Indignados seek support from pope; OAS commends president Juan Orlando Hernandez.
| Autor | Rodriguez, George |
Honduras' tense political scenario--more tense than usual for the past several weeks--with the habitual component of violence, is undergoing changes in an atmosphere within which official optimism and popular skepticism coexist. After weeks of massive nationwide protests triggered by colossal corruption hitting this impoverished Central American nation's social security system, a government-sponsored, Organization of American States (OAS)-facilitated national dialogue on how to fight impunity is underway.
An investigative commission set up by the previous administration of President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo (2010-2014) said the critical condition of the Instituto Hondureno de Seguridad Social (IHSS), as a result of devastating plundering, was reflected two years ago in a deficit of some 6.4 billion lempiras (approximately US$290 million).
In the work group's general findings released earlier this year, the critical IHSS situation resulted from blatant mismanagement of funds, which included excess spending, and, according to local media reports as well as accusations by civil society and political sectors, corrupt practices in the purchase of drugs and medical supplies explain why the IHSS went broke.
In a sort of two-nation domino theory following massive anti-corruption demonstrations in Guatemala, which led to the resignation and arrest of former vice president Roxana Baldetti (NotiCen, April 23, 2015), angry Hondurans, fed up with endemic unpunished corruption, took to the streets--first in the capital, Tegucigalpa, later on nationwide.
Popular anger was fueled because, besides having ruined the country's social security system and killed some 3,000 Hondurans who could not receive medical treatment or drugs because of the crisis, the illegal dealings swelled the funds for the successful election campaign two years ago of the ruling rightist Partido Nacional (PN), which put its candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez in the president's chair for the 2014-2018 period (NotiCen, Dec. 5, 2013, and Feb. 6, 2014).
The scandal ushered in the Movimiento de Indignados, with its massive Friday-night torch-lit, peaceful marches, and a 42-day hunger strike by some 20 persons -including members of indigenous communities--demanding Hernandez's resignation and the creation of an anti-corruption task force.
Indignados want Guatemala-style anti-corruption commission
Inspired by the Comision Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala (CICIG), the Indignados are demanding a Comision Internacional contra la Impunidad in Honduras (CICIH).
In an effort to counter the massive unrest triggered by the...
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