Christmas season in Venezuela and nothing upsets Santa Chavez more than a little competition.

That’s why the Venezuelan strongman, who’s famous for doling out pork-barrel goodies has made it abundantly clear that there won’t be any Santa Claus, any lighted Christmas trees, and certainly not Frosty the Snowman in his Castroite fiefdom. After all, HE’S the Santa around Venezuela, not some North Pole-dwelling invader! Isn’t he the man who wears red in the family? Can’t have any graybeards from faraway lands taking from his trademark regalia in the name of some holiday.

I was in Caracas last year around Christmas time and I often saw Christmas decorations up. Much as Chavez screamed and yelled about them on the radio, saying he hated them and that they were nothing more than yanqui imperialist propaganda, I also noticed that whole government buildings were covered with improable reindeer in the subtropical heat, Santa Clauses, mistletoe and snowmen, merrily defying the dictator as well as the weather from the very government buildings he controlled. The state oil company had a giant Christmas tree outlined in lights on its central Caracas headquarters. I also saw some Christmas trees in the public squares of Caracas, again paying no heed to Chavez’s wishes. Nevertheless, several of them had been stripped bare by Chavista goon squads, so that they were just gray shells. It gave off the Stalin Effect, not exactly Christmasy, but perfectly in line with Chavismo.

Chavez does permit Christmas creches and hallacas, as things that are indigenously Venezuelan. But given his antireligious sentiment elsewhere, nobody is fooled that this has anything to do with religion, the original reasons for their existence. Everyone can tell that Chavez is using these religious symbols for his own political purposes. Maybe to make people repelled by them in the long run.

That way, he can get a total Christmas-free Christmas exactly the same as goes on in Cuba. That would be the very thing that would make Santa Chavez, distributor of government gifts, happiest.

Fausta has the whole story, and tons of links, here.