Hey, are curses real? Just checking for the people of Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro, the acting president of Venezuela since Hugo Chavez died last month, has been invoking a centuries-old curse upon those who don’t vote for him in next week’s elections.
“If anyone among the people votes against Nicolas Maduro, he is voting against himself, and the curse of Maracapana is falling on him,” Maduro said recently at a political rally, according to an article by BBC News.
“If the bourgeoisie win, they are going to privatise health and education, they are going to take land from the Indians, the curse of Maracapana would come on you,” he continued.
What Maduro was referring to was a 16th century battle — a massacre, actually — fought between the Spanish and the indigenous people of Venezuela. However, there isn’t a clear story about a curse involved in the incident. It was a massacre, and that’s about all we know about it. One of the only references to the “curse” is on a website called Fausta’s Blog, so we’re just as skeptical as you about the validity of the information. Seeing as there are so few details out there about this event, we’re trusting Fausta.
“[B]ack to the curse, I’m not sure what the hey he’s talking about, either,” Fausta wrote. “The battle of Maracapana took place in 1567, when the Spanish army massacred thousands of indians. Unlike the legends around King Tut, there have been (as far as I could find as of the writing of this post), no legends associated with that specific massacre. This website says ‘the bourgeoisie is the curse.’ Which makes sense if you’re a Communist. Whatever.”
The website she refers to is a Spanish news site that also covered Maduro’s speech at the rally. Either way, we suppose the curse would be a lot more terrifying if we could find any actual history about the curse. It’s bizarre.
“The race took a somewhat surreal turn on Saturday when Maduro said a centuries-old curse would fall on the heads of those who do not vote for him,” said a report from Reuters. Yeah. Could you imagine a U.S. presidential candidate cursing the supporters of their opponent with a centuries-old indigenous curse?
“[Henrique] Capriles, who is predicting a late pro-opposition surge as sympathy wears off after Chavez’s death, is vowing to install a Brazilian-style administration of free-market economics with strong social welfare policies,” continued the report.
“‘Anyone who threatens the people, who tells the people a curse can fall on them, has no right to govern this country,’ he said at a rally in the western state of Tachira,” reported the BBC News article. “‘I tell you here, all Venezuelans, the real curse is that little group that we are going to get rid of on April 14.’”
We’re not sure if Maduro running under a campaign that is pitching him as the next Chavez is the best thing for him; he’s clearly threatened by his opposition if he’s using curses as a bargaining chip. It’ll be interesting to see who wins Venezuela’s upcoming election.
