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Heads of Striking Teachers' Unions May be Fired

The government of President Porfirio Lobo is considering firing the leaders of the teachers' unions who remain on strike and refuse to abide by Executive Decree PCM-016-2011, issued on Friday by the Council of Ministers and approved by the Ministry of Education. The emergency measure seeks to "guarantee the right of education for children and adolescents while the state of emergency declaration for the Public Education System remains in effect nationwide". It also instructs "state institutions to support and collaborate with those teachers who comply with their classroom responsibilities" and calls for "parents to collaborate to help ensure the continuation of this public service". Union leaders who may lose their jobs include Bertín Alfaro, Joel Almendarez, Edgardo Casaña, Eulogio Chávez, Armando Gómez, Orlando Mejía, Edwin Oliva, Antonio Recarte, Jaime Rodríguez, Lorenzo Sánchez, and Luis Sosa. Additionally, the Lobo administration may suspend approximately 1,000 teachers and replace them with contracted teachers if they do not return to their classroom and resume their responsibilities. (3/22/11)

State of Emergency Declared for Public Education

The government of Honduras on Friday declared a state of emergency for the country's public school system due to the continuing strike by the teachers' unions. Executive Decree PCM-016-2011, issued by the Council of Ministers and approved by the Ministry of Education, seeks to "guarantee the right of education for children and adolescents while the state of emergency declaration for the Public Education System remains in effect nationwide". The decree calls for contracting teachers to replace teachers who have abandoned their classrooms in order to participate in demonstrations against the government during the past four weeks. The temporary teachers will be paid through a special payroll funded through deductions from the salaries of striking teachers. Minister of Education Alejandro Ventura has identified at least 1,000 teachers who will be contracted under the decree despite death threats from certain union members. The emergency measure also instructs "state institutions to support and collaborate with those teachers who comply with their classroom responsibilities" and calls for "parents to collaborate to help ensure the continuation of this public service". (3/21/11)

Congress Seeks Greater Role for Parents in Public Education

The president of Honduras' National Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández, met yesterday with public officials in La Ceiba to discuss proposed Congressional legislation intended to improve the country's education system. "We are initiating in [the department of] Atlántida a campaign to create awareness about a legislative initiative to incorporate parents and community leaders in the educational process," said Congressman Hernández. "I know that some of the leaders of the teachers' unions in Tegucigalpa do not like the idea, and I'm sorry about that. But the time for a profound and strong change in education is now, and what we are trying to do is nothing less than strengthen the public schools and improve the levels of education." The legislation would require more active engagement by parents and community leaders with teachers throughout the school year in a variety of areas aimed at improving the classroom environment and curriculum. Mr. Hernández stressed that there is no way for Honduras to move ahead if it does not change its education system. (3/15/11)

Copinh Blamed for School Burning in Santa Rosita

The online newspaper Proceso Digital is reporting today that members of the Civil Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh) on Sunday night allegedly burned down a Proheco school in the village of Santa Rosita, near the municipality of San Francisco (Lempira). No one was in the school at the time, and there were no claims of anyone being killed or injured. According to an account by the mayor of Santa Rosita, Elmer Noel Molina, individuals associated with Copinh used desks and books to start the fire. No motives have been given for the incident, and details of what occurred remain sketchy. A second Proheco school is also believed to have been burned by members of Copinh in the department of Lempira. Copinh is one of many groups affiliated with the National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP). It is made up of indigenous Lenca peoples from the departments of Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira, and Santa Bárbara. One of its primary aims is to legalize the ownership for the Lencas of ancestral lands and promote social and economic development managed by their communities. Proheco is a community-based education project administered by Honduras' Ministry of Education. (3/10/11)

Lobo Names Commission to Oversee Model Cities

President Porfirio Lobo on Monday created within the Council of Ministers a Coordinating Commission for the Special Development Regions (CORED) tasked with carrying out the establishment of the first "model cities" in Honduras. President Lobo's Chief of Staff, Octavio Sánchez, said that the commission will consist of five individuals appointed by Mr. Lobo for a period of five years. The CORED's first responsibility will be to identify the areas in the country best suited for these semi-autonomous regions. The Honduran government has proposed four sites for "charter cities", including near the city of Trujillo, the towns of Amapala and Ocotepque, and the Agalta Valley. It has recommended that the first of these cities be allocated 1,000 square kilometers of land. Additionally,the CORED would be responsible for developing a trust to oversee the management of the land and financial resources, as well as writing a constitutional statute to regulate that organization and the administration of the charter cities.

Yani Rosenthal on the Campaign Trail

There is a great difference between Liberals and Nationalists. The latter are those who on a weekly basis increase the price of gasoline -- the ones who waste the nation's money, while the hospitals remain without medicines and the schools lose their lunch programs.
-Yani Rosenthal

Yani Rosenthal, who served as Minister of the Presidency under the administration of President Manuel Zelaya, continues to tour Honduras to listen to public opinion and gauge support for his candidacy for President of Honduras. Mr. Rosenthal has been the most active and visible pre-candidate within the Liberal Party, traveling widely in Honduras during the past few months to convey the message that he is the person most able to unify the party. Mr. Rosenthal on Friday spoke at the College of Lawyers in San Pedro Sula and stressed that one of his main priorities is to convince the leadership of the Liberal Party to move up by a year its internal election primaries in order to gain a head start on the incumbent Nationalist Party. Speaking as if he were already in campaign mode, Mr. Rosenthal said, "There is a great difference between Liberals and Nationalists. The latter are those who on a weekly basis increase the price of gasoline -- the ones who waste the nation's money, while the hospitals remain without medicines and the schools lose their lunch programs."

Education Ministry May Replace Striking Teachers

Honduran Minister of Education Alejandro Ventura announced yesterday in a radio broadcast that he has a list of 25,000 unemployed teachers who, sooner or later, may be hired to replace teachers who insist on remaining on strike. He said that he has been instructed by President Porfirio Lobo to "contract another teacher whenever there is one who does not wish to conduct classes because he or she is on strike". Minister Ventura expressed his concern that the new school year is barely a month old and already some public schools have missed two weeks of classes, but that it is important to "clarify that the majority of the teachers do not observe the strikes". He said that there is no reason for the strikes because the government is paying the salaries that it owes to some of the teachers. He reiterated that "the striking teachers will be substituted by teachers who do wish to work". (3/6/11)

FNRP Electoral Position Lacks Unanimity

The vote by the General Assembly of the National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP) on Saturday against registering as a political party and participating in the national elections in 2013 was supported by the delegations of 14 of Honduras' 18 departments, plus a delegation representing Hondurans living overseas. According to Carlos H. Reyes, who is a member of the FNRP's Executive Committee, the Assembly believes that four steps must precede any participation by the FNRP in the electoral process. First, a National Constituent Assembly must be established. Second, a new electoral law must be written. Third, former President Manuel Zelaya and all other members of his administration who are in exile abroad must be allowed to return to Honduras without fear of persecution. Fourth, government institutions that supported Mr. Zelaya's overthrow must be dismantled. Although the position was supported by the vast majority of the Assembly, delegations from four departments dissented, suggesting that the FNRP may find it increasingly difficult maintain a united front.

Zelaya Pushes for Socialist Revolution in Honduras

The National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP) is scheduled to hold its National Assembly meeting tomorrow at the Instituto Central Vicente Cáceres.in Tegucigalpa. The event, which will bring together at least 1,500 delegates and 1,500 substitutes from Honduras' 18 departments and 298 municipalities, is viewed by the FNRP as its most important gathering to date. One of the first items on the agenda is the ratification of the election of former President Manuel Zelaya as the General Coordinator of the FNRP and Juan Barahona as Sub-Coordinator. But the main focus will be to develop a comprehensive strategy to convoke a National Constituent Assembly and to ensure Mr.Zelaya's safe and immediate return to Honduras. In a letter written to the FNRP on Wednesday, Mr. Zelaya recognized tomorrow's gathering as the "most important event in Honduran political history". He called on all the members of the FNRP to "push for a movement of national liberation based on pro socialist revolutionary ideas and principles in order to build a new society".

Honduras: Facts and Figures

Today's column in La Tribuna newspaper by Ricardo Romero González is more a compilation of data about Honduras than an editorial. In fact, that's precisely what it is. Taken as a whole, the information provides an insight into Honduras that is helpful in understanding the country, and so Honduras Weekly has taken the liberty to translate it into English to give it exposure to a larger international audience. The list starts off... It is estimated that Honduras currently has a population of 8.2 million people, making it the 94th most populated country in the world. Its population is similar in size to that of Virginia in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of the population is "mestizo", a mix of indigenous peoples and Europeans. Women make up 50.7 percent of the population, with a ratio of 97.1 males per 100 women. In other words, there are about 120,000 more women than men in Honduras. In rural areas, however, there are more men than women.