Juan Orlando Hernández has assumed the presidency of a country affected by a serious fiscal deterioration, criminal violence and lack of public and private investment.
The new president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, assumes command of the country in a very complex environment, where the lack of adequate infrastructure, high fiscal deficits and deteriorating social conditions seriously affect the country's competitiveness internationally.
The company reported government problems in the financing of hydroelectric projects Llanitos and Jicatuyo, which were to have been built by the Brazilian company.
The Honduran government never disbursed the $100 million it was to contribute towards building dams on the Ulua River in the department of Santa Barbara, said Brazilian Ambassador to Honduras, Zenic Krawctschuk.
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.
Honduras starts a new stage of political and economic reconstruction, based on national reconciliation.
The new president started this difficult assignment by ratifying a resolution by the National Assembly granting immunity for all those involved in the deposition of Manuel Zelaya.
The Economist analyzes the upcoming administration of Porfirio Lobo and how he will have to 'pick up the post-coup pieces'.
When he is sworn in on January 27th, Lobo will take over a country that is diplomatically isolated, economically battered and socially polarized.
He inherits an economic hole. "Because of the world recession, the aid cut and the collapse in confidence triggered by the coup, the economy shrank by 3-4% last year.
The Honduran Treasury has outstanding debt for $300 million, but has only $8 million available.
In light of this situation, Finance Minister Gabriela Núñes warned that the upcoming administration, headed by Porfirio Lobo, must enforce "deep fiscal austerity" and restore relations with the international community, in order to resume external aid.
The coup d'état and the international financial crisis are the main drivers of this drastic reduction in foreign direct investment.
According to data from the Central Bank of Honduras, the country received $485 million in Foreign Direct Investment, 44.7% less than in 2008, when it received $877 million.
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