Rising violence in Honduras

Violence in Honduras has reached alarming levels.

Newspapers crime sections are full of dead people.

Violence is experienced in all levels of society, without distinction of gender or age, but the public cares more when high profile people die, such as representatives, businesspeople, lawyers, journalists and religious figures. The death of an important figure is worth a hundred strangers’.

Honduras is one of the blacklisted countries with great drug trafficking influence .

The government is shooting in the dark with its policies, you can tell it has lost control of the public safety issue.

In order to fight crime a series of flawed measures are being proposed, such as to take the military out to the streets to combat criminals, when this is not the role of the military (this is already happening).

To combat the practice of paid assassinations some propose the prohibition of more than one person in a motorcycle. Many attacks have been carried out by two people on a motorcycle: while one drives, the other fires. This will affect many people for whom buying a car is a luxury, they get punished for the crime of a tiny minority.

Some people have proposed the United States should build a military base in La Moskitia to fight drug trafficking, and some are talking again about the death penalty issue. (There is no death penalty in Honduras).

This situation of generalized violence is exploited by malicious groups of human rights activists, that are denouncing the killing of women and homosexuals, as if there was a systematic campaign by the government to damage these groups. There is a talk of femicides, a word that has no precise meaning, used to harm the country’s image.

All this violence, in my opinion, is evidence of the failure of the Honduran socio-economic system in particular, and of the capitalist system in general.

Divided Resistance

The resistance is clearly divided. This is what the last weekend’s assembly (02/26-27/11) has shown.

The National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP) against the coup d’Etat has been abandoned by the so-called Liberal Resistance or Liberals in Resistace, the Democratic Unification Party and the resistant faction of the Innovation Party (PINU), and the only group remaining is a conglomerate of union organizations previously known as Bloque Popular (Popular Block).

This Popular Block group in its intolerance has discriminated against other groups that denounced the alleged coup, including indigenous, feminist and homosexual associations.

Former president Manuel Zelaya was confirmed in the position of coordinator. He instructed the FNRP to not form a political party. However, the FNRP aims to control power, and for this it needs to draw on other resources outside the electoral contest, such as to destabilize the government in order to give an effective coup d’Etat.

It was to be expected that a group that clings to the past as a reason to exist will lose its relevance. Insisting on the coup issue will not bring any improvement to the country. Having successfully carried out the 2009 elections the “resistance” against the coup seems no longer relevant.

With his decision to evade the electoral struggle and his discrimination against the liberal resistance, Zelaya confirms his de facto separation of the Liberal Party that installed him in office. You can not ask a political party to not participate in elections because it loses its raison d’etre.

In addition, his denunciation of the coup is compromised, given his support of Hugo Chavez regime, who is pleased to support the Libya’s genocide perpetrated by dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The alleged human rights violations in Honduras during the alleged coup are nothing compared to the “socialist” carnage of the African dictator in Libya, who has hired mercenaries to massacre his own people.

If the FNRP was really popular, the strategy to conquer power could not be more simple: to form a political party, winning the elections, and once in office to change the system from within, turning it into a populist dictatorship, making the Constituent Assembly in which they so much insist.

But it seems they don’t really believe that popular support will translate into votes for them, so they rely more on insurgency and violence.

And as an excuse for not participating in elections they put conditions: the return of ex-President Zelaya with total impunity, the installment of the Constituent Assembly and the dismantling of the Supreme Court and the Military Forces. When the logical course of action would be to do all these things after seizing power and not before.

Any political force that wants to develop its own agenda needs to first come to power. This is a basic principle of political activity.

But before they assume control of the country they need to explain to the people what is their real agenda, what are the changes they want to do, what exactly they want to change in the Constitution. They must explain these things so that people know what to expect when voting for them.

But they are unable to do so, or do not want to, because in the end the Constituent Assembly is just an empty slogan made to disguise a clumsy populist dictatorship.

The age of consent in Honduras

The age of consent is the age at which people can have sex permitted by law. It is understood that sex should be voluntary, without coercion, because otherwise it would qualified as rape or sexual abuse.

The Honduran law does not explicitly define an age of consent, although some authors, making analogies with other legal systems, consider the age of consent in Honduras to be of 15 years old.

The age of majority in Honduras is reached at the age of 21. At the age of 18 young people are considered “citizens” and have the right to obtain their identity card and cast their votes, but do not enjoy the full exercise of their rights.

Minors can only marry with parental permission. The minimum age for marriage is of 17 for women, and 18 for men.

Having sex with a woman between 15 and 17 years old abusing a position of trust, hierarchy or authority is considered estupro (corruption of a minor). The law does not cover the crime of estupro in the case of male victims, and no mention is made of homosexual relations.

Some people interpret that if there is no abuse of trust, hierarchy or authority (estupro), and no incest, no crime is committed. So the Honduran law would allow consensual sex at the age of 15. This means sex with minors is allowed in Honduras.

In the case of estupro or abduction of a woman over the age of 14 but under the age of 18, the offender will be free if he marries the girl.

The Honduran Code of Childhood and Adolescence prohibits the recruitment of people under the age of 18 for the making of pornographic scenes.

References
Penal Code
Family Code
Code of Childhood and Adolescence.

How to send money to Honduras from the United States

In this post I will explain the different ways to send money from the U.S. to Honduras —or from another point of view— how people in Honduras can receive money from people in the United States.

MoneyGram and Western Union

MoneyGram and Western Union are the most recognized companies in Honduras in the remittance business. All they will ask you to do is to fill a form with the basic information needed to make the transaction and an ID. They will give you a ten-digit reference number, which you then will communicate to the person receiving the remittance. The recipient of the remittance must also present an ID card. It is very important to write correctly the recipient’s full name, as it appears on the ID card.

Send money via Xoom

Xoom offers a convenient and reliable way to send money to Honduras via Internet. Xoom can be up to 80% cheaper than Western Union and MoneyGram. The money transfer is done quickly and without the need to pick up the money at any company’s office. Recipients in Honduras can receive the money directly into their bank accounts of BAC | Honduras, Banco Ficohsa and Banco Citi; they can also show up to collect the money at Banco Atlantida and Banadesa, and various kiosks located in the supermarkets Despensa Familiar, Hiper Paiz, Maxi and Farmacia Siman. Check Xoom’s website.

Wire Transfer from a U.S. bank

You can try to send a wire transfer from your U.S. bank to the recipient’s bank in Honduras. Ask your U.S. bank if this is possible, and how much they charge. You can use the Wells Fargo bank to wire money to a Ficohsa account in Honduras. Ficohsa is a Honduran bank with branches in the U.S., but they need an American bank to wire money to Honduras.

Send a U.S. debit card to Honduras

It is possible to make cash withdrawals from ATMs in Honduras with U.S. debit cards. The card can be sent to Honduras with a reliable shipping company. The  ATMCash company provides you with a convenient method to do this. Ask your U.S. bank about the charges associated with the use of your debit card in Honduras. It’s cheaper and more convenient to use a debit card than a credit card.

Send a U.S. check to Honduras

You can send a check in dollars to Honduras via regular mail. Once the recipient receives the U.S. check in Honduras she/he can deposit it in a Honduran dollar account. To withdraw money from the Honduran dollar account you will have to wait from three to four weeks, so
this is the most time consuming option. Banco Ficohsa has the funds available in just 15 business days. Honduran banks charge no fees for this service.

For safety reasons you will want  to make the check on behalf of the recipient, using the recipient’s name exactly as it appears in his/her ID card. Instead of sending it by regular mail it is faster and safer to use a shipping company.

Another option for cashing a U.S. check in Honduras is to use the services of a money exchange house, such as COINSA.

¿Sending money via Paypal?

Sending money via Paypal is a popular way to make international transfers in the Internet. Unfortunately, people in Honduras cannot receive money via Paypal, they can only send it. The closest thing to Paypal in Honduras is Xoom. The alternative for online businesses in Honduras is 2Checkout.

Other money transfer companies

There is a large number of remittance companies that send money to Honduras associated with Honduran banks, such as:

Dolex, Uniteller, Bancomer Transfer Service, Pacific Receive Networks, etc.

The reason for the emergence of so many money transfer companies is the phenomenon of Outsourcing.

Check the list of Banks in Honduras and the information that each of their websites have on remittances.

Ask the recipient which way of sending money is more convenient for both of you.

If you wish to send your remittance online, directly to the recipient’s bank account, quickly and conveniently, you may want to use the Xoom’s service.

Gift Certificates

Instead of sending money to Honduras you have the option of buying gift certificates, as the ones offered by Supermercados La Colonia, Tiendas Carrion, or Amazon.com, so the person may be able to spend this certificates on whatever she/he likes, within a wide range of products.

Honduras bans smoking

There’s a new anti-smoking law in Honduras that bans smoking, not only in public places, but even at home.

The law prohibits any kind of advertising for any kind tobacco-related products, even of fake cigars.

“The law is clear and we will comply with it,” said Rony Portillo, head of the Institute to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Addiction.

Actually the law is not so clear.

The law does not explicitly ban people from smoking in their own homes, but allows non smoking people to complain before the authorities for being exposed to secondhand smoke in their own houses.

In open spaces, the law bans people from smoking near anyone within a space of 2 meters (6 feet).

The anti-smoking law leaves open the possibility of enclosed public places exclusively destined to smokers, but in practice its unlikely this will be allowed, judging by the public statements of the authorities and the media.

Article 28 of the law states: “Minors… wont be allowed in places where smoking is permitted”.

These seems to imply that in some public places smoking will be permitted.

Minors are people under the age of 21 according to the Honduran law. At the age of 18 in Honduras, young people are considered “citizens” but not adults endowed with full legal rights.

The ironic thing is that this law becomes enforceable just a few days after a tobacco festival sponsored by the government; the First Humo Jaguar Festival will be the last, as this new anti-tobacco law prohibits any kind of publicity favorable to any kind of tobacco-related product.

The production of Havana cigars is a important source of jobs in the Honduran cities of Copan and Danli. These cigars are mostly destined to exportation, and alternative sources of income for the employees of the tobacco industry are not ready available. Some people fear these jobs will be affected by this radical law.

This anti-tobacco law can be consulted at the IHADFA website [es].

Honduras’ Blogs List — English-language Blogs

A brief lists of Honduras-related English-language blogs.

Check the Honduras Blogs website for more.

For a list of Honduran Spanish-language blogs see this list.

Personal Blogs

Resistance Blogs

Family Blogs

Missionary Blogs

Peace Corps and Volunteers

News

Business Blog

Art Blog

Banks in Honduras

A list of banks in Honduras, with links to their respective websites:

Private Banks

State Banks

Banco BGA was acquired by HSBC; and Banco Uno, Banco Cuscatlan and Banco de Honduras were absorbed by Citigroup, becoming Banco Citibank de Honduras. BAC | Credomatic and BAMER merged, becoming BAC | Bamer. BAC | Bamer changed its name to BAC | Honduras.

Banco Central de Honduras (Honduras Central Bank) is the body that conducts the country’s monetary policy. BANADESA means National Bank of Agricultural Development. Banhprovi and RAP are second level financial institutions of the State.

Honduras and the MILITARY COUP in Egypt

United States is supporting the recent MILITARY COUP in Egypt, when not long ago it condemned Honduras for a nonexistent COUP.

Vice President Omar Suleiman announced yesterday on Egypt state television that President Hosni Mubarak handed the power to the Military Supreme Council.

A Coup happens when State institutions are dissolved, Parliament is dissolved , the judiciary is dissolved, and a Military Junta seizes power. In Honduras there was NO military coup or civilian-military coup. We had an interim civilian administration, which produced an orderly transition to the new administration we have now. But we were unjustly condemned, and we are still being condemned.

CNN in Espanol is talking about a “revolution in Egypt.” Perhaps this way it sounds more romantic and acceptable, but at the end of the day: What is the difference between a revolution and a COUP? It is basically the same: a rupture of the constitutional order.

If it’s about popular support, the interim regime enjoyed a wide support in Honduras, both from the people and the State institutions.

We must keep an open mind, sometimes COUPS are necessary. There are good coups and bad coups. With a COUP D’ETAT against Adolf Hitler many lives could have been saved. This COUP in Egypt may be the beginning of a new era of freedom for the Egyptian people, that’s our hope, but in Honduras there was NO Coup d’Etat.

Dictator Hugo Chavez is supporting the MILITARY COUP in Egypt. Manuel Zelaya is also supporting the coup. Both are known for their failed attempts at COUPS in their countries. They are COUPSTERS that support MILITARY COUPS when it better suits them.

The day before his ouster, on Saturday June 27, 2009, Manuel Zelaya made reference to the French Revolution to justify his projected COUP, which would dissolve the other branches of government and extend his term in office illegally; but he could not achieve this because the State of Honduras, in a movement of self-defense, removed him from office.

Hugo Chavez in 1992, was responsible for a failed MILITARY COUP attempt that killed innocent people. And yet, the failed COUPSTER believes he has the moral right to condemn a coup that never existed in Honduras.

These are the ironies and contradictions of international politics.

Saint Valentine’s Day in Honduras

In Honduras, the Day of Love and Friendship —also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or Lover’s Day— is celebrated on February 14th, and it’s mostly a celebration driven by commercial advertising.

Officially, Friendship Day is on February 23, but apparently no one remembers that date, the commercial celebration is preferred.

February 14 is celebrated as a special day for couples; friends are also remembered, but not with the same emphasis. The greeting “Happy Saint Valentine’s day” or “Happy Love and Friendship Day”, can be directed at anyone, since it is understood that everyone is loved by someone, or loves someone, whether she/he is a relative, friend or partner.

There is no well defined tradition, but under the influence of advertising romantic partners exchange gifts, or the man in the relationship is expected to do the giving. Some couples seek a special environment to celebrate the occasion, like restaurants, clubs, hotels, motels, etc. The Love and Friendship Day is celebrated with more enthusiasm in larger cities, since big cities produce more business advertising.

The advantage of the celebration of Saint Valentine’s day in Honduras, is that by calling it “Love and Friendship Day”, people without a romantic partner do not feel so marginalized in the celebration, as it happens in other countries.

Ideas for the celebration

Since this time Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, we can use the preceding weekend to mark the occasion, going to somewhere romantic. The small resort town of Valle De Angeles, near Tegucigalpa, may be a good option. In the city of Danli there is a park named Parque del Amor (Love Park), because some couples used to visit the place to cuddle under a tree.

If you’re not sure what to give, a gift certificate may be your best choice, like the ones offered by Tiendas Carrión, Mendels or Amazon.

The calculation of prestaciones laborales (compensations) in Honduras.

When an employee is unjustly laid-off in Honduras, she/he has a right to compensations (prestaciones laborales).

These compensations consist of: preaviso (notice), auxilio de cesantía (severance pay), vacations, décimo tercer mes or aguinaldo (13 month pay) and decimocuarto mes or catorceavo (14th month pay).

The employee becomes entitled to these compensations if he/she is fired unfairly, with the employer’s responsibility, and in other cases stipulated by law.

Preaviso (notice) is the time period given by the employer to the worker for she/he to to find another placement. If this notice is not given, the employer must pay the equivalent in cash for every day.

The Auxilio de Cesantía (severance pay). It’s the right that corresponds to the employee when he/she has been unfairly dismissed. The amount in cash should be equivalent to one month for every year or work.

Decimotercer mes or aguinaldo (13th month pay). It’s a complementary annual salary. The employee has a right to a 13th full month salary in December. This right he/she acquires for every year of work.

Decimocuarto mes or catorceavo (14th month pay). It’s complementary annual salary. Since 1995 the Honduran employee has a right to a 14th salary for every year of work. It is paid in June.

Vacations are the days of rest from work earned by the employee for every year of labor.

The web site Ley Laboral (Labor Law) provides us with a calculator of  prestaciones (compensations) that allows us to estimate the amount of our compensations for the most common cases.

For specific cases, it is recommended to visit the nearest office of the Secretaría del Trabajo (Secretariat of Labor). Here they will give us the official calculation of the prestaciones (compensations).

The Ley Laboral website has a section in English language about legal labor matters in Honduras.

For further illustration, please consult the Labor Code [es], especially in Chapter VIII Title II, on Termination of Employment Contract and Chapter III Title IV, on Vacations. In addition, the Law of Seventh Day and 13th month pay [es], and the Decree and Regulations for the 14th month pay. [es].

If you want to know more about Honduran Labor Law check the book Honduras Business Law Handbook at Amazon.