Venezuelan Christians face an uncertain future amid controversy concerning the result of the recent national election.
Nicolás Maduro was recently declared the winner by a government-controlled agency, granting him a third term in office, and the continuation of 25 years of rule by the Socialist PSUV party.
However, many among the international community are refusing to recognise the result, including the European Union and the USA, and opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez claims he has proof that he won the election.
Maduro has been careful in recent times to try to appeal to Christians, with about 17% of the country thought to be evangelicals, and a greater number as Catholic. He said on election night: ‘The people of Venezuela are a Christian people. We are the people of Christ. I want to thank all the Christian people for their prayers, for their blessings, for their love.’
As was reported by Evangelical Focus, his regime has sought in the recent past to provide economic support for churches in return for political support, through initiatives such as ‘Social Church’, which saw the church supported in efforts to feed the poor, and ‘My Well-equipped Church,’ which saw church buildings improved, and churches provided with increased media opportunities on TV and radio. However, many evangelicals have distanced themselves from Maduro and his regime, and dissenters have been marginalised in the past for opposing Maduro’s regime.
The Evangelical Council of Venezuela previously said in a statement: ‘Evangelicals do not have a supreme leader or official spokesperson, so that no one can speak for all evangelicals, much less those who come to be imposed by outside bodies on the evangelical communities themselves.’
