HOW HUGO CHÁVEZ BECAME THE NEW CHRIST ON THE WORSHIP OF DEAD DICTATORS
by Lisa Carroll-Davis
As far back as the 1960s, the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua began infusing their speeches and writings with religious terms, likening their namesake, Augusto Sandino, to Christ. Sergio Ramirez, a commandant in the Sandinista ruling junta in the 1980s, claimed that upon Sandino’s assassination in 1932 Sandino’s father exclaimed “those who become redeemers die crucified” and attested that the soldiers cast lots for his clothes. Even such bald attempts to claim Christ’s mantle appear nuanced in comparison to the massive campaign now underway in Venezuela, led by Nicolás Maduro, to proclaim his predecessor Hugo Chávez as Christ himself.
On the anniversary of Chávez’s death, the current Venezuelan president declared that “Christ the Redeemer became flesh, became spirit, became truth in Chávez” and was “the Christ of the poor, the Christ of the humble, he who came to protect those who have had nothing.”
The social unrest and economic privation that spilled out in protests in February 2014 were met by Venezuela’s leaders with redoubled proclamations of Chavista messianism. During the height of the protests, in a speech made March 5, 2014 at a military parade in Caracas marking the one year anniversary of Chávez’s death, Maduro proclaimed, Chávez “the Redeemer of the poor” and said that the poor were calling to Chávez the “Redeeming Christ of the 21st Century” to help them against the capitalist protestors attempting to undo all he had done for the poor.
Religion and politics are often familiar bedfellows. Regardless of the level of secularization in the society at large, political actors tend to conflate ideology and spirituality, frequently leading to a discourse that incorporates a particular religious perspective in an attempt to gain public support. Unsurprisingly, we see a high level of religiously toned political discourse in Latin American countries, where the majority of the population self-identifies as Catholic. In recent decades, however, there is an increasing tendency among the far-Left governments to depict deceased leaders, such as Chávez and Sandino, as messiah figures. Not only are these individuals lauded as being Christ-like, but they also are presented as Christ, as his embodiment on Earth.
In Venezuela, the conflation of politician and messiah have saturated the popular culture, as not only are the leftist political actors making statements exalting the deceased Chávez as Christ, the average citizens venerate the former president.
On the anniversary of Chávez’s death, the current Venezuelan president declared that “Christ the Redeemer became flesh, became spirit, became truth in Chávez” and was “the Christ of the poor, the Christ of the humble, he who came to protect those who have had nothing.”
The social unrest and economic privation that spilled out in protests in February 2014 were met by Venezuela’s leaders with redoubled proclamations of Chavista messianism. During the height of the protests, in a speech made March 5, 2014 at a military parade in Caracas marking the one year anniversary of Chávez’s death, Maduro proclaimed, Chávez “the Redeemer of the poor” and said that the poor were calling to Chávez the “Redeeming Christ of the 21st Century” to help them against the capitalist protestors attempting to undo all he had done for the poor.
Religion and politics are often familiar bedfellows. Regardless of the level of secularization in the society at large, political actors tend to conflate ideology and spirituality, frequently leading to a discourse that incorporates a particular religious perspective in an attempt to gain public support. Unsurprisingly, we see a high level of religiously toned political discourse in Latin American countries, where the majority of the population self-identifies as Catholic. In recent decades, however, there is an increasing tendency among the far-Left governments to depict deceased leaders, such as Chávez and Sandino, as messiah figures. Not only are these individuals lauded as being Christ-like, but they also are presented as Christ, as his embodiment on Earth.
In Venezuela, the conflation of politician and messiah have saturated the popular culture, as not only are the leftist political actors making statements exalting the deceased Chávez as Christ, the average citizens venerate the former president.
...............
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario