Here's Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.
As you know, I'm a spiritual worker and during the period that I didn't write anything here, this commitment became a lot more pronounced, especially in the context of my country's travails and transition. Therefore, the most important distinction that I've encountered in this electoral process compared to the previous ones is that everyone, including María Corina Machado, de de facto leader of the opposition movement against the chavista regime right now, is openly recognizing that this struggle isn't political, economic or social in nature, it's spiritual.
Recently, I received a book called "Los Brujos de Chávez" (Chávez's Warlocks/Witches, whichever you prefer,) written by a Venezuelan journalist and researcher called David Placer, who lives in Spain. The book details the influence of religious and occult practices on the country's circumstances under Hugo Chávez's regime, starting with the time when he was a conspirator ready to launch a coup d'état against Venezuela's constitutional government. All of the country's leaders before him had had their own trusted spiritual advisors, be them tarot readers, priests or mystics (and I assure you, that's true for every government and major corporation in the world,) but Chávez took that to a whole different level.
A man of the flatlands fascinated with indigenous cultures and the stories of the fighters of Venezuelan independence, of the ghosts and gods of the territory, Chávez was a very serious believer in prayer, magic and rituals. He was also enamored with Communism and the exploits of Latin American revolutionary leaders. This made him an easy target for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who took him under his wing and persuaded him to become a Santero, with the goal of swaying Venezuela's political and military affairs for personal gain, a task in which he was tremendously successful. But Chávez's curiosity extended to other practices as well: he actively engaged with Espiritismo, Palería and Voodoo, and also joined the Masonic Lodge. Most of chavismo's high roster and a bunch of military officers and soldiers also joined in, hoping to gain favor, money and power. Meanwhile, Nicolás Maduro and others have also been followers of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
In their need for spiritual guidance and protection, chavistas have established a complex and widespread network of ritualized statues, structures and altars across the country, and used official buildings for bizarre sacrifices and ceremonies, often spending lavishly from the country's treasuries on ingredients and materials, unsanctioned trips and parties, and all manner of whims. Shady businessmen, terrorist organizations, allied governments, criminal gangs and a varied assortment of charlatans and spiritual practitioners here and abroad, some of which publicly claimed to oppose the regime, partook and benefitted from these activities at one time or another. This, along with the repressive strategies of surveillance, infiltration, imprisonment, murder and torture, meant to quell dissent and sow fear and division among the population, constitutes the darkest aspect of a gruesome tyrannical regime.
For the past five years I've focused a large part of my efforts on dismantling this network of shadows through my own rituals and the placement of handcrafted runestones in several specific locations, mostly in and around the capital, Caracas. While I was surely not the only practitioner seeking to counter the ill effects of chavismo's witchcraft, now the amount of people aware of these unbalances and actively working to correct them is growing at a rapid pace. For instance, during the post-election protests, groups of demonstrators started taking down the statues of Chávez built in various squares in the country.
Next up, what this higher level of public consciousness means for chavismo and Venezuela.