Christmas Starts in October, Venezuela’s Autocrat Declares

A nationwide blackout. A broken economy. A widely contested presidential election. A populace terrified of its autocratic leader and his increasingly violent security forces.

What’s a president to do?

Declare the early arrival of Christmas, of course.

Facing widespread domestic and international criticism over his claim that he won a July presidential vote, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela is trying to turn the nation’s attention toward the one thing almost every Venezuelan loves: Christmas.

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