Editorial
Why So Much Chávez and Ortega
During the past 2-3 years, no country has had a greater impact on political events in Honduras than Venezuela, followed by Nicaragua. The governments of Presidents Hugo Chávez and Daniel Ortega have consistently moved to intervene in the affairs of Honduras, using the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya in 2009 as a pretext and, ironically, the cause of democracy as a cover. With the ousting of Mr. Zelaya, the relative importance of Venezuela and Nicaragua to Honduras has diminished. But both countries continue to represent a problem, which could increase at any time so long as Mr. Chávez and Mr. Ortega remain in power. It is for this reason that Honduras Weekly has given an unusual amount of coverage to these two Latin American leaders and plans to continue doing so for the foreseeable future, as Mr. Ortega seeks re-election for a third presidential term on November 6, 2011 and Mr. Chávez goes for his fourth term in December 2012. While it is not a given that the consequences of a further consolidation of political power by Mr. Ortega and Mr. Chávez will have a direct effect on Honduras, it will at least have an indirect bearing, since both Nicaragua and Venezuela would continue to aggressively promote their styles of authoritarian socialism in Latin America and the Caribbean and try to destabilize countries such as Honduras, perceived to be unfriendly or unresponsive to them. (3/1/11)
Misjudging Venezuela and Nicaragua
Perhaps no other nations in Latin America have threatened war against others on more occasions of late than have Venezuela and Nicaragua. Mr. Chávez frequently threatens war against neighboring Colombia. Mr. Ortega provokes conflict against neighboring Honduras or, more recently, against Costa Rica.
By Marco Cáceres
Just when you think that the governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela cannot possibly come across as any more clownish than they are already perceived around the world, Nicaragua's Ambassador to the United States, Francisco Campbell, responds to the growing international indignation regarding the violent crackdown in Libya by Col. Muammar Qaddafi by expressing his country's opposition to moves by Western nations to intervene in the situation. "Nicaragua is opposed to any kind of intervention in the affairs of other countries," said Ambassador Campbell on Friday. He stressed that Nicaragua did not support any actions that one nation may take to influence events in another. Mr. Campbell's remarks regarding Libya were reinforced on Monday by Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, who stated, "We must be cautious. We know what our policy is: We do not support invasions, or massacres, or anything, no matter who does it." Oh really?
Opting Out of Electoral Politics
The FNRP has effectively restricted its ability to make a difference in Honduras by choosing not to play in the game of electoral politics, much in the same way as the opposition to President Chávez opted out of the Venezuelan elections in 2006, thereby ceding to him unchallenged control of the government for the past four years.
By Marco Cáceres
The National Front for Popular Resistance's (FNRP) vote this weekend against forming a political party to participate in the national elections in 2013 represent a principled stand. It is consistent with the organization's view that the overthrow of former President Manuel Zelya on June 28, 2009 was a coup d'état that effectively broke the constitutional order in Honduras, and thus that all that proceeded it, including the election of Porfirio Lobo as President on November 29, 2009, is illegitimate. Accordingly, the FNRP refuses to participate in any process that takes place under the Lobo administration, be it an election, a referendum, or a plebiscite until Mr. Zelaya returns safely to Honduras and has all criminal charges against him dropped, and everyone who was involved in plotting and carrying out the coup is removed from the government and punished.
Muammar's Latin Pals
The leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela this week came out in support of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi despite the fact that the Libyan dictator, who has long been considered a madman, is now positioning himself to go down in history as another one of those tyrants who callously slaughtered his own people. While Mr. Qaddafi may never be as notorious or attain the levels of killing efficiency of a Hitler, a Stalin, a Pol Pot, a Hussein, or even an Idi Amin, he will likely be remembered as at least a junior member of that fraternity. It is understandable that Fidel Castro and Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chávez would be reluctant to openly criticize Mr. Qaddafi, given their close personal bonds and genuine admiration for each other. But to come out and publicly declare solidarity with Mr. Qaddafi, as did Mr. Ortega. Or to suggest that Libya's troubles were due to an oil plot by the US government, thus portraying Mr. Qaddafi as an innocent victim... as did Mr. Castro and Mr. Chávez. Well, it's going to be a lot tougher to talk about being defenders of the people, as these populist socialists so often like to claim. And to think that these are the guys whom Manuel Zelaya befriended, admires, and sought to emulate in Honduras. How do they look to you now Mr. Zelaya? (2/26/11)
A Critical Weekend for the FNRP
It is possible that the FNRP will find a way to unify everyone under one umbrella again. It is also possible that the FNRP will continue to fragment, and that the current core of 31 groups may be less at the end of this weekend.
By Marco Cáceres
Tomorrow's General Assembly of the National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP) in Tegucigalpa is expected to draw more than 3,000 people, representing numerous civil and social organizations from all over Honduras. The purpose of the meeting is to strategize about how to proceed with forming a National Constituent Assembly to review and rewrite the country's Constitution, as well as secure the return of former President Manuel Zelaya without having him be subjected to prosecution by the government for a series of alleged crimes committed during his administration. The gathering, which will commence at 8 am, should provide some interesting insights into the clarity of thought within the FNRP, but more importantly... the degree of cohesiveness within the movement, particularly in light of yesterday's announcement by the "Liberals in Resistance" -- an FNRP sect -- that its members would not participate in the General Assembly.
Pursuing Wind in Honduras
Honduras could soon serve as a wonderful blueprint for how to lift poor countries out of their poverty by way of renewable energy, whether it is wind or solar or geothermal or hydropower -- all of which the country is well positioned to pursue and benefit from.
By Matthew Sly
There are a number of renewable energy projects being proposed in Honduras, including two wind farms -- the Cerro de Hul near Tegucigalpa and the Sayab in the municipality of San Marco de Colón (Choluteca). The Cerro de Hul will have 102 megawatts of installed electrical capacity when it is completed in 2012. The Sayab, scheduled to begin construction in 2013, would have a capacity of 100 megawatts. Given Honduras' dependency on foreign sources of energy and its particular susceptibility to price fluctuations in fuels such as oil, it's a good thing that the country is turning to renewable energy. The move will not only contribute to the process of creating energy independence, it will stimulate job creation and gradually diminish the use of fuels that irreversibly tax the environment.
My Magnificent and Terrible Honduras
It is said that Honduras is a country where the rights of women are respected. This is not true. Here, women are killed as if they were cockroaches.
By Billy Peña
I grew up on the banana plantations in Honduras when campesinos would kill each other with machetes and bullets on payday. They killed each other on trains and in the fields. Death was a constant dance in the banana plantations, and that macabre dance went on for so many years that those bloodbaths came to be almost a natural part of daily life. The years of macho men killing each other never seemed to end. I left Honduras to study in the United States when I was 14 years old, but I had already seen bloody trains, canvas bags filled with corpses, and horrific scenes that I have never been able to forget. Honduras was always a wild country, where in order to be a true man it meant you had to get drunk, draw your pistols, pull out your machetes, and kill each other.
Emulating the Brilliant Embargo of Cuba
What Mr. Mack fails to realize is that being still is not the same as doing nothing, and that all motion is not the same as movement.
By Marco Cáceres
United States Congressman Connie Mack's recent call for a full-scale economic embargo of Venezuela and to have it placed on the US list of countries that sponsor terrorism is playing well before conservative audiences who would like nothing better than to see President Hugo Chávez punished for all the mean things he does around the world, and especially all that anti-US rhetoric of his. Remember when he had the nerve to insult President Bush at the United Nations? Mr. Chávez has been a thorn in the side of the US for many years, and the feeling is that it's time to bring him down a notch or two and put him in his place for daring to challenge the US and cozy up with unsavory governments such as Iran's. The three-term Congressman from Florida's 14th District is positioning himself for a run at US Senator Bill Nelson's seat in 2012, and so it is understandable that Mr. Mack would want to be perceived as the guy who finally took on Hugo Chávez.
The Hypocrisy of the Left
If the political left is anywhere near as noble, just, and visionary as it smuggly thinks it is, then it needs to be consistent. It must critique and challenge left-wing lunatics like Mr. Chávez with the same ferocity as it condemns coups in Honduras.
By Marco Cáceres
Tens of thousands of people demonstrate on the streets of Venezuelan cities against the repressive policies of President Hugo Chávez, but the political left in Honduras and around the world remains quiet. Mr. Chávez closes down television and radio stations and seeks to silence critical reporting in Venezuela, but the political left in Honduras and around the world utters not a word. Mr. Chávez calls for regulating the Internet in his country to censor public opinion, but the political left in Honduras and around the world looks the other way. For the fourth time in his 12-year tenure, Mr. Chávez is given the power to rule by decree by a Congress that he controls, but the political left in Honduras and around the world plays dumb.
Santos Pulls the Ole' Victim Card
By attributing his massive loss to some sort of political underhandedness on the part of the Nationalist Party, Mr. Santos exhibits either tremendous naïveté or an extreme degree of self-denial.
By Marco Cáceres
Former Liberal Party presidential candidate Elvin Santos yesterday blamed his loss to President Porfirio Lobo in the last general election to a campaign orchestrated by the Nationalist Party to generate hatred against him. Mr. Santos, who garnered only 38.1 percent of the vote, compared to Mr. Lobo's 56.56 percent, said, "We were victims of a process of hate during a campaign in which we had practically won the elections. There was nothing that people from the other party did not invent in order to stop us at all cost." The rationale put forth by Mr. Santos is that, on the day before President Manuel Zelaya was ousted from power, he was ahead in the polls by 17 points and was the overwhelming favorite to win on November 29, 2009.
