Monday, November 18, 2002 Online Edition 44

Protesters demonstrate against Free Trade of the Americas

By IXCHEL GRANADA

TEGUCIGALPA — Many sectors of the Honduran population showed up in full force in the capital city as organized unions protested the meeting of ALCA/ FTAA (Free Trade of the Americas). Representatives from FTAA recently gathered in Quito, Ecuador for the Seventh Ministerial Meeting with the intent to establish guidelines for the next phase of the economic agenda. FTAA guidelines state, implementation of guidelines will contribute to raising living standards, increasing employment, improving the working conditions of all people in the Americas, improving the levels of health and education and better protecting the environment.

In response to the FTAA meeting in Ecuador, approximately 120 experts in Latin America and Europe united in to order to analyze the potential negative effects, which the FTAA will have on poor sectors of the population. The panel included Doctors Without Borders, a worldwide non-profit medical brigade with offices in Tegucigalpa, which will aim to review: quality of medical services, human rights issues, the impact on public health, the access to treatments of illnesses such as Tuberculosis, Aids, and Dengue.

The panel argued that the document created by the FTAA creates loopholes and lenient regulations which favor multinational corporations and industries at a considerable disadvantage to the general population dependent on medicines and obligated to pay high prices inflated by pharmacies. The panel of critics also state that because production and distribution processes are integrated in ways that ignore national boundaries it is allowing production, distribution and communication to be concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations. Other concerns deliberated included: the use of resources for short-term profit bringing about ecological crisis in both climate and the depletion of natural resources, raw material price-fixing, foreign debt, the increase in poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor, and rising levels of migration.

The international organization, which provides support for the meeting, along with the Minister of Health, indicated that this is the fourth conference of its kind, the previous meetings were held in Holland, Cameron and Guatemala.

Growing Honduran presence marks Conference on Honduras

By MARCO CACERES

When the idea of staging a conference on Honduras in Washington, DC, was first conceived in the summer of 1999, it seemed like a distant dream that could perhaps be realized in 2-3 years. We didn’t have a clue as to how to even begin. What would we call the event? How many days should it last? And what would we talk about?

At the time, the projecthonduras.com network was in its infancy. There was an Internet site and a short mailing list, and that was it. We had not yet discovered the eGroups (now YahooGroups) listservers, now the primary communications vehicle within our network. And we had only about 50 contacts within our network, as compared to the more than 1,500 people today.

Three years later, projecthonduras.com and its sponsor, Special Missions Foundation, have completed their third annual conference of the Conference on

Honduras series in Washington, and the summer of 1999 now feels like ages ago. Within a very short span of time, we have learned how to construct a two-day program and bring together an average of 110 people under one roof each year to meet face-to-face and exchange information about their respective projects to help Honduras.

Most importantly, we’ve managed to create a philosophy about our existence (based on the practical, the positive, and the creative) and a sense of camaraderie amongst the participants. No small feat, given that there is a natural human tendency for individuals to bicker and become edgy when they are in close quarters to each other for a length of time.

A close second, in terms of importance, is the simple fact that we’ve managed to be consistent in our format and remain true to our focus on education and health care, in the midst of a growing call to entertain other issues of relevance to Honduras. We continue to hold firm to the belief that we as a group cannot begin to deal with all of Honduras’ problems, and thus we must deal almost exclusively with the two areas we think can have the biggest positive payoff for the country over the long-term.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to report that the Conference on Honduras 2002 on October 25-26 surpassed my expectations. We had a total of 30 presentations as part of the Panel on Education, Panel on Orphanages, Panel on Youth Empowerment, Panel on Health Care, and Panel on HIV/AIDS. We had a turnout of more than 150 people, nearly twice as many people as we had for the Conference on Honduras 2001 and 50% more than we had for our maiden Conference on Honduras 2000. It’s a great feeling when you throw a party and everyone shows up.

What I found most intriguing about those who showed up this year, however, was that 75 percent of them were new to the Conference. This is proof that the projecthonduras.com movement is growing, and that there is a core-group within the movement that is developing a common identity and spirit. The group now consists of around 275 individuals from more than 100 organizations, two-thirds of the states in the US, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and Honduras. These are our conferees.

Another interesting statistic is that approximately one-third of the conferees at the Conference on Honduras 2002 came from Honduras or belonged to Honduran groups in the US. This is an important development because it gives the Conference some much-needed cultural diversity. At an event that is designed to encourage grassroots volunteer projects to help Hondurans, it obviously makes sense to have a sizeable Honduran representation. North Americans make up the vast majority of our conferees. We need the

Honduran perspective to keep us grounded, and we definitely had it this year.

Few things, for example, gave me more pleasure than to see the Honduran contingents from Louisiana, New York, and Texas. About a dozen ladies from the Honduran American Emergency Fund came from the New Orleans area. From New York, there were representatives of the Federation of Honduran Organizations in New York
(FEDHONY), Hondurans Against AIDS, and the Honduran Chamber of Commerce US. From Texas, there was the Norma I. Love Foundation. We also had the Consuls General from Miami, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, DC. We had Ambassador Mario Canahuati and members of his staff, and others.

Last but never least, we had Jacobo Goldstein of CNN Radio Noticias, HRN Radio, and La Tribuna newspaper. Jacobo has been with us since the first Conference and he has provided us invaluable exposure in Honduras, which is probably why Honduran interest in the event and projecthonduras.com is on the upswing.

One of the goals of the Conference on Honduras is to facilitate an ongoing dialogue between Hondurans and North Americans. All too often, there is not enough of a relationship between these communities. All too often, there is not even enough of a relationship among Hondurans in the US. If nothing else comes out of the Conference on Honduras 2002 than to get Honduran groups to work together more, then I will consider it to have been a raging success.

Another goal of the Conference has been to try and establish relationships with the transportation industry, so that we can get some help in transporting people, equipment, and supplies between the US and Honduras. In the past, we invited representatives from

TACA airlines and various shipping firms. We finally struck gold this year. The Vice President of Honduras’ newly formed national airline, Sol Air, gave a presentation and stuck around to mingle with people, as did the President and Vice President of Port to

Port International shipping company. Consistently cheap and genuinely helpful transportation contacts have always been the missing link within the projecthonduras.com network, up to now.

As you can begin to gather, the results or conclusions of the Conference are always going to be difficult to put into words in some sort of written report because they are based largely on the relationships that are initiated at the event. Some of these relationships will begin to bear fruit right away. Others will take years.

Keep in mind that the working premise of projecthonduras.com is that the problems of Honduras cannot be solved solely by throwing money at them, but rather by mobilizing all of the country’s volunteer “human capital” (people) worldwide and finding ways to coordinate it and channel it consistently over the next 2-3 generations, without being distracted by politics and macro social and economic issues over which we have little or no influence.

It’s a process that, for many, appears to move at too slow of a snail’s pace. That just happens to be the strategy we’ve adopted. And it really is all in how you look at it.

For instance, the projects that conferees are working on may not make a substantial or immediate difference in Honduras, as a whole. They are mere blimps on a radar screen. But, if you look at any one of these projects from the perspective of the orphan child, or the street kid, that will be fed and cared for, or if you look at it from the standpoint of infecting Honduran society with the culture of volunteerism, well, you begin to see where I’m going with this.

You never know how much good you can accomplish for Honduras until each of us makes an effort and then connects with another person who shares our vision. That connection can create an exponential growth effect that will amaze you.

I do know that the Conference on Honduras 2002 has helped spawn at least a few of these relationships. One of these is likely to speed up construction of one of the first orphanages in La Mosquitia by a team from Georgia and Colorado. Another one will send a brigade of physicians from Minnesota to Roatan. Yet another one may spark a joint venture between New York University Medical School and Harvard University on a program in Honduras.

This is what you call an “unconventional movement” to change Honduras. And people, next year we plan on taking this dog and pony show on the road. We intend to plant some unconventional seeds in Honduras and see how they fare. The Conference on Honduras 2003 will be held in Copan Ruinas.

For information regarding the Conference on Honduras 2003, e-mail hondopost@yahoo.com

Casa Alianza and Tegucigalpa City Hall sign important agreement

TEGUCIGALPA — Last November 12, Casa Alianza and the Tegucigalpa’s Mayor’s Office signed a Cooperation and Technical Agreement with the objective of strengthening relations between both institutions to provide human development alternatives to street children.

With this agreement, Casa Alianza and City Hall plan to decrease the amount of children at social risk and provide them with medical and dental treatment, sports programs and other social activities. Casa Alianza will share with municipal work teams the installations and methodologies it utilizes to assist children that live on the street.

In recent months, the Municipality has provided Casa Alianza with more support. For example, last month both institutions together with a cellular phone company selected several young people from another youth program to participate in a micro-enterprise project, with the goal of producing useful persons that Honduras needs so much.

30 candidates to the Court of Accounts

Representatives of the Liberal, National, and Christian Democratic parties are negotiating the approval of the proposed law to implement a Superior Court of Accounts before December 6. There are currently 30 nominees to the bench. Some have been proposed directly by congress and others by civil society assured Porfirio Lobo Sosa, President of the National Congress. Of the 30 candidates only three will be elected. Some of the strongest candidates mentioned include Delmer Urbizo Panting (Liberal Party), Renán Sagastume (National Party) and Fernando Montes (Christian Democratic Party).

In a session held between Lobo Sosa, Jaime Rosenthal (Liberal Party) and Arturo Corrales (Christian Democratic Party) a copy of the project for the Court of Accounts was revised and commented on. If everything runs smoothly, the three candidates to the Bench will be elected before December 6 and the New Court of Accounts will discuss issues such as political campaign reductions, and congressional elections early next year. –EL HERALDO

Admissions exam for Law School in 2003

Due to the academic and financial crises that the National University (UNAH) is facing, new substantial modifications are being made.

In the academic areas, authorities have determined the need to balance the number of students of certain majors such as law, business administration and journalism.

Majors such as Journalism do not comply with the demand since the labor market is saturated and journalistic formation in the University lacks technological support.

Olvin Mejia, Dean of the Law Faculty announced that starting in 2003 the students will have to pass an admissions test to enter and a public and private final exam to graduate.

According to Mejia, about 50% of law students have to repeat classes and like in most other majors, students take up to 11 years to graduate. The objective of this new strategy is to rescue quality education by reducing the number of students. Nevertheless, there also has to be an alternative for those who do not pass the admissions test.

Amongst other reforms, the University authorities plan to open new majors and expand the already existing majors. –EL HERALDO

New political reforms approved by congress

The National Congress approved the motion to eliminate the position of presidential delegates and implement instead the role of a Vice President. Before the motion was approved, the National, Liberal and Christian Democratic parties gathered for six hours to define the crucial points of the introduction of the motion to the congressional body.

In addition to the vice president motion sanctioned, other reforms included the separation of the people’s National Registry and the National Tribunal of Elections. Furthermore, the creation of a New Elections Tribunal was ratified. –LA TRIBUNA

Monday, November 11, 2002 Online Edition 43

National Congress approves tourism reforms

Nature tourism to national parks such as the one pictured here in Trujillo, will be developed through recent reforms to tourism laws.

 

By IXCHEL GRANADA

TEGUCIGALPA - The Honduran National Congress recently approved a series of reforms to laws, which aim to promote and develop the tourism industry in Honduras. The Honduran Institute of Tourism played a primary role in mediating the creation of nine addenda to the law. The law states simply that the political bodies of Honduras should act in a manner, which fosters an amicable environment for the tourism industry to prosper.

Reform proponents assert that government involvement in tourism promotion will assure that tourism activities receive the support needed for the industry to grow nationally and internationally. The legal instruments provisioned in the reforms will allow a charge or commission on tourism activities and these funds will then be directly invested in promotional activities.

Hopes are that Honduras will be converted into a major tourist center comparable to Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Mexico. Proponents estimate that with the new tourism law in place Honduras will, in a short time, become a principal tourism destination within Central America. Emphasis has been placed on the development of both the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, nature reserves for the development of Eco-tourism and the cultural diversity of ethnic and indigenous groups.

The Honduran Institute of Tourism(IHT) was accorded the responsibility to mass market the tourism sector within national boundaries. In a few words, the law establishes the duties that the government has in promoting tourism nationally and internationally.

Under debate was the tax which representatives of the industry sought to eliminate. The tax remains at four percent, which is charged to first class hotels for the first time lodging fees. These fees are handed over to the Honduran Institute of Tourism and not to government treasury offices as initially proposed. The law furthermore, established that these funds would be used exclusively to promote and develop tourism.

Telecommunications meeting seeks to close gap in information access

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA — In an attempt to analyze the strong and weak points faced by the countries of Central America, Cuba, Mexico and Dominican Republic in the area of telecommunications, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Telecommunications Unit (UIT) and the Honduran Telephone Telecommunications Company (Hondutel) organized a consultation meeting titled “Challenges and Opportunities of the Information Society.”

The agenda of the event held in Tegucigalpa, focused on five central topics, including the participation of civil society in the development of favorable conditions for better access to telecommunication services, and the project regarding the Mesoamerican information highway, which was formerly established at the Puebla Panama Plan.

This latter aspect has become a major issue, given the positive political, economical and social consequences it may bring to the nations involved. According to Pyramid Research, a specialized firm, market projections of stationary communications (stationary phones, internet and data) in Central America, reach up to US$3 million by the year 2006.

Meanwhile, Hondutel general manager, Alonso Valenzuela, announced that the government is working on an ambitious plan aimed at developing the rural telephone net, given the immense disparities currently prevailing in the country.

“Statistics show there is a considerable digital gap within our own countries, between those who have and don’t have access to information.

We are not only facing this gap internationally, but also on an internal level. This is definitely our biggest challenge,” said Valenzuela at the opening ceremony. He also stated that the government plans to penetrate rural communities by establishing a voice link via internet, which will be fed by solar energy. It would be the first project of its kind in Central America.

Among the speakers who participated at the conference were Rafael Roncagliolo, International Transparency director in Peru, Mexican congressman Javier Corral and Daniel Martin Mayorga, president of Telefonia Movil Internacional, a branch of Telefonica de Espana.

Other attendants were the vice-ministers of El Salvador and Nicaragua , media representatives, indigenous groups and academic entities. Participants also took advantage of the encounter to discuss the basis of the statement they will present at the Information Society World Summit to take place next year in Geneva.

New virtual mall in Honduras

According to the proprietors of “Mallcredomatic.com,” Honduras has the most developed virtual mall in Central America.

Alberto Galeano, general manager of Credomatic stated that this kind of innovation will stimulate the public to use the Internet to buy goods and services nationwide. According to Galeano, the purchases can be made by credit card and the goods are delivered directly to the customers door.

The new project was inspired by the fact that “we have identified that approximately 100,000 to 150,000 monthly transactions are made on the Credomatic site” assured Galeano.

In addition, this new virtual shopping mall will generate job vacancies in the companies in charge of product distribution and warehouse operations. Moreover, mallcredomatic.com is a good option for Hondurans living outside the country who want to buy goods for their relatives inside the country. —El Heraldo


Hedman Alas proprietor murdered

Alex Hedman (75), owner of Hedman Alas Transportation Business, was murdered by two gunmen near his house in Comayaguela this week. According to police reports, the deviants shot Alas near the upper left arm and fled the scene using a motorcycle. Witnesses described the gunmen as fairly young-between 28 and 35 years-and slim.

There are several hypotheses about the killing, according to the Department of Criminal Investigations. Apparently, fired employees had threatened Alas in the past few days but suspicion of robbery is not out ruled by the police yet. —El Heraldo


Half a million senior citizens abandoned

According to the National Institute of Statistics, in Honduras approximately 450 thousand senior citizens have been forsaken. Just about one percent of the citizens registered are benefited by pensions and only about five percent have enough savings to survive adequately.

These alarming figures were revealed last Thursday by the National Association of Senior Citizens (ANAMH) of Honduras as an introduction to the proposal of amendments to the Senior Citizen Protection Act.

According to Julio Torres, director of ANAMH, there are no penalties for any violation to the Senior Citizen Protection Act and this causes a large number of them to be excluded from their privileges. For example, many pharmacies do not apply the 25% discount on medicines that benefits Senior Citizens. Telecommunication services provided Hondutel also violate the 25% deduction from phone bills.

Torres stressed that in order for the Senior Citizen Protection Act to start working “All senior Citizens should report all violations of their rights promptly to prevent these events from recurring” —El Heraldo


Hemodialysis services auction could be declared null

The former vice minister of the Department of Health- Jose Manuel Mathews- declared that the bidding process for the Hemodialysis services program presented several irregularities. Mathews added, “UNDP (United Nations Program for Development) should not violate any internal laws based on its international denomination”. The organization is in charge of optimizing publication, reception and reviewing processes for local auctioning.

According to media sources the evaluation committee for the Auction is conformed of UNDP representatives-, which is highly irregular. In addition, there were many suspicions on the adjudication of the Hemodialysis Program to Drogueria Universal and Dialysis of Honduras, two companies that presented the most expensive proposals to provide the service to the Social Security Hospital. Furthermore, the competition was determined using U.S. dollars instead of lempiras.

Mathews indicated that the Auction Process could be declared null because of the copious amounts of irregularities that have been detected. He added that the increase -of almost 100%- in Hemodialysis services is unjustified and functionally unfavorable. —La Tribuna

Monday, November 4, 2002 Online Edition 42

Ethnic diversity in Honduras, 7.2 percent indigenous

By ROSIBEL P. DE GUTIERREZ

It is a well known that Honduras possesses several different ethnic groups that have, over time, influenced our culture greatly.

It the last Housing and Population Census this ethnicity was captured in question number five, “What ethnic group do you belong to?” The population that participated responded in accordance to their feelings of identity with the different groups. See table.

We can observe that the majority (92.8%) of the population did not identify itself with any of the ethnic groups. But of those that did, 63.5% claimed to be Lenca.

In as much as education is concerned, the illiteracy rate for the Garífuna ethnic group was 9%, but only 4 percent for the English Afro-Caribbeans (Bay Islands); the remaining groups have an illiteracy rate much higher than the national 20 percent.

Population structure also varies among the different groups, the Miskito and the Tolupan groups have the largest youth population, while the Garifuna and the Tolupan groups have the largest groups of older people.

 

Montaña de Luz: Mountain of Light
Hope for children in Honduras living with HIV/AIDS

Love maintains hope at Montana de Luz.

By AMY HERKINS
Special to Honduras this Week

The problem of HIV/AIDS within Honduras is widespread and the statistics are alarming. The industrial city of San Pedro Sula is estimated to have the second highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world. One out of 100 people living in Honduras is infected with HIV. Seventy percent of all Central American HIV/AIDS cases are found in Honduras. And according to the government, six to eight percent of pregnant Honduran women are currently HIV positive.

The facts are gruesome and the task of eliminating, or more realistically, leveling off this problem, is daunting.

Montaña de Luz is a home and a hope for children in Honduras who have HIV/AIDS. Located an hour southeast of Tegucigalpa, the shelter is one of three homes for children with HIV/AIDS in Honduras and is the only one in the area.

The children who live at Montana de Luz acquired the virus from their HIV positive mothers, who transmitted it to them either while in the womb, during their birth or through breast-feeding. Housemothers and staff at Montana serve as family, providing love and caring to 15 children, ranging from a few days old to twelve years of age.

The project is designed to support a child’s medical, social, educational, mental, emotional and religious needs. The facilities can house up to forty children. The current budget goal for 2002-2003 is 20 children. The project is funded through various churches (Catholic, Evangelical and Protestant), organizations and individuals in the United States and Canada.

The home itself sets upon a mountaintop. The children’s rooms are located in a main house, with walls that are decorated with brightly colored stencil drawings. The children have individual bathrooms with hot water showers. Also within the main house are a recreation/family room, dining room, kitchen and a courtyard. The ecumenical chapel is off to the right of the main house where the doors open to a view of mountains and the valley of Moroceli.

Montana de Luz is an ecumenical project and all religions are accepted. Apartments are located behind the main house for the purpose of hosting the children’s families during their visits that are permitted once a month. The children’s play space is enclosed in a 400-meter fence for security and includes a playground, schoolhouse and large green space with fruit trees, flowers and a garden. There is also ample space for the rabbits, dogs, and cats, goats and chickens, which are also an important part of the family at Montana de Luz.

Referrals for admission are received from throughout Honduras. Children who stay at the home must be born to HIV-positive mothers, and the child must be confirmed as having HIV at 18 months of age.

Once the call is received about a child, an evaluation is completed over the phone. The family or guardian of the child is interviewed before a decision of admission is made. The child must have a current immunization record, a positive HIV test, proof of mother’s HIV status, a birth certificate or identification record, a current test for Tuberculosis, a recent chest X-ray and medical evaluation.

For those kids who still have living relatives, it is a difficult sacrifice for the families and always an adjustment. But for most children, their parents and close family members have passed away from AIDS – leaving them orphaned or homeless. Some children have even been abandoned because of the stigma surrounding the disease.

Although the children have different stories, most of their lives have been packed with hardship. At Montana de Luz kids receive a chance to be children, something not all of them have had the opportunity to do. The kids greet mornings with worship time and at night give thanks for that which they are given. Afternoons are free to be lost in imagination and the world of wonder kids live in, discovering butterflies or building castles out of floor mats.

The disease is not easy and requires love to maintain hope. Some of the kids have stable immune systems, while others are incapable of fighting off the most simple cold or flu.

Currently at Montana de Luz, there are five children receiving anti-retroviral therapy. This therapy is a complex combination of medications, vaccines and laboratory evaluations. It is not an easy regimen and requires a trained medical team and a motivated child and family to be successful. The therapy helps to slow down the reproduction of the virus, allowing more of the body’s own defense system to prosper. It can give years of life for these children to live instead of a quick death.

Anti-retroviral therapy currently is made possible through the government of Honduras’s anti-retroviral program, in collaboration with Hospital Escuela. The government’s funding is limited and only a select number of children and adults are able to receive this therapy. However, as Montana de Luz´s own funding progresses, most of the children will receive what is needed.

The project is a mix of Honduran and North American cultures. Birthdays are celebrated with piñatas and candies, with both Honduran and North American songs heard echoing the halls. The children eat tamales during Holy Week, and they paint and hunt for eggs at Easter.

With the directorship in the hands of a North American, direct care given by local Hondurans and other volunteers, these children receive the best of all worlds.

 

The International Court of Justice at Hague,  35 percent tariff should be eliminated

The international court of Hague ruled in favor of Honduras when it decided that the import tax of 35% tax applied to Honduran products by Nicaragua should be eliminated.

The vice-chancellor, Salvador Stadthagen stated that continuos meetings held with congressmen from both countries have provided positive results as most of them expressed their desire that the tariff be eliminated.

“The 35% tax is an obstacle to the process of integration of Central American customs units. The original reason for applying the tax is now obsolete, therefore there should be no problem terminating it.”

Nicaragua imposed the import tariff on Honduran goods due to maritime border differences. The case is currently in The Hague.

Stadthagen added that Presidents of both countries signed an agreement of cooperation concerning marine wildlife and boundaries. On the other hand, representatives of Nicaragua accept that there are no valid reasons to maintain the tariff and that the determination of the International Court should be respected. —LA PRENSA

Exchange rate is up 17 lempiras per dollar

According to the Honduran financial system, entrepreneurs in the import business began paying 17 Lempiras per dollar last week.

This increase is due to the exchange rate established by the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) that set the price at 16.7572 Lempiras per dollar. An additional 1.5 percent transaction charge (0.2514 cents) makes for a total of 17.0086 lempiras per dollar. The charge can be reduced to 1.2 percent depending on the quantity of goods.

This year devaluation increased 5.3 percent, from 15.9195 to the current price of 16.7572 lempiras per dollar. According to the president of the Central Bank of Honduras, Maria Elena Mondragon, the devaluation rate might increase up to a six percent this year, reaching between 17.15 and 17.20 lempiras per dollar. —EL HERALDO

 

Multiple protests announced by the popular block

The president of the Beverage Industry’s Workers Union, Carlos H. Reyes, announced the possibility of protests against the International Monetary Fund and the privatization of public services such water, electricity, telephone, health and education.

In addition, Reyes indicated that protests have become a necessity due to the social and political conditions that affect Hondurans nowadays.

Furthermore, Reyes stressed that certain powerful economic groups have manipulated both the political and economic bodies to benefit themselves and not the majority. Reyes also announced that the protest might take place this week and that violent acts are not to be ruled out completely. —LA TRIBUNA

 

60 Thousand Tons of Wheat solicited from the U.S. Government

The Minister to the Office of Presidency, Luis Cosenza stated this week that the government of Honduras has petitioned sixty thousand tons of wheat from the United States Department of Agriculture. Cosenza stated that the extra wheat is necessary to avoid an increase in the price of flour and its by-products.

While the petition is being considered, Cosenza said there would be no increase in price of flour and bread. The government will be meeting with producers to negotiate an extension of time until the donation is approved.

In addition, Cosenza indicated that wheat production in the United States and Canada has lowered, thus the price has increased between 30 or 40 per cent during the past months. —LA TRIBUNA

 

Disturbances will not be Tolerated assures Maduro

Upon his return from Asia, President Maduro expressed his concern over the recent protests that disturbed public order and peace in Tegucigalpa. Maduro said that a defamation campaign has been tailored against his government. Certain issues such as the privatization of public utilities and revolts in the education sector have been used to sabotage his government’s image. In addition, Maduro stressed that proper measures are being taken against those groups that have initiated violent protests this week and that such disturbances will not be tolerated.

“My government is the government of all Hondurans, and it is open and willing to dialogue with those that have a just cause to defend” expressed Maduro as a closing comment. —EL HERALDO