares nothing for the common man. Their President, who is surrounded by controversy about his recent re-election and calls to have a street-fight with Elon Musk, seems incredibly detached from society which is surprising when you consider that before he went into politics, he was a lowly bus driver.

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From the images and videos I have seen inside the country recently and in the past few months, I don't think that the people are in a terribly festive mood right now either. After the election results were declared recently there was a lot of talk about how Maduro cheated and the results were not real. This seems certainly possible given the amount of people in the streets that seem to absolutely hate the guy and how the country has had no real reason to be excited about anything recently. I can't imagine the mind of a madman in power that thinks that he can simply change the date of a holiday that is meant to be one of the most sacred of Christians, and most of the people in Venezuela are Christian.

"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."

I can't tell if this means anything special for the people of Venezuela. Do they get the day off of work? I think that most of the population is rather desperate to HAVE work at all and aren't really looking for some days off but then again, I am not a dictator that is masquerading as an elected official.

Just before announcing the very early arrival of the festive time of year a judge that is almost certainly in the pocket of Maduro issued an arrest warrant for Edmundo González, who was the primary opponent in recent elections. He has provided proof of some sort that he was actually the winner of the election whereas Maduro has done nothing of the sort. Instead of proving his victory was legitimate, his regime has arrested around 2000 political enemies.

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What can the people of Venezuela possibly do in a time like this? They can't make money, they apparently can't elect a different leader, and Maduro seems to have the support of the military and police. As much as I complain about my own country and my own leaders I suppose I should be grateful that I don't live over there. There is no amount of Christmas glee that can change that either.