In Bulgaria, a village of diehards of the "glorious past"

In Neofit-Rilski, located 40 kilometers from the Black Sea, Tsvetomir Tsonev welcomes visitors barefoot and in red robes to his garden of roses and medicinal plants.

He praises "the calm, far from the political and economic tumult of the world."

"Here we focus on human values ​​and history," says the 47-year-old former waiter, who sports a wheat necklace coated in 24-carat gold to "keep the plant's genes."

Behind this colonization of a pre-existing locality, born about ten years ago, is the sulphurous businessman Ivelin Mihaylov, also founder of the anti-system party Velichie ("Greatness"). He recently found himself under criticism for suspicions of fraud, which he firmly denies, castigating his political rivals and "the mafia".

The party has attracted attention since its surprise entry into parliament in June, bringing together a motley mix of candidates including a 1980s pop star and a retired security services lieutenant colonel who supports conspiracy theories.

Mr Mihaylov hopes to repeat his success in Sunday's parliamentary elections, the seventh in less than four years in this EU member state, which is in the grip of a crisis unprecedented since the fall of communism.

"Know your roots"

The 47-year-old entrepreneur outlines the party's main points for AFP: "neutrality" in the face of the war in Ukraine, fight against wind turbines, refusal to adopt the common European currency...

His goal: "to have Bulgaria respected", which he believes is too submissive to the "dictates" of Brussels.

There is no chaos here, but clean streets, impeccably mown lawns, security guaranteed by reassuring "protectors", the name of the security company.

The approximately 1.300 residents say they appreciate the community spirit and respect for tradition.

Like Alexandra Bechevlieva, a 37-year-old computer scientist who came from the capital to settle with her family in a house with a typical XNUMXth-century architectural style. "You have to know your roots to know where you are going. I am raising my children as Bulgarians," she says, praising the free folk dancing activities and the "healthy" food from local producers.

At school, many children have Thracian first names.

Ivelin Mihaylov also named his daughter Bendida after a goddess of this civilization, of which Bulgaria is a cradle. And he had a historical park built next to the village to "reveal our glorious past to both Bulgarians and foreign tourists."

Opaque financing

There are mud huts displaying reproductions of 8.000-year-old archaeological objects, replicas of tombs and medieval towers.

Exiled in England, Elissaveta Slavova was "seduced" on the internet and decided to return home to become a guide. "I found my vocation: to help people discover the richness of the historical heritage. We are walking on gold," enthuses the 36-year-old.

The visitors, few in number wandering around the place, seem won over, saying they are "proud" to be Bulgarian and brushing aside criticism of the opacity of the financing, which is entirely private.

Because the complex is in the sights of a parliamentary commission and the justice system, following press articles reporting possible Ponzi scheme-type embezzlement.

According to an economist interviewed by the deputies, the park "only generates losses". Investors also testified, saying they were being deceived.

The Varna regional prosecutor's office has not yet pursued the accusations of "deception of investors" due to lack of evidence, but a new investigation has since been opened.

Further investigations are underway into suspicions of illegal acquisition of property and fraud for the purpose of electoral manipulation.

Travelling the country and meeting Bulgarians abroad on the eve of the elections, Ivelin Mihaylov denounces "slanderous" accusations, assuring that they will not ruin his dreams of greatness.