Eighteen months have passed since Hurricane Mitch wreaked havoc on Tegucigalpa. Garbage abatement remains a low priority, especially for the Choluteca River which passes through the heart of the capital. (Photo by W.E. Gutman)

By W. E. GUTMAN

TEGUCIGALPA -- In the beginning there was Cesar Castellanos, a big man with big ideas and an infectious energy to match. And things looked up for Teguz and everyone banked their hopes on a better tomorrow.

Then came a hurricane named Mitch and a helicopter "accident" that reeks of criminal negligence or worse. And the big man who could have clinched the next presidency, El Gordito as he was fondly dubbed, was no more, and his ideas and the enthusiasm he infused in his fellow capitalinos died with him, overwhelmed by cataclysmic forces and submerged under collective inertia.

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Eighteen months have passed. In the riverbeds, hiding a scarred terrain where cadavers half-buried in the muck were once plucked by the dozens, now grow sparse patches of wild grasses and stinkweeds. Circling overhead, their eyes trained earthward, squadrons of hungry vultures spy their next meal. A small scouting party alights, scrambling through tangled masses of garbage and offal, scratching warily for some succulent morsel. The rest perch on roofs and treetops. Surveying their surroundings, they command a view of a city -- yes, weakened by nature's merciless bouts of folly, but also compromised by a climate of sloth and indifference that reigned supreme well before the big storm ever touched down.

On the Comayaguela side of town, from the old bridge straddling the Choluteca River, now a thin, meandering rivulet of pestilential fluids, men relieve themselves with an unconcern bordering on exhibitionism. No one seems to mind.

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Beggars are a common sight in the area around St. Michael's Cathedral. (Photo by W.E. Gutman)

Parque Central, a microcosm of a city convulsing for air and space -- and a paradigm of the ambivalence that characterizes Honduras - throbs with a visceral cadence masquerading as exuberance and verve. In fact, it is little more than a grimy tract forever caked with bird guano where idleness exalts indolence at the altar of ennui. One comes to Parque Central to kill time. Literally. Along with peanuts, candy, green mangoes, ice cream and lottery tickets can also be purchased -- for the price of patience (or emotional vacuity) -- crude entertainment and the promise of a hereafter by amateur evangelists and raving madmen.

Conditioned to believe that salvation is acquired by osmosis, beggars, cripples, drunks, vagrants and horrible harlots whittle away the hours in front of St. Michael's Cathedral. Amputated, missing a wing and deprived of his spear, the archangel atop a waterless fountain stares uncomprehending at an evil beast that will not die, while shoeshine men furiously polish shoes that can never stay clean.

In the peatonal, the busy pedestrian walkway where all-Tegucigalpa eventually converges, vacant-eyed, inspiring respect neither for the law nor their person, diminutive policewomen -- often dwarfed by the pistol at their hip -- cluster in the shade, perusing comic books or flirting with their male counterparts as misconduct and wrongdoing go unnoticed.

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Cab drivers, enamored of noise, blow their horns at each prospective fare, unmindful of the odious din their collective cacophony produces. Emitting deadly diesel fumes, trucks and buses grind their way through dusty, narrow streets pitted with potholes and lined with forever broken sidewalks. Pedestrian right-of-way, respected and enforced in most parts of the world, is unknown or deliberately ignored by kamikaze pilots who will not hesitate to run you over to gain an inch.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking mayoral aide tells this writer that "several excellent ordinance proposals" are routinely submitted to the municipality to deal with perennial noise, traffic and garbage problems. "All are swept under the rug, not because they lack merit but because they are unenforceable. Culture, you know..., a boorish disregard toward decadence and spoliation." Her words, not mine.

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Still fresh in the memory of capitalinos, many of whom keep coming back to the site to gawk and cavil, the recent collapse of a Bailey-type bridge typifies the scandalous scorn that most Hondurans have for codes, discipline and the immutable laws of gravity. Accustomed to disasters, they are often wont to call "acts of God" the predictable consequences of their own lack of foresight. After all, who will litigate against God -- and win?

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As luxury hotels rise in one part of the city, decay inspires 
gutter humor in another. (Photo by W.E. Gutman)

Amid the chaos and confusion, frenzied commercial growth gives Tegucigalpa a deceptive appearance of urban dash. Yet another stately hotel is rising, this time a stone's throw from the Casa Presidencial -- one wonders why and for whom, as tourists continue to be a scarce commodity.

For the people, "the pitiful pawns of history" as my friend and colleague, Erling Duus aptly calls them, very little has changed. Their fate does not hinge on whether they eat bread or tortillas, it depends on their willingness to take on the challenges of democracy, a task made doubly harrowing, if not insurmountable, by such daily distractions as survival.

Meanwhile, shanties keep on growing like mushrooms along the higher elevations as more people from the provinces converge on a city stretched beyond its limits and resources. Many will collapse and slide downhill when the next heavy rains roll in from the east and drench the city.

"We Hondurans have no problem recognizing reality; we just don't have the will to change it," my driver astutely observes as he tosses a banana peel out of the window.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Despite the mediation of the Central American Economic Integration System (SIECA), the conflict between Honduras and Nicaragua took a turn for the worse last week when President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua accused the Flores administration of imposing a blockade on Nicaraguan products and announced he would take retaliatory measures.

Last Friday, the Honduran government decided to implement stricter sanitary measures at all the nation's border crossings after the National Agricultural Sanitation Service (SENASA) discovered acts of corruption at several customs checkpoints. The new measures are being applied to all food products entering Honduras from other countries.

After Hurricane Mitch, enforcement of the sanitation law and agricultural quarantine rules was lax due in part to the closing of several border crossings and customs offices, which has resulted in the importation of inferior quality foodstuffs.

Now, the government has decided to take steps to ensure that all foods entering Honduras meet requirements, quality and standards and has ordered the customs offices to apply the law correctly and impartially. Also, customs officials must now verify with the Tegucigalpa office that the contents of shipments coincide with the contents stated on the permit application, in accordance with standards of the World Trade Organization and international law.

However, Nicaraguan authorities are denouncing the measures as arbitrary and as a retaliation for the illegal 35 percent tariff Nicaragua slapped on Honduran products last year after Honduras signed a controversial maritime treaty with Colombia.

Notwithstanding the meetings between the two countries mediated by the Organization of American States and that Nicaragua has began presenting its side of the dispute at the International Court of Justice, the situation appears to have worsened and the specter of Central American economic "disintegration" looms nearer.

As a response to the measures, Aleman announced stricter controls on Nicaragua's side of the border and the use of Port Corinto to export products via ferry to El Salvador and thus avoid the overland crossing through Honduran territory.

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Eduardo Montealegre defended his country's position, saying that his government was forced to respond to Honduras due to the treaty it signed with Colombia, which according to Nicaragua gives Colombia sovereignty over Caribbean waters it also claims.

Nicaragua also has an ongoing border dispute with Costa Rica.

TEGUCIGALPA -- After a week seething with indignation and controversy, the National Congress approved on Tuesday night (April 11) the Equal Opportunities Law, which officially gives Honduran women the right to occupy at least 30 percent of all political positions.

The decision was taken in response to loud, immediate reactions from thousands of irate women and Congress women after Congress, led by Vice President Rodrigo Castillo, decided to approve the law but not before eliminating articles 69 and 75, which would have given women 50 percent participation in public positions, as well as an equal distribution of family assets in the event of divorce. At the moment Congress eliminated the two articles, Soad Salomon de Facusse (National party) -- who initially introduced the bill -- and her female colleagues were attending an official event with women legislators from the Latin American region in Tegucigalpa.

Following its sudden approval, the Colectivo contra la Violencia, an institution comprised of the majority of the women's development and human rights organizations in Honduras, immediately raised its voice against "this antidemocratic, intolerant and unrespectful conduct toward national and international efforts made by women around the world in the framework of compromises acquired by governments in regards to the advancement and guarantee of human rights."

The Colectivo and other similar institutions demanded that congressional President Rafael Pineda Ponce review and reform the law without delay, and threatened to file an international demand against the government if Congress did otherwise.

After intense lobbying and negotiations, a compromise was finally struck on Tuesday evening. However, the original proposal that gave 50 percent of political participation to women was reduced to 30 percent, a number that will supposedly "be increased in a gradual way until equality is achieved."

With respect to article 75, the most important and as yet unknown by most women, Pineda Ponce said its content was not only reconsidered but improved and completed. He added that in the event of divorce, family assets will be distributed equally among both spouses -- not only in cases of legal but common-law marriages as well. Moreover, the article has provisions for protecting underage children.

Although they were partially satisfied, the women protesters stated that this is just the beginning of a long battle they intend to win to guarantee their rights.

An appeal by Congressman Calvin Weddle in the case against his company C.W. and C. Investment due to lack of payment of a mortgage loan he took out in October 1998 for Lps. 9.6 million was turned down by the Supreme Court on Monday. The banking institution that sued him for more than Lps. 9 million will soon proceed to seize and auction off several properties Weddle owns in Choluteca, as well as a residence in Tegucigalpa. -- El Tiempo

The United Nations Development Program on Wednesday inaugurated the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project in a ceremony held in Managua, Nicaragua. The purpose of the project is to conserve biological diversity in Central America and southern Mexico by establishing a program that will support the consolidation of the corridor throughout the region.

Prioritized by the Central American Alliance for Sustainable Development (ALIDES), conservation of the corridor will consist of establishing a network of protected areas and buffer zones united by ecological corridors that will be subsequently classified by variety and levels of protection.

According to the UNDP, deforestation, forest fires, land and marine contamination, over-fishing and over-hunting and extraction of flora and fauna are the main causes of the loss of the region's biodiversity. -- La Prensa

Mayor of Tegucigalpa Vilma de Castellanos, announced that due to the unorganized manner in which the water company operates the municipality will prohibit them tearing up streets to repair the capital's water system.

According to Castellanos, the water company tears open the streets to repair and replace water pipes, but then does not adequately repair them. She stated that many times open ditches are not closed for several days because the water company digs up a street in several different areas without having sufficient materials to make the repairs, causing serious traffic problems and jeopardizing the public's safety. -- El Tiempo

Sunday afternoon famed sports commentator, journalist and politician Diogenes Cruz Garcia died of a heart attack. At his wake, people of all wakes of life crowded to bid him farewell, including President Carlos Flores, who stated that although Cruz's presence will be sorely missed, his legacy will be honored. -- El Heraldo

A fire caused by an overheated plug resulted in millions of lempiras in losses for Channel 11 when their studio went up in flames. The fire destroyed all the editing, camera and transmission equipment. The furnishing in an apartment belonging to the owner, Jaime Rosenthal Oliva, were also destroyed by the water used by firemen. -- El Tiempo

With the assistance of helicopters from the Soto Cano Air Base, the World Food Program transported 40 metric tons of emergency food rations to the Mosquitia last week to alleviate severe food shortages caused by flooding during Hurricane Mitch that washed away fertile river banks where food crops were once grown.

Benefactors include 11,000 residents of the municipality Wampusirpi and surrounding areas. -- La Tribuna

Carlos Flores and Enrique Cardoso chat in San Jose, Costa Rica about Central American commerce with Brazil and Mercosur.

By BLANCA MORENO

In the presence of OAS Special Envoy Luigi Einaudi, President Carlos Flores this week made a proposal to President Arnoldo Aleman of Nicaragua to reduce tensions and resolve the matter of last December's 35 percent tariff slapped on Honduran products by Nicaragua during the Brazil-Central American Summit April 4-5 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The summit was convened to boost commerce between Mercosur, the South American trade block, and Central America and the Dominican Republic. It was attended by President Fernando Enrique Cardoso of Brazil and all of the presidents of Central America, Panama, Belize and the Dominican Republic except for Guatemala, which sent its vice president.

President Carlos Flores of Honduras is greeted by students in San Jose, Costa Rica during the first Brazil-Central America Summit. To the left is President Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Costa Rica.

Notwithstanding the goodwill and best wishes from President Cardoso and the rest of the Central American states, the summit was somewhat marred by border disputes and tensions between Nicaragua and Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and Guatemala and Belize.

The Honduran-Nicaraguan maritime border dispute prompted Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to call for a meeting of Central American industrialists at the end of this month.

The private meeting between Presidents Flores and Aleman and Einaudi lasted more than an hour, but the only statement regarding the encounter was that Flores proposed a reduction in tensions and the resolution of the tariff matter.

Honduran Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez stated that the meeting "was spontaneous and a significant step in the relations between both countries."

He said that at this moment he did not know the full details of the conversation, but that it was a positive step in the whole process that hopefully will end with the normalization of relations.

"We have seen how dialogue resolves problems," he said optimistically. "The peoples of Honduras and Nicaragua have shared an historic destiny and will continue to do so, and what is important in these situations is to search for solutions" to any differences.

The mediation of the OAS and dialogue have had a positive effect on reducing tensions, he concluded.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Honduran entrepreneurs have begun pressuring the Flores administration to impose economic sanctions on imports from Nicaragua in retaliation for the 35 percent import tariff levied on Honduran products by Managua.

In December 1999, the Nicaraguan government slapped the tariff on all Honduran imports to that country after the Honduran National Congress ratified a maritime treaty with Colombia. The administration of President Arnoldo Aleman disputes the treaty, which recognizes Colombian claims to large tracts of Caribbean waters also claimed by Nicaragua.

Up to now the Honduran government has opposed any retaliatory economic measures because it could harm the ongoing Central American integration process. However, Foreign Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez this week announced that Honduras may apply "reciprocal measures" against Nicaragua, which has not budged from its position.

Several government authorities met this week to study options to correct the effects this tariff is having on the economy. They said their main objective is to normalize the Central American integration process and thus, trade relations.

"We are studying different scenarios, and in any case, Honduras will comply with the law to have a proportional and legally valid reaction," Flores Bermudez said. "As a government authority, I recognize the fact that we have been real patient, but we have reached the limit and it is necessary to take action... There is no other choice but to explore our options."

Managua has refused to discuss the issue of the tariff increase in the Central American Parliament, the Council of Foreign Ministers, the Trade Ministers Council and at a presidential level.

Thirty-nine Honduran businesses have been affected directly by the tariff, which has caused the dismissal of employees and the closing of plants.

Flores Bermudez explained that relatively speaking, Honduras and Nicaragua export about the same amount of products worldwide. As the markets are about the same in proportion, he added, it is illogical to change that percentage when instead the two countries should be working together.

Meanwhile, Nicaragua began presenting its case against Honduras at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands on March 21.

Nicaragua's presentation at the World Court will take approximately 12 months, after which Honduras will begin its own. According to Flores Bermudez, the whole process could take up to five years to resolve.

By ROSA DEL CARMEN AGUILAR

Special to Honduras This Week

Thousands of Honduran children in the departments of Choluteca and Valle have a new nutritional alternative as of March, thanks to the donation of 16 metric tons of fortified granola, presented in chocolate and strawberry bars. The granola bars were contributed by World Vision Honduras, through World Vision Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Haemoglobin tests and the nutrition of children have been monitored in selected areas over 10 months to assess the impact of granola as a complementary food, said Melissa Lazo, World Vision Honduras Health coordinator.

The distribution will be made in non-formal pre-school centers (CEPENF) and public schools for those children in extreme vulnerability. The distribution of complementary food, such as granola, is one of the rehabilitation components that is provided free of charge for the most needy children, said Luis Flores, national food security coordinator.

The nutritional content of fortified granola includes proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin B3, folic acid, sodium, potassium, dietetic fibre, iron, vitamin E, calcium, copper, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine and zinc.

The children benefiting from this program are aged 0 to 5 years. They will also receive constant medical care to monitor their health condition as a whole.

Current nutritional information indicates that 38.5 percent of Honduran children between 12 and 71 months of age have low height for their age, 24.5 percent have low weight for their age and 10.5 percent have low weight for their height.

Studies from organizations such as UNICEF have revealed that in all probability the deterioration of the nutritional state is tied to changes in breastfeeding patterns, inadequate supplementary foods and illnesses such as respiratory infections and diarrhea.

WV Honduras is not intending to substitute the main food of the children, but to improve their nutritional state through this complementary snack. This has also been done with the dry ration for adults within the food-for-work program that distributes corn, beans, oil and flour.

The Spanish non-governmental organization Life and Liberty is currently planning the construction of a shelter for homeless and abused children in either Tela, Atlantida or El Calan, near Villanueva, Cortes.

According to Javier Perez, president of the evangelical NGO, the shelter will initially house approximately 200 children that they plan to get off the streets of San Pedro Sula. "We will treat these children as if they were our own, covering all their basic necessities as well as providing for their education," he said.

Life and Liberty already runs a similar program in San Pedro Sula, the director added, and the public is welcome to visit their facilities in the Colonia Universidad, 21 y 22 Calles of San Pedro Sula. - El Tiempo

Gladys Caballero, director of the National Counsel for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking, announced last week that in accordance with agreements between Honduras and the United States, the latter will transfer 80 percent of the money obtained from the sale of five boats decommissioned for transporting drugs.

Caballero stated that when the boats are auctioned and Honduras receives its portion of the funds, they will be used to buy equipment to fight drug trafficking in the country. She said Honduras has already received Lps. 1.9 million from the sale of one boat, which will be used to buy equipment for a computer communications network. - El Tiempo

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CODEH) has accused Security Minister Elizabeth Chiuz Sierra of abuse of authority and failing to fulfill her obligations. This accusation was presented to the Attorney General's Office in conjunction with charges against 18 members of citizen security committees that are allegedly connected with the death of 14 persons on the North Coast. They are also accused of attempting to murder four more people and of seriously injuring another.

Pavon said the minister is being charged for her role in creating these "death squads" that are acting illegally, consequently she has acted illegally and that her primary obligation is law enforcement, at which she has failed. -- El Tiempo

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Edward James Olmos visited Honduras last week to observe reconstruction work in the areas of the country affected by Hurricane Mitch.

While in Tegucigalpa, Olmos visited several still unrepaired sites as well as macro-shelters where hurricane victims are living. He expressed concern about the emotional damages caused to families that were displaced by the Hurricane.  El Heraldo

Government officials on Tuesday inaugurated the first session of the Honduran Land Fund pilot project, which seeks to improve land distribution in Honduras. Gustavo Alfaro, minister to the president, said the main objective of creating the fund is to improve land tenancy in Honduras as well as the quality of life of rural people. According to the National Sustainable Development Program, 205,000 of the nation's 330,000 farmers, or 62 percent, are poor. Also, 58 percent are landless.

Alfaro said that although initiatives for creating the fund began as early as 1983, it was not continued. Since then, added the Minister, several steps were taken but none of them were developed and the last initiative made was the Law to Stimulate Production, Competition and Support of Human Development that spent Lps. 17 million to buy land. However, these efforts have been insufficient. The present proposal aims at financing land acquisition and the formation of sustainable, independent agricultural businesses.  La Tribuna

More than a 100 people were detained and 15 injured -- including 5 policemen -- during the eviction of 235 families from a macro-shelter site in Cofradia, Cortes.

According to authorities, the eviction was carried out when the inhabitants refused to leave the shelter after being notified several times it would be closed due to the fact that many people residing there were not victims of Hurricane Mitch and that it had become a shelter for gang members.