OPINIONS & EDITORIAL |
OPINIONS & EDITORIAL |
Monday, October 26, 1998 Online Edition 129 |
New winds blowing: The resuscitation of Fidel Castro By ERLING DUUS
Just a few years ago, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the American media was breathless with anticipation about how long it would take for Fidel Castro's communist bastion in Cuba to fall. Only a few months, surely, at best a year, or maybe, in the most extraordinary of circumstances, two years. Politicians like Senator Jesse Helms positively salivated over the opportunity to pound the nails into Castro's coffin. A new embargo on Cuba was forged, tougher and more stringent than the old one, and this would be just what was needed to push Castro over the cliff, and return Cuba to the glories of freedom and Capitalism. However, a funny happened on the way to the funeral. The corpse was not in the box so carefully prepared. It seems that the laws and ways of historical event are governed by dynamics more complex than those calculated on Main Street, USA, or by the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee. A few years later, the prestige and influence of Fidel Castro is greater than it has ever been, and now there is a group of "distinguished," high-profile establishment Americans including Henry Kissinger who are proposing themselves as a committee to study the issue of U.S. relations with Cuba, obviously with an eye to giving the Clinton administration a cover for normalizing trade and diplomatic relations with that country. At the recent Iberian-American summit held in Portugal, Comandante Castro was widely heralded as the star of the show. President Flores of Honduras seemed delighted to be photographed discussing political and economic issues with Castro, and just so that nobody would miss the point, he issued a statement concerning their conversation. "Comandante Fidel Castro gave us his over-all perspective on current events, his point of view, his personal analysis of the problems which are affecting the world at this moment." But advising the Honduran president is only a small part of the leadership role now being played by the venerable Communist dictator. The new president of Colombia, Andres Pastrana, apparently a shrewd pragmatist, has sought the assistance of Castro in his effort to negotiate a peace settlement with the Marxist guerrillas who now and for the foreseeable future control about half of that country. Pastrana wishes to recognize those hard but unforgiving facts that exist, and therefore seeks to bring the guerrillas into some form of cooperative relationship that will allow Colombia to exist at least nominally as a nation. In his need he turns to Fidel. The Cuban secretary of state, Roberto Robaina, puts the matter very diplomatically. "Colombia has begun a great effort to seek peace. In this process Cuba will participate with much discretion and solicitude for all involved parties." Meanwhile in London, the former military dictator of Chile, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, has been arrested by the British police at the request of the government of Spain, who are requesting his extradition to stand trial for his role in the torture and murder of the Spanish citizens in Chile. Chilean authorities are crying crocodile tears over this violation of "diplomatic immunity." Pinochet was in London for a hernia operation. Apparently there are no hospitals or doctors in Chile he trusts with his precious anatomy, which is understandable when you consider the extent of his crimes against his countrymen. To get a sense of the different winds now blowing in the world, consider for the moment that it was the aforementioned Kissinger, who was the pivotal architect of the coup that brought Pinochet to power. The late assassinated President Allende of Chile was a much more pragmatic Marxist than Fidel Castro. What is going on here? Many things, of course, but the sudden and dramatic collapse of what is called "globalization" around the world has seemingly liberated something that has been pretty much suppressed for the last 20 years, and in some respects for the last 60 years. There is a recognition here and there that the world had better recover something of those humanistic and spiritual traditions without which human history becomes a nightmare, and in which, as happened in the late days of the Roman Empire, there is no longer a need to be worrying about the barbarians, because the barbarians are inside the walls, and they are us. During the Cold War there was a need to demonize Castro. The failings and brutalities of his regime were highlighted, its achievements ignored. But now that the smoke is clearing a little, as the legacy of Thatcher, Reagan, and Jeanne Kirkpatrick fades, the perspective that has always been dominant in the Spanish-speaking world emerges, a perspective which allows some respect for and appreciation of Castro and much of the agenda he has embodied, and which simultaneously identifies the Pinochets and all their gang throughout the world as criminals. This whole issue can be simply stated. If it is really not true that greed is a social virtue that benefits all, but that it is instead what people used to think it was, a scourge, then it is impossible to make heroes of the greedy, or villains of those who oppose them. Oliver North, where are you when the armies of reaction need you? When we were growing up we sometimes heard this expression from people we hoped were wise. "The wheels of God grind slowly, but finely." Maybe they were right, after all. |
Dam debate Coordination of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor strategic plan is the responsibility of an operational unit located in the offices of the Central American Environmental and Development Commission (Comision Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo) in Guatemala. This unit is supervised by the seven Central American ministries of natural resources and environment. In 1997 the seven Central American presidents agreed that in addition to the role of strategic regional coordinator one of this unit’s principal objectives would be "promoting the establishment of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor with national and local participation, including government institutions, local authorities, base organizations, the private sector and the community in general." Based on these plans and other programs already being implemented in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, the World Banks Global Environmental Fund (GEF) has begun to provide much needed financial assistance in the area toward biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. In Honduras, two priority areas have identified: the Tawahka Asangi Biosphere Reserve and the Patuca National Park. But to receive funding the Honduran Congress must legally declare the areas natural reserves. Toward this end, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Elvin Santos submitted in June the necessary bills for ratification, a step that has not yet been taken by Congress. It should be noted as well that previous bills had already been submitted at the beginning of this decade. On another development note, the National Electric Company (ENEE) is studying several possible projects that would expand the country’s energy production. Among these is the Patuca II hydroelectric dam. The proposed project would be built inside the also proposed Patuca National Park. Environmental and indigenous groups have been expressing their concern since June when foreign project developers announced that the Honduran company, BioConsult, would complete an environmental impact study (EIS) in a mere six months when most experts agree that field work should take a least a year if not two to complete. In fact, several experts hired by BioConsult have quit before completion of the study. The opposition has also complained repeatedly that they have not been included by the government or by project developers in any part of the development and/or planning process of this project. But putting local concerns aside for the moment and considering the destructive capacity of huge dams worldwide provides plenty of reason to be concerned. Monty Aguirre from International Rivers Network during the Patuca II Forum held in June stated that:
In light of this knowledge it would seem logical that any rational and disinterested human being can see that neither the Honduran Mesoamerican Biological Corridor nor the Mosquitia’s fragile ecosystems will not benefit from a hydroelectric dam project. But alas, in spite of all the available data and prior completion of EIS, Mr. Santos declared publicly in May in the community of Ahuas that "despite any indigenous opposition this project will be built." Mr. Santos apparently still wants the US$40 million the GEF has earmarked for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Honduras and also wishes to reap the profits of the multimillion dollar Patuca II project. But are these projects harmonious? It doesn't appear that a project to conserve biodiversity in a natural reserve would harmonize with a road opening up the area to colonization. Will Mr. Santos be allowed to have his cake and eat it too? |
Monday, October 10, 1998 Online Edition 127 |
Promotion of country needed Revision of international relations at a promotional level is urgent at all levels of the governmental apparatus that does nothing at all or knows not what to do. Several different institutions are involved in international investment, including a high-level commission named by President Flores, the Honduran Tourism Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as private enterprise institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, FIDE, the Maquila association, the Ministry of Economy and the media. Still we cannot hear the echo of our permanent complaints in any of these institutions that do the least amount of work necessary to promote Honduran exports. The lack of coordination of the whole structure required to promote and foment marketing has been obvious from the beginning of this administration. The entire effort remains weak and inefficient. All the information we have received from said institutions to this day is beggarly and lacks a meaningful connection with the Honduran business community. We think that previous administrations were more motivated to work with promotional issues and a few companies were even included in the publicity campaigns of renowned foreign magazines in favor of promoting Honduras. But no more documentaries, posters, commercial visits, forums, or embassy promotions have since been noticed. These days the Honduran embassies dedicate themselves to petitioning sister governments not to deport Honduran illegals and other matters that are not their proper concern, and constitute a waste of effort. This is a serious matter. President Flores has for the moment dedicated himself to paying back his presidential campaign supporters and forgotten that the country transcends them, while he ignores the need to activate the economy, which is not something that can be done in a day or a week. Modern business executives live within two time frames. The first being what was planned for yesterday and is being executed today, the second being what is being planned today to do tomorrow. President Flores should begin working today so that the next government, be it Nationalist or Liberal, is successful enough to carry the country toward a promising destiny rather than the present depressing course. Honduras is a good country, full of gaiety and goodwill, with ample natural resources and beautiful traditions. Errors committed are the work of badly chosen people and not because of any fundamental moral fallacy in the country. Our embassies find themselves more denuded on a daily basis; now people are fired because they earn to much. These might have been good people who were promoting the country. Could it not have been possible to work with these people on a commission basis? The fact is that every day that a government official is fired we are saddened because their replacements many times do not know how to promote the country, in other words, virtually every change deepens our backwardness.
OUTRAGEOUS AIRFARE Dear Editor: I would like to express my whole hearted agreement with the gentleman who protests that the air fare to Honduras is too high. The fare is not just too high, it is ridiculous. Is there some reason for this? Does Honduras charge the airlines some sort of exorbitant fee? Doug Breeding |
Sidewalk rage leaves newcomer stranded By MICHAEL MILLER Special to Honduras This Week As Tegucigalpa celebrates its 420th anniversary this year, most commuters who must traverse this fair city on a daily basis will note that its system of roads does not seem to have changed much since mule-and-wagon days. This fact, while lending colonial charm to Tegucigalpa, can also lend itself to intense amounts of frustration. The narrow, winding streets that snake through the city in every which direction can provide awesome spectacles to the passerby, such as the feats of expert bus drivers who execute spectacular hair-pin turns, often within centimeters of the nearest building. Yet more often, they are the scene of traffic jams that seem unparalleled in their intensity and hair-pulling duration. Yet the traffic here does not limit itself to the roads. Before moving to Tegucigalpa this summer, I sold my car, thinking that I was putting an end to years of road rage, that urban phenomenon that turns normally peaceful citizens into crazed drivers with murder in their eyes. Having found an apartment in convenient La Leona, I thought I would enjoy walking everywhere I had to go. Little did I know, I would soon become a victim to a little known sister to road rage -- "sidewalk rage." Tegucigalpans make a commute on foot through the teeming downtown squares and sidewalks look easy. They can be toting loads of shopping bags, a new bookcase or three or four kids, yet they flow through the mass of humanity without so much as rustling the sleeve of another passer-by. It is as if they send signals to each other as a school of fish does, knowing exactly which way to move to avoid an oncoming commuter. They can be having an intense conversation or be window-shopping with heads turned, yet still breeze around one of the many man-sized holes that apparently serve no other purpose but to swallow up the untrained walker. I, however, have to beg "perdon" at least five times daily. As I walk down a crowded sidewalk, I try my best to judge the movement a passer-by will make, but I inevitably end up jostling him or her or jumping out of the way at the last second. Often, when executing the latter, I find myself trampling some vendor's merchandise, whether the men's fashion briefs or expensive leather purses. Tegucigalpans are usually kind enough not to comment, but they always give me a bemused look as if to say, "if there is a dunce in this school of fish, it just bumped into me." If the sidewalks stress me out, crossing the street can be downright terrifying. Often, when I am walking with Honduran friends, they calmly cross a street in which buses and taxies are flying without changing their pace. Yet as soon as I step into traffic, a taxista comes flying around a corner that I had not noticed and bears down on me. With my heart in my throat, I jump back to the curb, as my Honduran friends turn around and wonder what I am waiting for. When traffic is at a standstill, with taxis honking as if the mile-long line of cars is stopped just to irritate them, I usually step out into the street with more confidence. Yet no sooner than I have begun my attempt at crossing than a rogue motor-cyclist will appear from nowhere, gunning down his narrow lane of opportunity, focused on not hitting the protruding bus mirrors. Often, a daring motorcyclist will even use the sidewalk itself as a means of escaping a downtown gridlock, which obliterates what little comfort zone I thought I had. I have become convinced that I will meet an untimely demise at the wheels of a Tegucigalpan motorcycle. Sadly, the peace that I thought I would find by leaving my car behind has alluded me. Now, as I slow to a snail's pace behind two lovers who are strolling hand-in-hand, completely consuming the one-foot sidewalk and unaware of the world around them, I feel the blood rising in my head and I fight the urge to say something unlovely to them. If anyone decides to start a support group for those suffering from sidewalk rage, I will be your first member. Yet you'll probably have to come find me. I'll be the flustered looking gringo standing on the edge of Parque Central, waiting for his chance to cross the street. |
Monday, October 5, 1998 Online Edition 126 |
Denmark and Honduras: alike and unalike By ERLING DUUS People usually snort in disbelief when I attempt to state the similarities between my ancestral country, Denmark, and my country more or less of adoption, Honduras. Now, my case has become even harder to make. As has been well publicized locally, a German-based survey of international businessmen finds Denmark to be the least corrupt nation in the world, while Honduras is rated a dismal 83rd, ranking only behind dissolute Paraguay, and Cameroon, in the nations included in the survey. The value and accuracy of such surveys is certainly questionable. In Denmark, it can do little good, inflating an already pronounced national tendency towards self-righteousness, and in Honduras, where most citizens are not unaware that there exists a problem with corruption, defensiveness and pessimism may be more common responses than a will to change. The immense differences between the two countries not withstanding, there are, I insist, real similarities. Danes, like Hondurans, are friendly, uncompetitive, somewhat passive, peaceful, gentle, sentimental, tolerant, and oriented toward family, festivity, and continuities. Both are small and largely homogenous. Given such a list of similarities, the great gap between the two countries in terms of social progress is striking. There are a great many people who like to disparage the Danish accomplishment, out of what may be an aversion to the fact that if it were taken seriously the rational course might be to learn from it, and to incorporate its example. "Easy enough" they scoff "to virtually eradicate poverty and corruption, when you are a small, homogenous country with a lousy climate. "But it was, and is not easy to do what the Danes have done, essentially fashion a highly humane and profoundly civilized country amidst the holocaust of the 20th Century. The great Danish bard and prophet of the last century, N.F.S. Grundtvig, led a rich cultural awakening part of whose aspiration for the Danes was to have a country "where few have too much, and few have too little." To accomplish that, it was necessary to generate such a sacramental sense of nationhood that the sense would grow of a citizenship to which everyone belonged and in which everyone participated and shared. Grundtvig was not primarily a political thinker, but his inspirational and spiritual power impacted profoundly on the political realm. In any event, Denmark was transformed into a society where poverty on the one hand, and vast personal fortunes on the other were seen as offensive, somehow un-Danish. Denmark is not a country with great natural resources, but a prosperity has been created in which virtually all share. It is a capitalistic country with a strong socialist impulse. As for corruption, the tolerant Danes do not tolerate it. Further, they do not understand it. They know that if a person steals, he ultimately steals from himself. If he exploits, he is damaging a larger whole of which he is also a part. While Denmark has not achieved the ideal of Plato, a society governed by philosophers, a certain philosophical perspective has been democratized, and is widely shared. Politicians serve, and do not enrich themselves from the public trough. Elections cannot be bought, and are not driven by money. Denmark does have a royal family, which as with the House of Windsor in England, has no direct political power. But it is highly respected. The Royals are expected to set an example for modest, socially aware, and responsible living. The children of the monarchy are not members of the international jet set. Denmark is not a paradise. Life is too dull, conformist, and in certain ways, restricted. But that may be part of the price that must be paid for living in a civilized society, especially in a small country. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, especially by Danes, that Denmark has succumbed to many of the ills of modern society. If the great Grundtvig could come back, he would surely be astounded and dismayed, and would raise general hell just as he did all of his life, by the lack of vibrant sense of adventure, and the sense of high calling and lofty purpose. He would no doubt find modern Denmark bourgeois and materialistic. In some fundamental way, Denmark has had the good fortune to be able to fulfill at least some of its potential as a nation. In Honduras, it is a source of pain and frustration to see so much human and cultural potential unfulfilled. But potential is still the God-given quality we have to work with and for. And who can ever say when and how the flame starts to burn that can lift a people into that process whereby it begins fulfill what lies within. Those of us who love Honduras, and we are many, patriots and expatriates alike, know that corruption is the demon that holds the promise of this people captive. It must be stopped. I am proud to point to Denmark as an example and a model. It is, I think, a better one by far than that of the over-bearing United States, which was, incidentally, rated an unimpressive 17th in the poll, tied with Austria, just ahead of nations like Chile, Botswana, and Malaysia. It was pointed out, however, that the comparatively low rating of the United States may be partly due to the fact that the "American press is adept at ferreting out corruption." Interesting. But what of Cameroon? Is the press also vigilant there? |
JOKES ON FOOD, DRIVING OFFENSIVE Dear Editor: I found it very enlightening to read about Honduras, my country, in "Honduras This Week" for the first time. I understand that a small percentage of jokes and/or personal perspectives about any type of news is acceptable. In this case I believe that although some readers might find it funny to joke about the realities that people in such a poor country are forced to have as part of their daily lives, the percentage of sarcastic remarks about the driving and the food are offensive and extensively exaggerated. Specifically, referring to the articles presented by Erling Duus and Phillip Bannister regarding eating out in Honduras and driving in a Third World country. Of course, typical foods like frijoles (beans), plátanos (plantains), etc. would be available in a small Honduran restaurant at all times of the day. If a person is looking for a different type of food, it is only a matter of choosing a different restaurant just like anyone would in the United States. Making or giving such a limited impression to a person that doesn't know any better about a country's image is totally unfair. At least, there should be space given to a person with an open and objective view point on the issue for it to be considered "NEWS." News has an impact in the way we see things and should at least be complete in giving positive as well as negative perspectives on any issue. Thank you again for keeping Honduras on the map. Just keep in mind that there are a lot of positive things about my country that could equally, at least, be part of your articles. Ana E. Cardona Boston, Massachusetts |
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President Flores (left) and
Commandant Fidel Castro exchange points of view during their first bilateral meeting at
Oporto, Portugal. (Photo by Sergio G. Garcia/ARS COMUNICATIO)
