More than a bad joke

At first, I thought it was anti-Bolivarianism propaganda. After all, the opponents of socialism aren't always squeamish.

But the online video was not a fake: At a recent congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, an activist actually recited a version of the Lord's Prayer dedicated to Hugo Chavez, and was joined by hundreds of voices shouting "Viva Chavez!" in place of Amen. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so decided to just shrug it off. But the story was far from over.

As expected, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has denounced the use of Chavez's name and called for respect for Christianity's most sacred prayer - as was their right. Less expected, however, at least from a rational perspective, was the reaction of the current Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro (pictured above, standing front and center).

Of course, he could not let down his comrade, but comparing the prayer to the work of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and calling critics "new inquisitors" went a bit too far. Even the state broadcaster defended the poem, calling the "poetry" a "necessary correction of the distortions of the right-wing opposition."

Not a laughing matter

This irrationality scares me. And no one is laughing about it in Venezuela. When Maduro said during the 2013 presidential campaign that Chavez's spirit had inspired him in the form of a "very little bird," it could still be dismissed as an accidental metaphor. But even then, he spoke of Chavez as a "leader who embodied the values ​​of Christ."

Meanwhile, it seems that Christ is no longer needed in Venezuela; the late Chavez appears to be enough for religious enlightenment. The Bolivarianism movement seems to be evolving from a political community into a cult, developing the associated fanaticism, an unwillingness to allow discussion and, of course, a tendency to insularity and the promotion of conspiracy theories. If something goes wrong in Venezuela, it's always due to the machinations of the enemy - be it the opposition or capitalism abroad.

Ideology as mass psychosis

It's scary enough when the political opposition is made into the enemy. But when an ideology becomes the only true doctrine, criticism becomes heresy and a change of government is likened to the apocalypse. This is not a democracy.

As a German, what scares me even more, however, is the suspicion that mass psychosis is being introduced in Venezuela with cool intent. That Maduro is not just a naive believer, awkwardly trying to balance his lack of charisma with the elevation of Hugo Chavez - but instead, that the Bolivarianism leadership is deliberately exploiting religious symbols and emotions and thereby abusing the spiritual needs of the people. Because in Germany, such actions were always accompanied by a dictatorship!