(Read Part 1)

Witchcraft is intertwined with the Latin American political movement known as 21st century socialism. And as in Nicaragua, something similar occurred in Venezuela, according to researcher David Placer’s statements to the press.

Fidel Castro surrounded Hugo Chávez with babalaos — priests of the Yoruba faith, a Cuban cult of African origin — to “guide” him spiritually. They embedded themselves within the political, party, military, and institutional structures of the Venezuelan revolution to help Chavismo seize and retain power; in reality, however, they became spies for Havana.

Thus, witchcraft became the spearhead that turned Venezuela into a Cuban colony for decades.

Nicolás Maduro — who has been held in a federal prison since January — remained tethered to witchcraft following Chávez’s death in 2013, according to Placer. “Right inside the Miraflores Presidential Palace, there are Santería elements — such as a caiman’s head, candies, and rose petals — resting upon the sword of the Liberator, Simón Bolívar. I witnessed this firsthand; I was in those halls of the Presidential Palace and took photographs of all those elements, which cannot be explained through any lens other than that of Santería.”

A Key Part of the Indigenist Narrative

In stark contrast to right-wing administrations, the region’s leftist governments have broken with the tradition of honoring Christianity during political events. From their perspective, this is considered a revolutionary act.

They justify this by championing the discourse of indigenismo — emphasizing what is “authentic,” “indigenous” (or “original”), and “of the people.” It is as if Christianity — present in this part of the world for over 500 years and having exerted far greater influence than any other faith on the legal frameworks, arts, and spiritual ethos of the republics that make up the Americas — were none of those three things.

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales abolished the mandatory use of the Bible during official ceremonies and state oaths after taking office in 2006. Previously, officials had sworn their oaths “by God and the Fatherland” while placing their hands on the holy book.

However, during his tenure, Morales institutionalized ceremonies and offerings to Pachamama (Mother Earth) as part of state protocol. He frequently underwent “spiritual cleansings” and shamanic rituals at pre-Hispanic sacred sites such as Tiwanaku.

Throughout the first three administrations of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) — led by Morales — the institutionalized, indigenous-inspired state ceremonial took on unprecedented proportions, to the point where it seemed to blur the lines with the very source of power itself.

The progressive intellectual class applauded this as a “decolonizing” practice, whereas detractors viewed it as a form of occultism that was distancing Bolivia from its Christian heritage. The Bible returned to the Palacio Quemado with Jeanine Áñez, the country’s interim president following Morales’s flight after the 2019 electoral fraud.

It is not only political forces that have attained power that have resorted to witchcraft; those on the Left who aspire to power have done so as well.

Last March, the launch of the campaign for Colombian presidential candidate Iván Cepeda and his running mate — Indigenous activist Aida Quilcué — was marked by an Indigenous ritual in Cauca.

The woman’s parents led a ceremony intended to “ask permission” of Mother Nature before embarking on the campaign trail and, for an hour, to “harmonize the body and spirit” of the candidates, seeking the balance and wisdom needed to face an electoral process they would ultimately lose to the newly converted Abelardo de la Espriella.

In true intersectional fashion, the press highlighted that the ritual sought to unite “oppressed” and “marginalized” sectors — starting with the Indigenous community — “with peasants, students, Afro-descendants, and the rest of society.”

This is nothing new for the country’s Left. In 2022, President Gustavo Petro — Cepeda’s political leader — performed a controversial Indigenous ritual before his inauguration.

A little further north, in Mexico, another leader-elect did the same. I am referring to Claudia Sheinbaum, who came to power presenting herself as a science professional, yet — amidst prayers, chants, incense, and copal — traditional healers and marakate (spiritual guides of the Wixárika people) presented the indigenous staff of office to the country’s first female president.

The staff, adorned with ribbons in five colors, alludes to “the four directions and the center of the universe,” according to the Mexican government’s website; it was consecrated and purified for the presentation, and deities were asked to grant wisdom, knowledge, and experience to guide the leader’s path.

The ceremony took place in the heart of Mexico City — the Plaza de la Constitución — attended by women representing 70 indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples. There were no Catholic priests present, despite that being the country’s dominant faith, nor were there representatives from the growing evangelical churches.

The government referred to the site as the “Templo Mayor” (Great Temple) — referencing the temple of Tenochtitlán’s ancient inhabitants, over which the Metropolitan Cathedral now stands.

In the 15th century, Spanish conquistadors destroyed the indigenous temple where human sacrifices were performed to appease deities such as Huitzilopochtli (god of war) and Tláloc (god of rain). Using some of the stones from that structure, the Europeans erected the Cathedral dedicated to the God who shed His blood for humanity.

It is hardly surprising that the very Left which once spilled so much blood across the Americas is now, through its rhetoric and political practice, intent on returning to a barbaric past.