NATIONAL |
NATIONAL |
|
|
Monday, November 26, 2001 Online Edition 47 |
|
Election Results: Maduro Wins!
|
|
Honduras presidential campaign: Ricardo Maduro and Rafael Pineda favorites to succeed Flores Ricardo Maduro is a 55 year-old divorced businessman who has undergone a true metamorphosis in his life since entering the political arena. His adversaries find him intolerable, his comrades see him as a last chance at getting into power, and he defines himself as a simple man with principles who enjoys his privacy and whose greatest treasures are his daughters: Carolina, Cecilia and Lorena. Born on April 20, 1946, Maduro is an Economist graduated from Stanford University in California. He went to high school in Pennsylvania and grade school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During the Callejas administration, he held the position of President of the Central Bank. In 1994 he retired to private life. Ricardo Maduro is Honduran by birth, born abroad in Panama. His parents were Osmond Maduro Cardoze and Maria Cristina Joest Midence. According to his resume, he conducted high school studies in the Central School for Boys of Tegucigalpa and the Jose Trinidad Reyes Institute of San Pedro Sula. Afterwards, he lived in several cities, working until he obtained a teacher's degree. He graduated from the Francisco Morazan Superior Teacher's School with a degree in Middle School Educational Science. Pineda Ponce has been a grade school teacher, Minister of Education, member and President of the National Congress and is now a candidate for the Presidency. He is currently married to his second wife, Lidia Pineda Ponce, who calls him a good father and husband.
Casa Alianza objects to five Supreme Court Magistrates nominations Following the necessary procedures in which objections can be made by the public, Casa Alianza based their action on the fact that during previous terms of offices, these judges passed a law allowing them to send children to prison in 1995; a violation of the Honduran Constitution and International Treaties that protect children. In 1999, the Interamerican Court of Human Rights made the Honduran government compensate each one of the minor offenders for abuse, approximately 800 in all. Case Alianza is of the opinion that human rights and constitutional violators should not sit on the Supreme Court. -El Heraldo
|
UD and PINU-SD government plans for 2002-2006
Matias Funes, Democratic Unification (UD)The newest political party of Honduras, Democratic Unification (UD), will participate for the second time in this country's general elections with intellectual, congressmen Matias Funes on top as presidential candidate. The penitentiary system will be radically modified with the purpose of allowing prisoners to undertake a real rehabilitation process, while firmly punishing those who violate the law. While denouncing that the right to education has been denied by all previous governments to impede the people the development of critical capacity, UD wants to declare the poorest urban and rural areas as the number one priority centers for education. Once in power, they will guarantee an obligatory, high quality public school that will offer opportunities for intellectual, critical, creative and technological
growth They also intend to "revolutionize" the evaluation system, and carry on a participative plan to eradicate illiteracy. The first step to take according to the UD is to define a new financial and market policy that can make a profit with the Central American integration. In addition, it is necessary to diversify and promote the export of national products and services, and to support the research work of new productions techniques. The small and medium industry will receive better training and adequate financing, and agrarian policies will be changed so that all campesinos can have access to a piece of land. They wish to remove supernumerary judges to create mediation centers inside the courts instead, to replace presidential designates for a single vice-president, to turn the National Election Tribune into a political-free entity and to have congressmen elected separately from the president. "We can rescue some positive elements from the current economic crisis. One of them is fighting against the values that come directly from the logic of the market such as success, money, competence, which are definitely more appetizing and attractive than solidarity, generosity or austerity." The leader of the green and yellow flag party is committed to reducing inequality and building a fair and more just society. The plan's structure includes five main issues: Generation of richness and social well-being, social cohesion and integration, environment, foreign policy and the modernization of the State. On a different matter, PINU-SD authorities want to establish a new item within the Republic's general budget, destinated to offering allowances to purchase houses, lands, as well as home building and/or repairing projects. This government plan addresses the issue of juridical security as well, through the establishment of specific measures, such as assigning at least three percent of the State's current expenses to the Supreme Court of Justice. "We will fight against impunity and will promote transparency in the application of the law," says Valladares. Like the National and the Liberal and Christian Democracy parties, the "cornerstone" in PINU-SD's government plan is education. The goal is to set up an educational system that will enable people to fully develop their capacities, and therefore improve their opportunities. About economy, industry and tourism, businessman Olban Valladares' projects feature the creation a National Infrastructure Plan, a National Economy System, stimulating the agroforestry industry, and promoting a National Net of Rural Tourism. |
Monday, November 19, 2001 Online Edition 45 |
|
Eight days prior to elections Hondurans live the festive life with their presidential candidates On Saturday November 10, the candidate for the National party, Ricardo Maduro, visited the city of San Pedro Sula, which is considered faithful to the Liberal party, where he put together a huge convention which was attended by some 50 thousand people. Meanwhile, in Tegucigalpa, the candidate for the Liberal party, Rafael Pineda Ponce, filled the National Stadium "Tiburcio Carias Andino", which has space for about 42 thousand people. Both politicians are proclaiming themselves to be the favorite, with the support of their supporters in Honduras main cities. On Thursday, November 15, Cid-Gallup published a poll in which Ricardo Maduro was the favorite. Rafael Pineda Ponce himself called the radio announcer that broadcast the news, saying with irony that if they can say that Maduro has an advantage in San Pedro Sula, it is best that he, Pineda Ponce, go ahead and resign. It would appear that he does not hold much faith in the Cid-Gallup evaluation. In general, there is certainty, that there won't be fraud in the election, and that the presence of observers from the Organization of American States (OEA) will give even more credibility to the process, as well as more trust and transparency. The Hondurans are hoping to have an honest election, but they are not sure that the National Election Tribunal is contributing sufficiently to insure a process that is clean and impartial. Also discovered by the poll, was the fact that a good number of Hondurans have decided to cross vote on their ballots, selecting from one party for president and another for mayor and other positions. In Tegucigalpa, the trend for mayor is in favor of Miguel Pastor. In San Pedro Sula there is a group ready to vote for Rodolfo Padilla Suncery for mayor, but not for Rafael Pineda Ponce for president. Simultaneously, Hondurans interviewed believe that the principle problem facing this country is that of crime and violence, because of which they are considering Ricardo Maduro to be the better candidate, as he has been making more of an effort to confront this problem. Maduro is seen as much stronger than Pineda regarding the issue of combating crime, as well as having more capacity to create employment and to improve relations between Honduras and the United States. Moreover, Maduro is seen as a person who can govern either the same as or better than President Carlos Flores, who has been very highly regarded by the population. A negative point for Maduro is that people suspect that he is more predisposed towards privatizing ENEE and Hondutel.
Cangregal River hydroelectric project under fire According to the opposition the project as it stands would only benefit investors, allowing them to make a quick and highly profitable return on their investment, while destroying the ecological, cultural and economic patrimony of La Ceiba. The project would be executed by Honduran company Hydro-Honduras, the U.S. company Hydro-West, and the Italian construction company, Astaldi-Columbus. The President of Hydro-Honduras is Freddy Nassar, son-in-law of Miguel Facusse, one of the richest men in Central America and uncle to Honduran President Carlos Flores. If built, the project would eliminate a natural barrier protecting the Pico Bonito National Park, accelerating its destruction and that of several of the Cangregal River watersheds that it contains. While Hydro-Honduras says the river won't dry up because other watersheds exist below the proposed dam site, no hydrological studies have been done substantiating this claim. Also, local NGO's have been petitioning Hydro-Honduras for two years to provide vital information concerning the project, data that has been withheld and or altered, another SINEIA violation. Municipal laws were not respected either, as no participatory meetings with municipal authorities concerning the project were held. At this time, the Mayor of La Ceiba, Gonzalo Rivera, has petitioned USAID the participation of their Corps of Engineers in conducting an independent, two-month evaluation that would provide alternatives to the present project and allow him to make better decisions concerning the issue.
He mentioned the fact that while the ENEE is building 1,442 more generating projects around the country, the greater supply will hike up the number of consumers by nearly a million, increasing the cost of providing the service to more than the 280 million already budgeted. Arevalo also stated that while IDB is interested in staying within the budget by reducing subsidy and limiting it to certain areas, he is of the opinion that it cannot be totally eliminated because of the current deplorable economic situation affecting 80% of the population. He also stated that the biggest consumers of the electricity subsidize the rest of the population because they pay higher rates. -La Tribuna
|
Proposed government plans Contrary to what "fundamentalists" state, Iriarte thinks it is wrong to leave everything to the will of the free market, since the State is the one called to regulate economy and society. "We hold the to principle that there is as much market as possible and as much State as is suitable to social needs." The DC has identified five transversal axes around which their plan can be successfully performed: the strengthening of the national identity, the participation of the civil society in all matters related to social and political life; the negotiated solution of differences and the search for consensus at all levels; transparency, and the active promotion of the ethical, civic and moral values of our nationality. Meanwhile, the key elements of this party's offer consist in carrying on a different macroeconomic policy, fighting poverty and indigence, establishing new social and politic policies, as well as a participative democracy and
governability. In regards of the fight against poverty, Iriarte says that "we can't and shouldn't remain indifferent to the poverty and misery of our compatriots, due to an economic growth that falsely promises to return benefits to the population." Moreover, his plan will emphasize the participation of civilians in all fields, including combating corruption, security strategies, and strengthening the Honduran family. Additionally, the DC has designed a special project to transform the Honduran educational system. Marco Orlando Iriarte has a degree in Education Sciences. He is a co-founder of the Christian Democratic Party of Honduras, which was born in 1968, as well as of the Central General de Trabajadores and the Union Nacional de Campesinos labor unions. He was vice-president of the National Election Tribune, and he is currently the Executive Secretary of the Convergence National Forum
(FONAC). A school teacher himself, another of Pineda Ponce's goals is increasing the schooling average, so that by the end of his term of office, Hondurans 15 years old and under, have had completed their primary education. In addition, he will incorporate an obligatory pre-school year to the system and multi-ethnic educational policies. He intends to implement what he calls "an inter-banking exchange rate", and to support the National Commission of Banks and Insurance, in order to guarantee the deposits of the public and promote productive investments. Now that the controversial law to create the Popular Bank has been approved,
"Pin-Pon" says this institution will be a main tool finance the micro, small and medium sized enterprises. The judicial system will continue its on-going historic reform process, focusing on the independent and politically free administration of justice. Pineda Ponce wants to increase sentencing and prison terms for those who commit the "most abominable crimes", as well as acts of corruption. One interesting, specific statement of this candidate's plan is the construction of multi-family condominiums in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and Choloma. Moreover, he is offering the building of community day-care centers, teaching centers for children with special needs, and the creation of the Instituto de la Tercera Edad (Institute for Senior Citizens), to motivate and take profit of the productive capacity, experience and service vocation of this sector. The main public hospitals will be functionally and structurally transformed, and a permanent service of medical brigades will be implemented. Rafael Pineda Ponce supports the construction of a new airport for Tegucigalpa, and the separate election of the President of the Republic, congressmen and mayor's.
|
Monday, November 12, 2001 Online Edition 45 |
|
Three days after Michelle, two years Mitch, Garifuna United for Progress
By
SUZANNE SHENDE Special to HTW (First
of two parts) When
tropical Storm #15 and Hurricane Michelle bloated the Aguan River last week,
Amada Solano called from the Santa Rosa de Aguan to report that, once again, the
town was cut off, areas flooded, the sea had carved away at the coastline and
two houses had fallen into its waves. The
raging waters of the river converted the road into a veritable waterfall, which
in its wake left a gigantic hole — even before reaching the uncrossable “plancha”’,
or the low cement crossing of a river, which remains invisible, under many feet
of the fast moving river. While
the more central towns, that unfortunately suffered from the flooding, received
adequate media coverage as to their plight, other more isolated communities,
equally affected, failed to receive sufficient attention and help.
According to radio and phone reports, the villages or aldeas of
Sangrelaya and Cocalito, in the Municipality of Iriona, 85 houses were flooded,
potable water was contaminated, 150 manioc, 70 rice, and 28 corn fields were
lost, along with 10 cows. In San Jose de la Punta, 45 homes were flooded, in
Tocamacho, 35, and in Punta Piedra, 20. The
isolated coastal Garifuna villages in the region also reported lost crops and
worries over hunger. These
recent storms only underlined how Aguan, in particular, was left vulnerable
after all the damage done by Hurricane Mitch, three years ago.
Secundina Ramos, who lost her house there in the deadly Mitch, explained
how the canoe which was rescuing her from the raging river went under: “I
grabbed a child, swam with one arm, they threw us a rope, and hauled us to the
river’s edge. But nine others, of
the 16 who were in the canoe with me, drowned.”
One can never fully recover from the loss of life of a friend, colleague
or family member. Nevertheless,
some of the material damage is being addressed, little by little, by a group of
Garifunas which formed in October, 1998. In
the aftermath of Mitch, they united to create the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna
de Honduras, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) based in
Trujillo, Colon. Secundina is
one of the Mitch survivors for whom the Comite built a house. After Mitch, as
after Michelle, government emphasis in immediate reconstruction focused on the
central parts of the country, and left the Garifuna coast largely to fend for
itself. In response to the needs of
the Garifuna communities which weren’t receiving sufficient assistance from
national or international sources, the Comite built 13 houses in Trujillo for
people without resources who had lost their homes, assisted in three
construction projects for housing in Aguan, sent materials to more than 40
schools and kindergartens, provided equipment and medicines for hospitals,
health centers and differently-abled people, repaired cultural centers, houses,
schools, and small businesses, and delivered donations to needy people.
These had to be transported by canoe, horse, mule, on foot, boat,
horsecart or pick-up, to reach these most forgotten villages. Crisis
response through donations and reconstruction is not enough however.
The Comite has had to expand its activities to support sustainable
development, to defend the ancestral lands of the Garifuna, and to help
communities strengthen themselves and design their own solutions to the problems
they face. The Garífuna, instead of wallowing in the difficulties left by Mitch, are struggling to create a better future for themselves, principally through agricultural revitalization.The Garifuna, of African, Carib and Arawak indigenous descent, have lived for over 200 years in villages along the north coast of the country which rely primarily on small scale agriculture and fishing for survival. After Mitch, it was reported that nearly 90 percent of the crops supporting Garifuna villages were wiped out. This damage was so widespread that a United Nations Development Program study found that food available in Honduran farming communities the year after Mitch was decreased by 60 percent. In response, in each of 16 towns, from Guadalupe in the east, to Cocalito in the west, the Comite began by evaluating the needs of the towns. Early this year, following the ideas expressed by the communities, the Comite established tool banks in each town, directed by locally elected persons to lend tools to farmers. The
Comite has also provided seeds of traditional food plants, such as plantains and
manioc root, that were largely lost in some areas during Mitch.
These crops, the mainstay of Garifuna agriculture, were not included in
most programs donating seeds after Mitch, which focused on the Ladino crops of
corn and beans. In order to even
find sources in quantity of these cuttings and seedlings after Mitch, committee
members had to walk an hour and a half up into the mountains, where the crops
were protected somewhat from the winds and flooding that destroyed the coastal
fields. Additionally, the group has
initiated a pioneer project in rescuing traditional root crops of taro root,
sweet potato, red grow yams and arrow root, which were becoming scarce even
before Mitch. They form an
important, nutritious part of the Garifuna diet, and are much in demand among
people who, having seen their vulnerability in the face of Mitch, want to
attempt to be able to provide for themselves. Three years ago in Aguan, dozens of people lost their lives, and hundreds, like Secundina lost their homes. Those that remained, however, are fighting to do more than just survive. Eufrasia Guity, known as Facha, rows two hours in a dug-out canoe to reach the area she is cultivating. She is one of the elected leaders of the tool bank, and she, along with the other farmers, has benefited from the Comite’s project. Before Michelle, at least, she commented that, “my fields are lush and thriving, and my family will see changes when we harvest: we will sell a part and eat a part. I would like for the community to have something for tomorrow. ” Another harvest that the Garifuna will have in “for tomorrow,” thanks to the Comite, is a coconut crop. The majority of region’s coconuts were killed by a disease called Lethal Yellowing, and so the Garifuna lost a crucial element in their traditional foods, affecting both consumption and sale. Amada Solano, another member of the tool bank with Facha, elaborates, “the coconut is the base of the Garifuna foods, and we miss it a lot — I used to make coconut bread, coconut candies, crab soup with pounded plantains. Once we have coconuts again, we will come back to life!” Many mothers and grandmothers used to generate extra income from the sale of just such items. For 16 towns, then, the Comite bought hybrid or resistant coconuts, and the communities decided on a project. Upon completing the work, whether it be repair of a bridge, reforesting the beach with coconuts, cleaning up the piers and waterways used for navigation or cutting the grass around the kindergarten and health center, the participants are awarded a coconut plant-for-work. In addition, the Comite is establishing a nursery of coconuts in Barranco Blanco, a community that almost disappeared with the double blows of the coconuts’ disease, and the destruction of clay and thatched roof houses in Mitch. But the Comite doesn’t only encourage the revitalization of traditional Garifuna crops. Responding to the community’s suggestions, it has also provided thousands of grafted Valencia orange trees to the Garifuna towns of Colon. Within a few years, these will provide a good source of vitamin c, even when it isn’t mango season, oranges for sale, and also serve as permanent markers of Garifuna towns’ territory, which is increasingly subject to illegal invasion. The orange trees, too, were distributed in a work-for-plant method, and some were donated by the communities themselves to the schools. According
to their requests, farmers also received seeds for grains, such as rice, corn
and beans. In light of the recent
winds, flooding, and dire reports, the status of all these crops, which did
survive last year’s Tropical storm Katrina and this year’s drought, will
have to be evaluated. The works of the Comite are not limited to land — they
also encompass the sea, through support to artisan fisherpeople.
In three towns, the Comite is mounting a pilot project, providing cords,
netting, buoys, weights, silk thread for weaving nets and other materials to the
fisherpeople. Artesenal refers to the fisherpeople who row out in the night
to harvest the bounty of the ocean by hand — or at least what is left after
commercial shrimp boats deplete the natural resources of the region.
Hurricane
Michelle hits North Coast hard By
WENDY GRIFFIN At
first the weather problems did not seem that serious.
Every year lots of cold fronts hit the Honduran North Coast.
Usually the weather report in the paper says that there is a cold front
affecting the Honduran territory and it will last 72 hours.
The only difference with this cold front/low pressure system is that
there was no report of when it would leave. People
started being concerned because of the pelicans.
All the pelicans began flying to the Guaymoreto Lagoon on Saturday.
This is their refuge in times of bad weather where they can hide among
the mangroves. Also the wind
changed to “viento abajo” or from the northwest.
“Viene mal tiempo, (Bad weather is coming)” people said.
However, this is not unusual. It always rains in November.
Sometimes it rains for three weeks or more without stopping. It
rained Sunday. It rained Monday. I was supposed to travel on Monday, but it was raining as if
the clouds were plastic bags full of water and someone cut the bottom out.
First it came down in sheets and then it began raining sideways, because
of the wind. By Monday it was too
late. “No hay pasada.”
There is no way to get through. It
is flooding in La Lima and El Progreso. There
is still not a feeling that anything is very wrong.
It always floods in La Lima, which one newspaper described as the Venice
of Honduras. People
were still travelling from San Pedro to Trujillo, I was told Tuesday.
But you take one bus until it can go no further, then you walk across the
flooded part until you get to another. I
needed to go to Tegucigalpa, but not badly enough to cross flooded streams. The
Cristales River, which usually gets just your knees wet was deep enough to jump
off the bridge and swim down stream. It
overflowed its containing wall like a waterfall, which was gorgeous, but it did
flood a friend’s plantains. On
Tuesday the pelicans are still flying in flocks towards the Lagoon.
The rain is still attributed to the low pressure front.
During the six years I have been on the North Coast, at least three have
had these low pressure fronts. TeleCeiba
was showing pictures of the overflow of the Cangrejal River.
Workers are visiting people’s houses in more than waist deep water.
Tall trees are falling. Somewhere
a Tropical Storm is forming, but no one had an idea where it was.
Since there were no direct buses, the newspaper was not getting through.
Trujillo does not get most Honduran TV channels, so we are left with the
vague news of “Primer Impacto” that Honduras is on alert for rains. Then
the rumors started. A taxi driver
told, “Viene un huracán a las tres
de la manana”. A Hurricane is
coming at 3 am. I asked a
girlfriend what she knew. She said
the pulperia lady also told her a hurricane was coming. What
was I going to do if a hurricane was coming?
My house had already survived Mitch.
So I went home and went to sleep. All
night long I would wake up and listen to the rain.
“No, the hurricane is not here yet,” and went back to sleep. In
the morning I still heard rumors. The
hurricane was in Limon. No, it was
in Nicaragua. It was coming right
here and that was why they were evacuating Chapagua, a
nearby low lying town. This
is different from Tropical Storm Katrina two years ago, when a car with a loud
speaker went through the town and announced, “A Tropical Storm is coming at 3
a.m.” All during the day, villages called in to Radio Catolica in Trujillo.
So many houses were down in Santa Fe.
So many houses were flooded in Punta Piedra.
So many manzanas of corn has been destroyed, what we mostly need is food.
The winds were strong enough to blow palm thatch or “manaca” roofs
off traditional houses, but the zinc sheeting or “laminas” stayed on. The
story of Honduran crops this year is an example of the Honduran saying “llueve
sobre mojado” (It rains on a wet person.)
In at least nine departments of Honduras, including the Mosquitia, the
first crops of corn, beans, and rice planted in May-June were lost to drought.
A second crop is planted October to be harvested in January.
Thousands of acres of these crops were lost with the passing of Hurricane
Michelle. African
palm trees were flooded, but most looked alright when I passed by four days
later. Bananas and Plantains like a lot of water.
Dole felt it would have minimal losses due to a dike it built along the
Aguan to protect its crops. Independent
farmers lost acres of crops as the winds blew the plantains down and in some
cases flooding rivers carry the trees away. Yucca
is a plant that is delicate about water. If it gets good drainage, it can stand
a lot of water, but if the soil gets water logged and does not drain, it rots.
Many acres of yucca have been lost because the water did not drain quickly,
while in other places the yucca may be salvageable.
The River Kruta in the Mosquitia was in particular not draining quickly
and people were stuck in their houses. The
government said it had no helicopters to help the Miskitos, since the
government’s helicopters were helping flooded people in Yoro. Even
three days after the storm, the seas were still churned up, beautiful high
crashing waves like the Big Sur coast in the US.
This meant Garífuna fishermen could not fish.
People who reach their crops by canoe could not travel.
No food could reach the Bay Islands or Hog Keys by boat.
These type of food shortages are temporary, but many people are going to
be in trouble for their loss of crops. There
is a fear that since few people died and the Hurricane did not even touch ground
in Honduras, international agencies will not provide much help to get through
this emergency. Nationalist
candidate reveals government plan Presidential
candidate for the National Party, Ricardo Maduro, revealed his plan for
government if elected on the 25th of the month.
A grand event was held at the Hotel Mayas Convention Center where
thousands of Maduro supporters gathered together.
Maduro’s government plan, he explained, was a result of a consultation
with the Honduran people he has met in his campaign which has covered the whole
territory. The plan, titled “My
commitment to you,” has a vision farther than a four-year presidential term,
it sets goals to be fulfilled by the year 2021, Honduras' 200th anniversary as
an independent republic. Maduro's plan deals mainly in six themes: security,
strengthening democracy, equal economic growth, human development, fighting
corruption, and sustaining the environment.
It sets incredibly ambitious goals that would improve the way of life of
all Hondurans, if completed. Security Maduro's
plan begins dealing with peoples security, as well as the safety of their
possessions. The plan begins
dealing with the problem at its source, before criminality actually begins. It contemplates development programs for children and
adolescents where these are taught to respect the law and advocate peace instead
of violence. It would turn ethics
and morals into good customs and public order. Also,
the plan contemplates a Zero Tolerance policy against all criminal offenders. It involves a reform of the whole Judicial Branch of the
government, separating Justice from politics.
Maduro promises to not interfere with the decisions of any court. The
National Security Plan that is also included in the proposal aims to fight
organized crime, overhaul the police system, create gun registration laws, apply
traffic laws and decentralize the administration of justice. Strengthening
Democracy Maduro
points out that, while in full enjoyment of free elections wince 1982, Honduras'
democracy has been weakened by political institutions.
If elected, he promises to establish a new equilibrium between government
and society to allow more participation in the system, and to change the way the
State goes about its business to guarantee transparency, efficiency and a
profound respect of the Constitution. Maduro wants to change the electoral system so that the members of the National Congress will be elected individually by district as well as on a national level, providing the smaller provinces of the country equal representation. Substitute congressmen will be eliminated. Immunity will be reduced purely to official actions taken by the Congressmen as public functionaries. Also, Maduro plans to change internal laws to regulate and account public spending and eliminate publicity by part of the Powers of State on an electoral year. This will put an end to political campaign paid for by government funds. Equal Economic growth Maduro's plan for economic growth is very
extensive and takes into account several factors up to the year 2021.
It is a very ambitious plan, the result of many efforts led by a man who
has had decades of experience in the business world. The
plan for economic growth has four main goals.
The first is to create an economic growth rate much higher than the
population growth rate. Second is
to assure that the economic growth is sustainable.
Also, Maduro wants to apply adequate policies for the physical and
intellectual training of human capital, which will be reflected in the
significant reduction of the number of poor Hondurans.
Finally he wants to honestly and efficiently focus the States efforts to
reduce poverty. The
plan for economic growth deals also in the development of agricultural projects,
the tourism industry and the improvement and creation of the country’s
infrastructure and public services. Human Development This
area is possibly the most important of the candidates plan.
It contemplates mainly education, but also deals with health, family and
women’s rights. Maduro's goals are insuring that one hundred percent of
children between the ages of four and six will go to school. The reduction of the illiteracy rate from 28% to 9%.
Elevate the number of children who finished grade school to 95%;
teenagers who finish high school to 60% and adults who finish college to 15%.
These goals are up to the year 2021, but would have processes that begin
as soon as next year. Maduro's
four-year goals for education is to insure that all primary school teachers have
a college degree. Healthcare
will be improved with a modernization of the Honduran Social Security Institute
and the whole healthcare system. Families
will be strengthened with concrete actions, especially aimed towards the many
single-mother homes of Honduras. Many
more measures will be taken to comply with the legal obligations and commitments
the State has in educating and improving the lives of women. The fight against
corruption Maduro
promises to take the measures needed to insure the adoption of an
anti-corruption culture in the society, the innovation of institutions, and the
changing of laws applicable to public servants.
He will legally demand the ethical behavior of public functionaries by
creating organs that will investigate, denounce, judge and punish all forms of
corruption. He also plans to
regulate any conflicts of interest that arise between an individual practicing
his public functions and his or her private lucrative affairs. A sustained environment Maduro's plan did not leave out the environment, an important issue that strongly affects the future of Honduras. He plans to create an effective National Protected Areas System that insures the conservation of biodiversity in green areas as well as the maintenance of cultural and historic monuments. The plan also contemplates a re-forestation and protection of all water sources and mountain tops as well as protect and encourage our eco-tourism potential. With the Mitch disaster in mind, the environment program will also mitigate the impact of erosions and floods, mainly by not allowing any type of constructions near them. Ricardo Maduro's plan is ambitious, but it is also dynamic and has amazing potential. If
anyone is interested in finding out further details about “My commitment to
you” they may do so at the candidates official website www.maduro.hn.
Election Day is only a couple of weeks away and voters will go to the
urns to decide if Ricardo Maduro will be given the chance to implement his plan
and, as he says it, “Give Honduras a secure future.”
|
President Flores visits disaster areas By BLANCA MORENO Following
the declaration of a state of emergency by President Carlos Flores in the
Departments of Yoro, Cortes, Atlantida, Colon and Santa Barbara, as a result of
the torrential rains due to Hurricane Michelle, the President has asked the
population not harbor expectations that huge amounts of money are going to fall
upon Honduras in response to the deluge, but that the government will receive a
response sufficient to take care of the existing needs. “Our
responsibility in the interim has to be to bring even more to the affected
regions to make this a success”, emphasized President Carlos Flores. The
President went first to La Lima, Cortes, to view in person the damages caused by
the rains, and instructed a team of his ministers to give immediate responses to
those coordinating the evacuations, as well as the various aid groups which have
promptly come to attend to victims of the natural phenomenon. In
a statement to the public, the President reminded citizens that international
attention is centered on other notable world events, and that these events are
monopolizing the currently available support. “We
are going to have to redouble our internal cost, to attend to our own in a great
part, and in the measure in which we can do so will proportion amongst
ourselves, attending to the difficulties and the problems that we are
encountering at this moment.” The
President has returned from putting on his rain coat and boots, and during the
past week, went to Yoro, Atlantida, and Colon, where he conversed energetically,
expressing thankfulness for the diligent
work done and reiterated that “the fundamental thing is that there was not
loss of life.” One
of the departments most affected by Michelle was Gracias a Dios, better known as
the Mosquitia, where the Permanent Emergency Commission (COPECO) sent a primary
disbursal in the amount of Lps. 30 thousand, for the acquisition of gasoline
which is necessary for the maritime operations in effect, including evaluating
damages, as well as search and rescue. Humanitarian assistance currently
available in La Ceiba amounts to 60,000 pounds of food and 18,000 pounds of
clothing that will be sent to the departments which logistically will be able to
put it to greatest use. On
the part of President Flores and the Chancellories of the United States and
Mexico, helicopters have been made available with the capacity to transport
cargo, as well as to transport qualified technicians who will take part in the
assistance operations. The
official accounting of damages in Gracias a Dios includes 4,131 persons
evacuated, 2,400 victims, 511 damaged buildings, 15 destroyed buildings, 1
damaged bridge and 2 destroyed bridges, and 4,610 manazanas of damaged
agricultural land.
Interairport requests tax exemption Interairports,
the company in charge of administering the country’s airports has requested a
tax exemption from the National Congress this week.
The San Francisco-based company is arguing a loss of US$ 541 thousand
since the September 11th airplane attacks against the United States of America. According
to the daily La Tribuna, Interairports manager Johnny Morales explained that the
tax exemption would apply to all of the types of machinery they are importing
into Honduras. The machinery would
be destined towards the expansion of the nation’s airports.
This expansion is part of the commitment of Interairports in their lease
agreement with the government. The
expansion deadline is July of 2003. Morales
explained the machinery would include elevators, computers, X-ray machines and
boarding gates among others. He
argued that the machinery would eventually end up in the hands of the
government, saying that it would become part of the airport infrastructure and
that this would return to government ownership once Interairport’s lease ran
up. In
reference to the six-figure losses, Morales explained it was due to the great
drop in flight passengers since the September 11 attacks.
It should be noted that since Interairports began its operations a year
ago, Honduran airport costs have risen to become the highest in all of the
Central American and Caribbean region. Landing
costs in a national airport are four times as much as in nearby Guatemala, for
example. According
to La Tribuna, Marco Aguero, the head of the National Concessions Commission,
said that the decision to grant the tax exemption is completely up to the
National Congress. No figures were
released as to how large that tax exemption would be.
State
of emergency in five departments Although
Hurricane Michelle no longer poses a threat to country and the National
Emergency Committee decided to suspend the red alert status last week, five
departments were declared still in a state of emergency.
These include the Departments of Cortes, Yoro, Atlantida, Colon and
Gracias a Dios, were damage from rains and flooding was the worst.
As of Monday, countrywide, 6 deaths were reported, 14 people are missing,
more than 22,000 were evacuated, 52,181 were left homeless, 12 bridges were
damaged and 13 destroyed, approximately 32,000 manzanas of food crops were
destroyed. —El
Heraldo 1,600 persons
trapped in the Mosquitia Due
to heavy rains caused by Hurricane Michelle, nearly 1,600 persons were trapped
in Tiquiralla, Puerto Lempira in the Mosquitia last week.
The Municipal Emergency Committee is working on evacuating these people
to higher grounds until danger of flooding decreases. —La
Tribuna Military generals
bank accounts add up to more than Lps. 130 million Auditors
of the General Comptrollers Office discovered a special bank account managed by
four military generals with the Central Bank worth millions of lempiras last
week. According to their report,
the account was opened by General Walter Lopez Reyes and deposits were made with
funds from left over military budget items.
General Humberto Regalado Hernandez managed nearly Lps. 61 million,
General Arnulfo Cantarero Lopez, Lps. 25 million, General Luis Alonso Discua
Elvir, Lps. 25 million and Mario Raul Hung Pacheco, Lps. 20 million. The
Central Bank Report states that the former military chiefs used these monies,
but neglected to report to what end. —La
Tribuna Honduras is hopeful
Bolaños will change foreign policy The
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Flores Bermudez stated last week that he is
hopeful that during the term of office of the
President-elect of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolaños, relations between Honduras and
Nicaragua will improve. During his
campaign, Bolaños was supportive of regional integration, it is possible the
new President will eliminate the current 35% import tariff on Honduran goods
into Nicaragua that has deeply affected national businesses that traded with the
neighboring country in the past. —La
Prensa World Bank urges
improved tax collecting The
representative of the World Bank in Honduras, Joseph Owens, stated on Wednesday
that if Honduras wants to avoid new economic measures during the next
government, it is imperative the government improve and put into effect new
means of tax collection. He
also stated that favoritism in applying taxes needs to be eliminated to
encourage businesses to pay their taxes, since many don’t due to said
favoritism that they feel is unfair. High
levels of corruption also need to be eliminated to minimize exonerations and tax
evasion, which is estimated to amount to almost Lps. 10 billion a year.
Stable and adequate domestically generated income is crucial for
financing the poverty reduction program effectively and in the long term so as
to not depend overly on internal and external financing or debt. —El
Heraldo
|
Monday, November 5, 2001 Online Edition 44 |
|
North West region in state of emergency
Torrential rains and flooding, leave the Northern Coast, still recovering from the throes of Hurricane Mitch, into a state of crises. On the third year anniversary of the Hurricane Mitch disaster, five of the nation’s Atlantic coast departments have declared a state of emergency as a result of continuous rains and consequent flooding. This week, a tropical depression met with a cold front in front of Honduras’s North Coast. The resulting disastrous weather brought nonstop rain for most of the week. Flooding has occurred in the departments of Cortes, Atlantida, Colon, Yoro and Gracias a Dios. The most affected communities are La Lima, Santa Rita, El Progreso, Olanchito, Tocoa, Tela, and La Ceiba, the country’s third largest city.
According to the daily El Heraldo, four people have been reported dead as a result of the natural phenomenon, and another seven are reported missing. Over 20,200 people have suffered damages in their homes and businesses, over 4,000 have been evacuated. 25 homes have been reported as destroyed along with five bridges. Three more bridges have suffered bad damage. Whole communities have lost access to running water, electricity and food. President Carlos Flores went from awarding Mitch heroes to emitting a decree declaring the emergency and sending the Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO) to immediately aid the Atlantic coast. Copeco has spent the week assessing the damage and helping the thousands of people that need aid. Food rations have been distributed along with other kinds of aid. The week ended with a tropical storm forming on the Atlantic coast where Honduras and Nicaragua meet. Ironically enough, the storm has been named Michelle. Citizens of Honduras hope that this natural phenomenon, though damaging, will not result in a hurricane as harmful as that which leveled the nation exactly three years ago.
President Flores seeks relief from abroad The president made an extensive tour through the flooded regions of the North coast to assess the damage in situ. Both men evaluated the magnitude of the harm caused by flooding and assessed the immediate aid needed by those affected. The Legislative branch can transfer the funds needed to confront the problem head on. On Wednesday, President Flores instructed the Ministers of Presidency, Foreign Relations and Finance, along with the Secretary of Technical Cooperation (SETCO) to provide the emergency funds needed for the national situation. President Flores ordered immediate assistance be provided to the thousands of people affected by the storm. Lps. 1.5 million were drawn from three emergency accounts to purchase medicines, food and other items necessary until more aid is found. Substitute Finance Minister, Hugo Castillo, stated that these resources will be invested for the purchase of food and gas for the evacuation of the victims. These funds will be managed by COPECO. The ambassadors of the United States and Japan were also consulted to find aid for the strengthening of the Emergency Fund. Presidency Minister, Gustavo Alfaro, stated that propositions were being organized to obtain help on a national and international level. “We still have not realized the magnitude of the damages left by the storm,” he said, “but it is evident that over five thousand people are in need of food, shelter and medical attention and we hope it does not grow worse.”
|
U.N. agencies to carry on reform process
Members of the United Nations sign into effect the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. By SUYAPA CARIAS Representatives of
the eight agencies of the United Nations system working in Honduras recently
signed a document containing the guidelines of what they call the “United
Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)”. The new program, which will start to operate next year, is
part of the reform process undertaken by the organization in this new century.
During a press
conference held in Tegucigalpa last week, U.N. resident coordinator Jeffrey
Avina explained that the initiative emerged from their interest to support, in a
more coordinated way, the efforts of the government to promote sustainable human
development and to reduce poverty. “Our focus is
centered in the fight against poverty and the institutional development of
democracy as the essential columns for the transformation of Honduras”, said
Avina. Conceived as a
“new cooperation modality”, UNDAF was born on July, 2000, with the creation
of a technical group headed by the leaders of the following entities:
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Organization for
International Migration (OIM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World
Food Program (WFP), the Telecommunications International
the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children Fund
(UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). After a series of
discussions with government authorities, the civil society and the cooperating
community, the document of constitution of UNDAF was finished in mid-October. “Under this
format, the process seeks for making the UN work more efficient, avoiding
duplications and competences between the different agencies and making a more
rational use of the resources. The projects
included in UNDAF Honduras are related to education, health, economic growth and
sustainable development”, said Avina. The document was signed by
Emiliano Alarcón, Miguel Angel Trinidad, Carlos Samayoa, Claudia von Roehl,
Roberto Bastidas, Sietske Steneker, Fernando Lazgano, Naoto Yamamoto and Jeffrey
Avina, representatives of the agencies listed above. The United Nations just celebrated 56 years of foundation.
|
| News
from other Sources
|
|
|||||||
