"Months before Christmas, Caracas was adorned with a surreal amount of festive decorations. Millions of lights were strung around the trunks of palm trees; public squares were ornamented with L.E.D. stars and satin ribbons. Back in September, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had announced that Christmas would come early: an attempt to raise spirits amid threats from the world's greatest military superpower, and to boost the economy in a country with the highest rate of annual inflation globally."
"In late November, when U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that he was closing Venezuela's airspace-tantamount to an act of war, given that Venezuela is a sovereign nation-many of us had worried about Christmas. The country has a diaspora of nearly eight million; more than a quarter of the population has left in the past ten years alone, primarily owing to economic hardship."
Caracas displayed extravagant early Christmas decorations after President Nicolás Maduro announced an early holiday to lift spirits and stimulate the economy amid international threats and rampant inflation. Public lights and fixtures weathered before the actual season, underscoring strained morale and economic mismanagement. Family rituals of decorating and shared breakfasts contrasted with national anxiety following threats such as a proposed airspace closure. Nearly eight million Venezuelans form a diaspora, with over a quarter of the population leaving in the past decade due to economic hardship. Hyperinflation has rendered multiple currencies obsolete over two decades, littering streets with discarded old notes and exacerbating daily suffering.
Read at The New Yorker
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