A Spanish priest, residing in Honduras, questions the stances the Government of Spain has taken against Honduras, which are causing so much damage in the country.
Antonio Rieu, who lived in Congo, Rwanda, Cameroon and Ivory Coast, now runs a Marist high school in Honduras. He sent a letter to the Spanish Ambassador in Honduras, from which we translate an excerpt:
While the people of Honduras continue to suffer from international isolation, the political and diplomatic corporation of Latin America and the Caribbean will discuss its fate in Cancún.
The Rio Group (an OAS alternative), will become the next stage in which the representatives of the region’s governments will promote their own political and personal projects, as they discuss the future of a theoretically sovereign country.
The European Commission informed in a press release that they plan to resume the negotiation process on February 22.
Honduras will participate fully and Panama will take part as an observer.
“EU wants a ‘comprehensive association agreement’ with the region, which includes political dialogue in Human Rights, climate change and development cooperation, plus a free trade agreement”, reported Nacion.com.
Central America's chambers of commerce requested the European Union to recognize the elections in Honduras, in order to resume negotiations for an association agreement.
At a meeting in San José, Costa Rica, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Central American Isthmus (Fecamco), "unanimously endorsed Honduras' elections" and asked the European Union to recognize them.
"Not recognizing the elections nor the future president would be hurting the Honduran people, who have already suffered enough, and don't deserve it", Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica.
At a press conference during the XIX Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of State, the president of Costa Rica remarked the "double standards" of the international community with regards to the Honduran political crisis.
The political crisis in Honduras didn't damage business as much as it was expected, evidencing that Central America is more integrated economically than politically.
Two elements contributed to keeping borders open to trade: Honduras central location in the region, and the diversification and growth experienced by intra-regional commerce in the past few years.
An update on the current situation of the Honduran conflict, in an analysis in which the clock is ticking against Zelaya.
The article in America Economía is interesting due to its content and its peculiar graphical presentation. Its author, Rodrigo Lara, shows us 12 points which resume the current situation of the Honduran political crisis, and its impact on the region.
In Honduras, a inflexible Latin American diplomacy failed, forcing the intervention of the only country capable of forcing an agreement.
The agreement negotiated by Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon is a testimony of the considerable influence that Washington still has over Latin America, despite verbal attempts by Chávez and other leaders of the region to undermine it.
An international symposium in the Dominican Republic highlighted "the risk of using democratic powers to execute "coups d'état".
International analysts and prominent politicians and government officials from Latin America, debated on new problems faced by democracies: "abuse of the time staying in power, and situation of the minorities".
This discussion took place in the International Forum "XXX Years of Democracy: Democracy, Growth with Social Equality and Cohesion in Latin America".
Fecaxca warned that exports from all the countries of the region are being affected by measures blocking free flow of goods.
Nacion.com: "Exporters of the region, represented in the Federation of Export Chambers of Central America (Fecaexca), agreed on Saturday, in Managua, to await a prompt resolution of the Honduran crisis, in order to resume transit of goods in the region, which is paralyzed since September 22."
The editorial at Nacion.com remarks: "if all that is left is poses, angry reactions and more inflexibility, Zelaya's presence could be the trigger that was needed for real violence".
"No agreement will be possible unless Latin America's democratic countries nullify the distorting actions of Hugo Chávez, so diplomatic initiatives are not based on ideological intentions but democratic objectives.
The escalation of the Honduran crisis because of Zelaya's return is causing severe losses, as borders are closed.
One of the gravest problems is that Salvadoran and Nicaraguan exports cannot access embarking ports, as they usually use Honduran port 'Cortés'. Goods trucks are piling up at border crossings.
The most affected countries are the members of the so called CA-4: Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.
"If and when they are developed in a transparent way and seek reconciliation", informed Juan Carlos Varela, Panamanian vice president and chancellor.
"We regard democratic elections as a way out of the current situation, if and when they are conducted transparently and become part of a national dialogue", he added.
Google News published: "This way, the government of Panama disassociates itself with the rest of the countries, which have so far supported Zelaya's stance of not recognizing the elections, called by the Supreme Electoral Court for November".
Costa Rica's Commerce Ministry is proposing a change in the rules, in order to close the agreement without Honduras.
So far, Europe's stance has been to put the process on hold until the Honduran crisis is resolved with the restitution of deposed president Manuel Zelaya, an event that may never occur. If the winner of the planned elections in Honduras is not recognized, the Association Agreement with Europe could be postponed sine die.