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Venezuela leftist President Maduro courts evangelical Christians before election
Evangelical Christians are often courted by right-wing politicians. But in
Venezuela, left-wing President Nicolás Maduro is trying to secure the church's
support in the run-up to elections.


WORLD


VENEZUELA'S LEFTIST LEADER MADURO MAKES A PLAY FOR EVANGELICAL VOTERS

February 7, 20245:00 AM ET

By 

John Otis

Enlarge this image

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro gestures as he speaks on Dec. 3. Pedro
Rances Mattey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Pedro Rances Mattey/AFP via Getty Images


Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro gestures as he speaks on Dec. 3.

Pedro Rances Mattey/AFP via Getty Images

BARINAS, Venezuela — Evangelical pastor Wenceslao Méndez operates on a
shoestring.

To draw people to his sermons, he pedals around this western Venezuelan city on
a bicycle, speaking through a PA system mounted on the handlebars. He holds
forth from a one-room shack still under construction.

But over the past year, Méndez's church has received a boost from the Venezuelan
government. It provided him with free bags of cement, concrete blocks and cans
of yellow paint to spruce up the building. Also on the way are 60 plastic chairs
to seat the faithful.

"Before, we didn't even have a roof," Méndez says as he shows off his freshly
painted altar.

Sponsor Message



The donations are part of an aggressive campaign by Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's
authoritarian leader, to secure the support of evangelical Christians ahead of a
crucial presidential election later this year in which he will seek another
six-year term.

Enlarge this image

Venezuelan evangelical pastor Wenceslao Méndez draws people to his sermons from
his bike using a speaker system. John Otis for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
John Otis for NPR


Venezuelan evangelical pastor Wenceslao Méndez draws people to his sermons from
his bike using a speaker system.

John Otis for NPR

A program, called "My Well-Equipped Church," is refurbishing thousands of
evangelical churches across the country. The Maduro government is also providing
small cash stipends to 13,000 pastors and has pledged to build an evangelical
university.


POLITICS


'YOU GOTTA BE TOUGH': WHITE EVANGELICALS REMAIN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT DONALD TRUMP

Maduro's son, also named Nicolás, was appointed vice president of religious
affairs for the ruling Socialist Party and regularly meets with evangelical
pastors. The regime has allowed evangelical political parties, like El Cambio
("Change"), to operate even as it cracks down on opposition parties. In January
2023, Maduro held a televised summit with evangelical pastors, at which he
declared: "I am also a pastor; the grand pastor of Venezuela."

This outreach to evangelicals, who make up 13% of the population, according to a
2020 survey, may seem odd given the faith's longtime connection to conservative
politicians and social causes. In neighboring Brazil, for example, evangelicals
helped elect right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro in that country's 2018
presidential election and were a key part of his coalition when he narrowly lost
his 2022 reelection bid.


WORLD


WHY BRAZIL'S BOLSONARO IS COURTING EVANGELICALS IN THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CATHOLIC
NATION


PARALLELS


BRAZIL'S EVANGELICALS A GROWING FORCE IN PRAYER, POLITICS

By contrast, the left-wing Maduro claims to be leading a socialist revolution,
one that has cozied up to communist Cuba. What's more, Maduro's mentor and
predecessor, the late President Hugo Chávez, often clashed with religious
leaders — though he aimed most of his fury at Roman Catholic clerics who
criticized his government's efforts to grab more power.

In a 2007 speech, for example, Chávez called the country's Catholic bishops
"devils" and "vagabonds."

Enlarge this image

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro delivers his annual address at the National
Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 15. Behind is an image of late President
Hugo Chávez. Ariana Cubillos/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Ariana Cubillos/AP


Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro delivers his annual address at the National
Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 15. Behind is an image of late President
Hugo Chávez.

Ariana Cubillos/AP

Chávez died of cancer in 2013. Since then, Maduro has rolled back democratic
freedoms in Venezuela and led the country into its worst economic crisis in
history. All this has made him deeply unpopular at a time when Maduro is
pledging to hold a free and fair presidential election later this year.

LATIN AMERICA


TO FOSTER A FREE ELECTION IN VENEZUELA, THE U.S. IS OFFERING THE MADURO REGIME A
DEAL

TO FOSTER A FREE ELECTION IN VENEZUELA, THE U.S. IS OFFERING THE MADURO REGIME A
DEAL

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Should that happen, it could convince the U.S. government to permanently lift
sanctions against his government that crippled the country's vital oil industry.
The U.S. temporarily lifted most of those sanctions in October, but the Biden
administration has threatened to reimpose them if Maduro fails to hold a clean
election.

Analysts say that in a head-to-head contest against opposition leader María
Corina Machado, who is battling government efforts to keep her off the
presidential ballot, Maduro would be the underdog — which is why he's reaching
out to evangelicals.



After burning its bridges with many Catholics, who make up 71% of the
population, according to the 2020 survey, "the government needs some kind of
religious credibility," said Iraní Acosta, director of Fe y Alegría (Faith and
Joy) radio station in western Venezuela, which is affiliated with the Catholic
Church. "This is a country of believers."

Javier Corrales, a professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts who has studied
the connection between evangelicals and politicians in Latin America, points out
that despite the Maduro government's leftist revolutionary rhetoric, it appeals
to many evangelicals because it is actually quite conservative on social issues.

RELIGION


U.S. CATHOLIC LATINOS DRAWN TO EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY

U.S. CATHOLIC LATINOS DRAWN TO EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY

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Venezuela has one of the region's most restrictive abortion laws while same-sex
marriage remains illegal, even as more nations across Latin America are
legalizing such unions. Citing family values, the Maduro government raided a gay
men's club in July, has launched a war against illegal drug use and has even
outlawed e-cigarettes. Until this year, gays were outlawed from Venezuela's
armed forces.

Enlarge this image

Members of several evangelical churches take part in a demonstration called by
different religious groups "in defense of the traditional family" and against
same-sex marriage in Caracas on July 13, 2023. Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption

toggle caption
Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images


Members of several evangelical churches take part in a demonstration called by
different religious groups "in defense of the traditional family" and against
same-sex marriage in Caracas on July 13, 2023.

Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

RELIGION


CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT CHURCHES VIE FOR LATIN AMERICA

CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT CHURCHES VIE FOR LATIN AMERICA

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"This is an old fashioned, militaristic, homophobic government," Corrales says.

In addition, evangelicals can be a reliable voting bloc as pastors hold huge
sway in their communities.

"As long as [politicians] are feeding them this type of social conservatism ...
these pastors will get you votes," Corrales says. "They are super organized and
it's very vertical. So, candidates don't have to talk to a lot of people. They
just need to get the pastors on board."

At Maduro's evangelical summit, the pastors were squarely in the president's
camp. Enrique Villalba, who heads one of Venezuela's largest evangelical
churches, told Maduro: "We are praying for you and your family."

So is Méndez, the pastor at the half-built church in Barinas.

He admits that Venezuela has weathered extremely hard times under Maduro, but he
thinks that most of his churchgoers will cast their ballots for him. The fact
that Maduro is still in power, he says, proves that "God is on his side."

 * South American politics
 * Venezuelan politics
 * evangelical christianity
 * Venezuela elections
 * Nicolas Maduro
 * evangelicals
 * Venezuela
 * South America
 * evangelical

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