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Honduras for Dummies
There was a coup in Honduras this weekend (the first successful one in Latin America since the end of the Cold War), but if you didn't know about it, you wouldn't be alone. Even if you heard the news, you might not know much else about the ex-banana republic located between Guatemala and Nicaragua. The small Central American nation of Honduras has produced none of the famous musicians or controversial populist demagogues that pique our interest, although deposed president Manuel Zelaya is a close friend of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. But now that President Obama has roundly condemned the coup and pundits are calling it a litmus test fo democracy in the region, there's a few things you might want to know.
*According to extensive research, academia, news reports, Honduras hasn't visibly changed much since the days of Yanqui Imperialism. Just to be sure, I called my twin sister, who traveled the whole country by bus while working for Save the Children and said that Dole still has a significant presence, as do Mormon missionaries for whom Honduras is now a number one destination.
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Honduras Deception
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Unfortunately, it's not a number one destination for much of anybody else, except maybe the US Marines who came back seven times between 1900 and the late 1930s. Thereafter, the US happily tolerated coup after coup, dictator after dictator, until the 1980s. After that, a militarized Honduras was our proxy in the fight with the Sandistas in Nicaragua, and later, a bulwark against Latin America's pink populists. USAID spends about $50M a year in Honduras while the country languishes in quasi-destitute poverty, its citizens sewing Hanes t-shirts and shipping bananas and pinapples out of San Pedro Sula, the economic engine of the country. According to my sister "it's like if every single person in Mexico had to go to Ciudad Juarez to get any sort of work." Meanwhile, its legion of emigres are the butt of every Mexican joke.
Left-leaning populist Zelaya wanted to turn all that around, but after he pushed too hard for an unpopular constitutional referendum, he found himself on the wrong side of a strong (formerly US-funded) military, ripped from his Presidential Palace bed in Tegucigulpa last Sunday and sent packing to San Jose, Costa Rica, in his pajamas.
Things like this weren't supposed to happen anymore, not after W's lackluster support for the failed 2002 coup against Chavez, not in the New Latin America. Zelaya said he's headed back to his homeland on Thursday. If he fails, it may mean dark days ahead for Latin American democracy.
*Sourcing for this post has been clarified
YOU ARE THE DUMMY
What kind of ignorant person are you?... Coming across as a journalist, but yet you ar going by what your sister told you about a country which you make references to as if its another planet. You are an ignorant person... don't write stupid things you don't know anything about.
Honduras has and will always repute communism and the likes of Chavez, Castro, Ortega, and the bunch which you probably sympathize with. Obviously you are another hypocrite writer that spews stupidities about U.S. but would be in prison for that same liberty in the countries the Honduran people have demonstrated they want nothing to do with.
I truly believe that Hondurans will always be on the side of democracy and the United States.
This deposition of the president happened because he attempted to break the law of the republic he was voted to uphold. Not one bullet has been fired, thousands are marching peacefully to show the world that this is the wish of the nation.
Hondurans have demonstrated to the world that they may be a small, third world country, but they have the heart of true free people. They are not falling for the socialist reforms that Venezuelans, Cubans, and Bolivians have fallen into.
I am proud of what Honduran have done now, before it is too late, before the dictators take control of the military and for thousands of innocent lives to be slaughtered because they want to live free.
Inform yourself better. Go visit Honduras some day, no space suit needed. you will find beautiful, welcoming, FREE, LIBERTY LOVING people who will open their arms and treat you with respect.
Hondouras
Are you another illerate cia opperative?
Literary Objections?
At least he's literate enough to spell "Honduras" correctly.
..while "operative" has only one "p"...
I believe you've just stepped on your Anonymous pee-pee with your golf shoes on, and done so in a public forum.
Anonymity is a wise approach for you.
Hysterical, isn't it?
..to say nothing of the 'word' "illerate"...
Nonsense
More ignorance......................
This is a horribly written
This is a horribly written piece. I don't like to complain, but it just has to be said.
Furthermore, to imply that your audience may fall in the category of "dummy" on the subject, when Ms. Sonja Sharp clearly has some reading to do, is a bit of a misnomer. Thus both on the subjects of Honduras, and on the content specifications of a concise article.
The title is downright insulting to your member audience. Please don't write any more pieces if all that will result are reinforced negative stereotypes of the competency of the greater US populus abroad. I consider myself an average citizen, and I have a better grasp of the subjectmatter. I could write a better article, and journalism is not my expressed profession.
How could the editor have not put this piece on hold? I expect more from your reporting Mother Jones. I am horrified to the point of putting my next donation on hold.
Coup
The man did nothing to be deposed. He was suggesting a change in the law. Presidents have the right. It would be voted upon, like Señor Chavez put his changes up for a vote. Certain factions are terrified of Central/South/Latin America solidarity. The US, for one. Obama condemns the coup, but in reality is happy to see it go down.
...did nothing wrong..?
I guess that depends on whether ignoring the law of his land is "nothing wrong".
The "suggested" change to the Constitution amounted to changing it so he could be re-elected (no wonder he's pals with Chavez...), which the current Constitution forbids. Here's what Wikipedia says about how it went down:
In the June 28th 2009 Honduran coup d'état, President Manuel Zelaya was sent into exile by military forces. The coup resulted from a planned non-binding consultative poll on whether to conduct a referendum in November (alongside the Presidential elections) to approve the convening of a Constitutional National Assembly which would draft a new constitution. The plan for a constitutional assembly, along the lines of recent assemblies held by Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela, was supported by President Manuel Zelaya, but opposed by much of the Honduran establishment, which argued that Zelaya was merely seeking re-election (The Constitution Bans Both Re-Election AND ATTEMPTS TO REFORM THE RELEVANT ARTICLES). After a constitutional crisis which set the President against the Supreme Court, Army, and his own party, Zelaya was removed from office in what is widely viewed as a military coup, although the establishment has claimed legal cover for the move.
...
The constitutional crisis was sparked when Zelaya's 28 June consultative poll was ruled illegal by Honduras's Supreme Court, attorney general, top electoral body, and human-rights ombudsman. Zelaya nonetheless asked the Army to distribute ballots in accordance with its role in conducting elections. After Army chief Romeo Vásquez Velásquez refused to distribute ballots, Zelaya dismissed him from office. The dismissal was declared illegal by courts and the parliament. On June 28, 2009, shortly before polls were due to open for the poll, the armed forces deposed Zelaya.
Doesn't sound to me like this article's author has a grip on what Democracy actually means, as he claims "it may mean dark days ahead for Latin American democracy", given that the El Presidente was attempting to ignore the Constitution he no doubt swore an oath to uphold, and manipulate a change that would allow him to retain power in a manner forbidden by said Constitution.
Obama must take the blame
This development is horrific. It is the last straw for me. The generals who lead the coup were trained at the Ft. Benning so called "School of the America's" which should be called the school to keep reactionary murderous governments on top in as many Latin American countries as possible. They were in Washington's hip pocket and wouldn't have proceeded without a green light form the US. These duplicitous statements from Obama and Clinton condemning the coup are disgusting. Even if this occurred because Obama was asleep at the switch he must bear responsibility in the same way that Bush is responsible for 9/11. Zeyala was deposed because he raised the minimum wage in Honduras by 60% and threatened to improve the life of the worker's at the expense of US corporations and Honduran patrons. The issues in Iran and Honduras are similar except in this case the Obama administration could have stopped this rape of the democratic process. His campaign rhetoric was just a lot of hot air. His hypocrisy is pathetic. I certainly hopes he gets a strong challenge in the primaries. I won't be working for him anymore.
What dark hole did the author of "You are the Dummy" crawl out of?
Blind Faith
Zeyala was deposed because he raised the minimum wage in Honduras by 60%..
Yeah. That worked out splendidly.
Here's how Overseas Security Advisory Council evaluates it:
Honduras Kidnappings on the Increase
In January, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya increased the minimum wage 60 percent, raising monthly wages from US$ 181 to $289. As a result, an estimated 15,000 people have been laid off in urban areas. This number is expected to steadily increase as businesses cannot afford the new mandatory wages. Remittances from Hondurans in the U.S. have also decreased throughout 2008.
Some analysts predict increased crime in Honduras due to citizens unable to find legitimate sources of income. Many unemployed Hondurans could look to kidnapping for ransom in order to obtain large sums of money for a small amount of planning and effort. As the disparity between economic classes continues, wealthy Hondurans or foreigners of affluent appearance conducting business in Honduras could continue to be targeted at a higher rate.
http://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=98328
Commentary from other sources:
The government increased the minimum wage by decree after it failed to bring about an agreement between workers and business, as stipulated by the country’s labour laws.
...
“The sectors hardest hit by this demagogic, populist measure are medium and small companies, which are denied the right to grow and compete,” he said. “This year alone (2008), more than 15,000 people have been laid off, above all in the maquiladoras. Just imagine what lies ahead in 2009. Dismissals are inevitable.”
“This decision is going to hit us hard,” Elmer Sierra, a medium-sized producer of shrimp from southern Honduras, said, “There are no funds to stimulate production. The price of shrimp has fallen, and the only news from the banks is the hikes in the interest rate. I have tried to work out the numbers to avoid laying anyone off, but it seems impossible.”
Ela Ochoa, who owns a small clinic on the southeast side of Tegucigalpa, has three employees, who she pays more than the current minimum wage.
“With the new increase, I just can’t manage it. I’ll have to lay one of them off, and that is really painful because they are single mothers. Every night, I go over the numbers, but the government hasn’t left me any other option, because besides the increase, I’ll have to pay the workers’ rights (such as social security) required by law,” she said.
...
The tension over the minimum wage raise is not good “and promises nothing positive for the country,” said economy Professor Julio Raudales. “This is just one more ingredient in a grim outlook we are facing on the economic and financial fronts, the product of erratic internal actions and the global crisis.”
Raudales said the increase in wages and subsidies assigned by the government in 2008 to workers and farmers, among other sectors, lacked a “rational focus.”
“They only reflect how bad our finances are going. Everything indicates that Hondurans have not learned to save up in boom times and continue squandering money madly,” he said.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that Honduras’s GDP grew 3.8 percent in 2008 and projects two percent growth for 2009, in contrast with the 6.3 percent growth forecast when the current government took office in 2006.
http://hondurasnews.com/2009/01/06/minimum-wage-increase-bad-for-economy/
Minimum Wage?
Haven't these folks learned any thing from "economic advisers?"
They need to learn how to avoid the minimum wage, just make everybody "independent sub-contractors" like us developed nations.
Make them pay their own payroll taxes, insurance, and give them absolutely no job security or any of the rights and protections of employees.
That's how we "civilized" people in the US do it. Ain't we the smart ones?
Honduras:Not for Dummies, Just for those who love the Underdog.
Dear readers and writers:
I love this magazine and have been an avid reader for years. Unfortunately, I am having a bit of a problem with this post and do not agree with its stance.
THE COUNTRY
Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Yes, it is. So? To write about a country´ location or size, to explain the issues at hand in such a manner, doesn’t contribute or offer absolutely no clarity in terms of the country´s current, political situation.
(By the way and in case you are interested, Honduras might have many shanty towns but it also has some of the most beautiful beaches and diving waters in the world and has some of the most unique Mayan ruins on this continent.)
PRESIDENT ZELAYA AND HIS POLITICAL POLL
President Zelaya was elected fairly and under a democratic system. Yes, he was. And all Hondurans respected this and accepted it as such.
However and during the course of the last two months, Mr. Zelaya had proposed to make a poll to see if the country would accept a change in the nation´s constitution so that he might have the opportunity to be re-elected. He had already served his term and, under the Honduran constitution, was not eligible to run for re-election. The Supreme Court reviewed his petition and rejected it, calling it unconstitutional.
What did Mr. Zelaya do? He fired the Head of the Armed Forces and said he would continue with the poll regardless. In addition, the poll was to be paid with government funds not private funds. Mr. Zelaya was also being investigated for the misuse of government funds, among other things.
Mr. Zelaya argues that he just wanted to conduct a poll. Nothing else. Now to outsiders, ousting a President for this sole reason might appear appalling and illogical. And I would have to agree.
But what most people do not know is that it was very well known and publicly declared by Mr. Zelaya that he wanted to become the next Chavez in Central America. Is there anything wrong with that if the people elect him? No. However, the difference between Venezuela and Honduras is that Chavez had a majority of supporters in his country when he offered to take a poll as well as change the constitution. Unfortunately for Mr Zelaya , he did not have that much support and most were convinced that he would rig the poll to continue in command. I might remind you that the coup that took place was headed by his own political party.
Now, I don’t know why he wasn’t impeached, placed on trial or why a coup took place. Apparently, most Honduras today agree that they thought this was necessary in order to ensure their democracy. That one is up for grabs.
WRAPPING IT UP
I am an economist & financial analyst who grew up in Honduras. I have worked in the US for various institutions and now live in Mexico City.
I have mixed feelings about Honduras but I do know this: I am very proud that those people are doing what Americans did so many years ago, ensuring their freedom of speech and their basic liberties. The US had to fight and go against all odds when its Constitution was written. Well, in a way, Hondurans are rewriting their history today. As small as this country seems, the whole world is up in arms about it. The country has become a symbol. A symbol of the underdog fighting for what is rightfully his.
TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS BLOG
In the future and just as a suggestion, contact me when you are writing about Latin American issues. I would be glad to give you my take on events. I am sure your sister would approve.
Best Regards,
Kirsten Jepsen
This is possibly the
This is possibly the worst-written article I have read in my entire life. Piecing together such statements as "they sew Hanes T-shirts" and "Dole has a presence there" as facts along with her sister travelling across by bus? Hey Ms. Sharp, I could write a better article by putting together facts from Wikipedia as well as google.com. Go get another day job.
Three Hondurans Walk into a Bar
My half-brother read this article and told me to comment on his behalf.
According to him, this three-paragraph micro-blurbis, in fact, a comprehensive manual on "everything worth knowing about Honduras. At least that's how he put it. You could definitely publish it as "for Dummies" franchise pamphlet. Of course, this guy loves telling Honduran jokes--and is racist against them generally--so I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic.
He also told me to respond to all of the Latin-American coup apologists that would comment about how this illegal coup is "the will of the people." Apparently, the Hondurans are so dumb that they legitimately elected a socialist, pinko reformer (like this Obama character, who may not even be a U.S. citizen, I hear).
So, maybe the Hondurans ARE as dumb as the Mexicans say! (They're also quite short, on average, I'm told.)
Honduras coup
It is very difficult for latiamericans to criticize themselves...but what the article says..it is the truth...I don't have to go there to probe it...who wants to see the maras..."freedom fighters" according to Reagan....the fact that there is an eleite there...a banana army....Ohhh...trained...wasn't there a soccer war?....and thatother countries in LA are changing the constitution to allow presidents to run again...look at Uribe in Colombia...the mos facist country in LA...he is goin for his third term...contreversial?...very?....is anybody saying or doing anything about that?....no....so, come on you latinos having a good life in the USA...have the inteligence and nerve to call it what it is...a COUP...the overthrow o a democratic government..and the commie story is old...not even China is commie...as for Mr Jepsen...if there is such a name...I haven't read any of your books...you sound like a very important intellectual and offering free advise????....check with Kissinger, he might have a paper boy job for you.
sometimes nothing is better than just anything -- like this
tagged as:- solution
Mother Jones should be quick to blacklist the writer of this obnoxious so-called article with insulting ignorance of Honduras. What is happening there is very important to the rest of the Americas and should be a top story in MJ for the progressive tide in Latin America is being tested. I have visited Honduras several times and hopefully few Hondurans will run across this terrible piece of writing for they might conclude Mother Jones is a flippant, "who cares what happens to those brown people" rag.
This piece is far below MJ's standards: editors, please take note. Nothing would've been better. There are qualified writers on the subject: consider other left publications, including RealNews.com news stories and CEPR.net news bulletins.
Thank you for your consideration.
From the editor
tagged as:- result
Actually Sonja is very knowledgeable on this topic. She has degree in modern Latin American history from UC Berkeley, speaks fluent Spanish, and—in addition to a sister who's done extensive development work there—has done a lot of research on the topic. She was to write short blog item that would begin to put into context a country little analyzed in the English language media. She may have underestimated how familiar the MoJo audience would be with the subject...Forgive her she is young and would have no way of knowing how passionate people who remember the politics of Latin America in the 70s and 80s would be. She will clarify her post and comment for herself.
However, many of these comments read to me as folks who are really just against Zelaya/populism/left-wing candidates. You have a right to that opinion, but don't dress up a political critique as something other than that.
Clara Jeffery
Editor, Mother Jones
The other coup
tagged as:- result
And perhaps Obama will next call for the return of Aristide in Haiti. Don't hold your breath.
Be thankful
Despite the weeping and wailing of left-wing anti-Americans (redundant) the attempt to impose another communist dictatorship, ala Cuba and Venezuela has been thwarted. Now if Ogabe had any guts, which were so clearly missing concerning Iran, he would recognize the new government and publicly thank it for its action.
golpe de estado
Leo con atención sus comentarios y me da tristeza ver que ustedes gringos siguen instalados en una suerte de evolucionismo antropológico justificado insistentemente por una visión de democracia difícil de tragar. ¿Por qué tienen tanto miedo al "otro"?
Es urgente que en Latinoamérica podamos dirimir nuestras diferencias políticas por vía del diálogo, cosa que resulta difícil cuando el mercado está por encima de todo, de cualquier argumento, incluso de la vida humana.
En Honduras se ha perpetrado un humillante golpe de estado. Las razones son diversas, pero principalmente se trata de fuerzas conservadoras y reaccionarias que se manifiestan de forma brutal.
Tanto la OEA como la ONU, en diversos foros internacionales, e incluso en el Parlamento Europeo ha habido rechazo absoluto al asalto al orden legal y constitucional que sufren los hondureños hoy día.
Los invito vecinos del norte, a que estén a la altura del momento histórico y que por un momento dejen la prepotencia de lado y se vuelvan ciudadanos del mundo. Los conmino a que sean sensibles a formas de pensar que pretenden construir sociedades mas justas e igualitarias aunque no partan de los ideales de su "american way of life" y que recuerden que el presidente Zelaya fue electo por sufragio libre del pueblo de Honduras.
Wonderful
Incredibly interesting comments. Love the editor. A lot of passion on this topic. I am one of the few not as familiar with these issues (Gen-Xr). Thanks for the knowledge. The comments really help flesh out the sensitive issues.
Zelaya is NOT a saint - that does NOT make the coup legitimate
Zelaya was elected as a centrist president with no actual mandate for socialist reform. He got a sweet deal from Chavez - who is quite liberal with his country's oil resources. He started towards more liberal worker reforms and embraced the less corporate friendly Bolivarian alternative to the US "free trade" model. He saw the constitution as an impediment to getting more radical change. He openly sought a constitutional convention.
The current constitution - while flawed - was dead on about disallowing such a change during elections for public office [ex post facto]. Zelaya as executive ordered the military to distribute the ballots [not very smart with a US funded and terrorist trained leadership: very provocative]. The head of the military refused to violate the current constitution. Zelaya fired him as any chief executive in a democracy is entitled to do. The general responded by instigating a coup. That was also a violation of the constitution. Nobody has suggested impeachment or a military courts martial for either party to this farce.
The best way to have handled this was to distribute the ballots and have the campaign and let everyone know that the election was illegal. There was no guarantee that the people would approve a constitutional convention to rewrite the constitution. There was no guarantee that this constitutional rewrite would have gone socialist or even fascist. And if the courts threw it out Zelaya could have his supporters mount an initiative after the presidential elections - in which Zelaya might have been elected as a write in candidate. The latter seems unlikely as I suspect some other true leftist candidate - with better credentials and actually campaigning as a populist - would usurp Zelaya's mantle of "peoples' candidate". As it is, this is one embarrassing mess for all parties in Honduras.
May God's will be done on earth and let it begin - and end - with myself. If it happens any other way it's not God's will.
Honduran crisis
Thankyou for this. It appears that the military overstepped it authority, even if President Zalaya overstepped his, creating more of a mess than necessary.
any of you know what a blog is?
This was a blog post, not a journalistic article. More of a personal essay. I thought she did a good job.
I wonder why...
...they use the slogan "Smart, Fearless JOURNALISM" at the top of their web pages, if they don't expect what they publish here to be taken for Journalism?
can anyone confirm that we
can anyone confirm that we no longer fund the honduras military?
Actually...
...Mexicans hate Salvadorans and Guatemalans before Hondurans.
Honduras for Dummies
To the Editor Clara Jeffery: It is your job to check on the quality and veracity of your writers. I am sorry to inform you that Sonja has failed to show being knowledgeable about the topic. Similarly, I am sorry to let you know that your lack of judgment is scary! The fact that she went to an American University does not make her an expert in anything either. DO NOT have her writing on important things let alone politics until you both understand your limits. It is ironic she titled her blog Honduras for Dummies; I think it should read “Honduras, as seen by a Dummy who went to UC Barkley and learned nothing”. You both show that you are fearless indeed... of ignorance. Yours humbly, a Honduran expat.
The reality of it is that
The reality of it is that the average american doesn't care or know anything about Honduras. The article does address much of the basics. The comments here seem to be more political in nature and have nothing to do with the journalism. Have you guys ever followed a blog... jeez
coup
I am Honduran, born and raised there. I lived there through the eighties, and I am horrified to see that once again the military has raped the nation. I saw people disappear everywhere during the eighties and remember very well the horrible repression. I don't know what kind of freedom the people who support the coup are trying to protect. In Honduras, the majority of people enjoy mostly the freedom to starve and to be exploited by foreign interests. It is easy to manipulate poorly educated and pratically illiterate people by labeling any action that threatens to put limits on the voracity of foreign and national businesses as communism.
You americans are so dums,
You americans are so dums, you are always thinking about hamburguers and disneyworld.
show some respects for those things you do not know or do not understand, get a better source of information and don't let yourselves be fouled by communists...smooth talkers...get real!!! review your own history you may find out that the world is what it is today thanks to you...and remember Kenndy, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Panama....etc.
ummm... some of us might take that personaly!!!
you know, you seem pretty arogant. besides you dont see americans ( well, any I know) going around telling people thier dum!!!!!! besides, maybe just maybe the next generation(me) will do better... you never know. just have a little faith!!!!and help the next generation by mentoring themon the things YOU know and think should be changed...how else is the future supposed to get any better!!
P.S sorry about any spelling errors, I was NEVER a good speller!!!