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<font size=4><b>Honduras: Poll Proposed by Resistance Challenges
Regime<br><br>
</b></font><font size=3>Written by Peter Lackowski
<br>
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 08:18 <br>
<a href="http://upsidedownworld.org/main/honduras-archives-46/2406-honduran-resistance-challenges-regime" eudora="autourl">
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/honduras-archives-46/2406-honduran-resistance-challenges-regime<br>
<br>
</a>"On June 28 (2010) we are going to hold a great poll of our
people which is going to express our judgment, massively, in favor of a
democratic and participatory constitutional constituent assembly in our
country," <a href="http://ellibertador.hn/Nacional/3849.html">said
Rafael Alegría</a> of the National Front of Popular Resistance, earlier
this March. <br><br>
The poll is planned for the one year anniversary of a similar non-binding
opinion poll that President Manuel Zelaya wanted to hold to determine
whether a majority of Hondurans wanted a referendum on a new constitution
to be included in last November's election. The nation's oligarchic
press expressed their horror that this was similar to what had happened
in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Those nations have established new
constitutions that are more favorable toward the rights, participation,
and interests of the popular classes. The Honduran legislative and
judicial branches also opposed Zelaya's initiative, and the army deported
him to Costa Rica. In response, a massive movement of labor, human rights
organizations, indigenous peoples, gays, community organizers, and
virtually every progressive in Honduras came together and began
organizing resistance to the illegal regime.<br><br>
The de facto government that replaced Zelaya went ahead with the
elections scheduled for November 29, 2009, but according to Alegría,
"The Resistance considers the current regime to be the continuation
of the de facto regime of (dictator Roberto) Micheletti. Up to now there
has been no reform, it is the same scheme." <br><br>
This bold announcement indicates a new stage in the struggle to establish
democracy in Honduras. Alegría expressed determination to go forward with
a vote on a constitutional constituent assembly, saying that those who
oppose it might resort to their usual tactics, "to repress, murder,
and imprison our people, but nothing and no one is going to stop this
initiative of the Resistance..."<br><br>
Alegría went on to denounce the intervention of United States Ambassador
Hugo Llorens, who is "dedicating himself to establishing a famous
dialogue with the businessmen, with the leaders of the Liberal Party,
with other sectors, in order to weaken the Resistance."<br><br>
Commenting on the fact that the European Union has recognized the
government of President Porfirio Lobo, Alegría said, "They are
looking after their own interests, they want to sign a free trade treaty
with Central America, and Honduras is important to them." The
objective of the great powers, he said, is "to get control of our
natural resources, the wealth of our country."<br><br>
According to Alegría, "If there is something that is positive about
the coup, it is that our people have awakened, they have social and
political consciousness, and they want to get rid of the oligarchic power
structure." He insisted, "We are going forward with the
reformation and refoundation of our country."<br><br>
<b>Planning Meeting<br><br>
</b>From March 12 through 14 about 1000 activists attended a meeting in
La Esperanza, including delegates from all the movements that make up the
resistance. Giorgio Trucchi provides a
<a href="http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/refundar-construir-poder-popular-constituyente-honduras">
report on the conference</a> at kaosenlared.net.<br><br>
In the words of Bertha Cáceres, national coordinator of COPINH, the
indigenous rights organization that hosted the gathering, "To
refound Honduras means to get together and think and dream about what we
want our country to be, and to structure the process for achieving this
objective...It is a complex process that must touch all aspects and areas
of national life, at the individual and collective levels. A path of
economic and political transformation that confronts the culture of
domination, that benefits our people and that leads to a Honduran
constitution with justice, humanity, solidarity, sovereignty, self
determination, and equality."<br><br>
After a serious debate the various sections of a new constitution were
laid out. A committee to direct the National Constituent Assembly was
nominated, and Bertha Oliva of the Committee of Families of disappeared
Detainees in Honduras (COFADEH) was elected to lead this group.<br><br>
Carlos H. Reyes, President of STIBYS, the beverage workers' union,
commented that there were 20 working groups that analyzed different
things to be included in the constitution, such as political forms, the
economic model, human rights, the rights of indigenous and Afro-Caribbean
peoples, labor, gender, etc.<br><br>
"We are going to work very hard for the next two and a half months
to get to a poll next June 28th, the date of the coup. We have not yet
determined what form it will take, but we know that it will be an
instrument that will not only serve to count the people who support the
constituent assembly process, but also to further the process of uniting
us, of mobilizing and organizing," said Reyes.<br><br>
Reyes pointed out that the people who made the coup know perfectly well
that the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP) has succeeded in
maintaining and strengthening the unity among social and political
organizations with the objective of taking power. For this reason
they have increased selective violence against members of the Resistance
as well as strategies to break up their unity.<br><br>
Bertha Cáceres concluded the meeting by expressing the need to continue
the process of reflection and construction. She noted that it had
been a rich learning experience for those who participated, and she
expressed her appreciation of the presence and participation of the women
delegates.<br><br>
In her concluding remarks, Bertha Cáceres reaffirmed the assembly’s
commitment to “keep the process of reflection and construction
open.”<br><br>
“It needs to be emphasized,” she said, “that this meeting for the
refoundation of Honduras has no closing ceremony.”<br>
<i>Burlington, VT resident Peter Lackowski recently returned from a
<a href="http://www.rightsaction.org/">Rights Action</a> human rights
delegation in Honduras.<br><br>
<br><br>
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