Honduras' National Association of Industrials (ANDI), headed by Adolfo Facussé, has recommended to the Lobo administration that its should propose a devaluation of Honduras' currency when it meets with representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week in Tegucigalpa. Mr. Facussé wants to see the lempira devalued gradually by half a percentage point per month so that by the end of one year the lempira exchange rate with the US dollar would be 20 to 1, rather than the current 19 to 1. (3/13/10)

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Honduras' relative lack of competitiveness is not owed to an overvalued lempira. Rather, it is due to the fact that the society has never invested what it should in its most precious commodity... it's people.

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The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced Friday that it will provide US$40 million to Honduras for rural poverty reduction projects. IFAD's representative for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, Enrique Murguía Oropeza, signed a cooperative agreement yesterday with President Porfirio Lobo. The signing in Tegucigalpa was also attended by Rebeca Arias, representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Mr. Murguía and a team from FIDA arrived in Honduras earlier in the week to visit some of the agricultural development projects overseen by the Honduran government. (3/13/10) (photo courtesy Internet)

Speaking before a meeting of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP) last night, President Porfirio Lobo emphasized the importance of reducing poverty in Honduras. The fight against poverty "cannot wait anymore," said Mr. Lobo. "I propose that we voluntarily and decisively confront the future with a vision of the country based on a national plan focused on eliminating the poverty that affects two of every three families [in Honduras]." Mr. Lobo's speech was delivered as part of the swearing-in ceremony for COHEP's new president, Santiago Ruiz. (3/13/10) (photo of Porfirio Lobo courtesy Internet)

The last "great" military coup that occurred in Honduras was not on June 28, 2009, but rather on October 3, 1963 when Colonel Osvaldo López Arellano overthrew the democratically-elected President Ramón Villeda Morales in a bloody military coup that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people and kept the Honduran military in power for the succeeding two decades.

By Marco Cáceres
Barack Obama is a socialist. I disagree with that opinion. Jesus of Nazareth should be worshipped more as a deity who created the universe than for the greatness of his humanity and wisdom. I do not share that sentiment. Sarah Palin is fit to be president of the United States. I have a real problem with that one. Look, reasonable people can disagree on countless issues, interpretations, and doctrines, particularly when it comes to politics and religion. The trick is not to let our differences consume us and lead us to do nasty things like discriminate, belittle, or get violent. One of the biggest disagreements related to Honduras has to do with whether or not the ousting of Manuel Zelaya was a "military coup". That squabble is probably destined to have a very long life-span. (3/12/10)

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It seems clear that Latin America is splitting into two camps consisting of pro-US and anti-US factions, with Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela forming an alliance against Colombia. The continent is becoming increasingly polarized.

By W. E. Gutman
Relations between Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe hit rock bottom last October. Intelligence sources in Bogotá quote Colombian officials as saying that the risk of an armed clash with Venezuela by mid-2010 is real. There is no rational reason for Colombia and Venezuela to go to war. However, heightened tensions, troops massed along the border and the destabilizing presence of Colombian insurgents contribute to an atmosphere where a minor skirmish could spark a major conflagration. Neither Colombia nor Venezuela is doctrinally or operationally prepared for conventional warfare but both have sufficient firepower to inflict considerable damage. (3/12/10)

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Rasel Tomé, chief aide to former president Manuel Zelaya since he was ousted from power last summer, made a surprise visit to Honduras today, arriving on a flight at Tegucigalpa's Toncontín International airport at 12:30 pm. He and Mr. Zelaya, along with members of the Zelaya family, have been living in the Dominican Republic since January 27. Mr. Tomé, who accompanied Mr. Zelaya to Venezuela last Thursday to meet with President Hugo Chávez, was greeted by dozens of members of the National Resistance Front concerned about his possible arrest by government authorities. Mr. Tomé, who is an attorney, was charged in March 2009 with abuse of authority related to the assigning of frequencies to Channel 8 and Channel 12 television stations when he was the director of the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) in the Zelaya administration. (3/11/10) (photo of Rasel Tomé courtesy Proceso Digital)

Companies representing Honduras' tourism industry are exhibiting this week at the 44th annual ITB Berlin international travel trade show in Berlin, Germany. This year's show, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday, has attracted 11,127 companies from 187 countries. The Honduras' Institute of Tourism (IHT) secured booth space for vendors Garifuna Tours, Hedman Alas, Maya Temple Tours, Palmetto Bay Plantation. "We are here to tell the world that everything is fine [in Honduras] and that people can feel comfortable about coming to visit," said Alessandro D'Agostino of Garifuna Tours, which has offices in La Ceiba and Tela. Honduras' Ambassador to Germany Vanice Gacía Morales and Vice-Minister of Tourism Cintia Solomon are among the people joining Mr. D'Agostino at the show. (3/11/10) (photo courtesy Internet)

The drought in southern Honduras is now entering its seventh month. It has not rained in large swaths of the country since August 2009. The departments of Choluteca, Francisco Morazán, Intibucá, La Paz, Lempira, El Paraíso, and Valle have been the most affected by the lack of rainfall. Honduras' National Meteorological Office is not forecasting rain in the region until the end of April and perhaps as late as June. Dozens of municipalities in Honduras have been reporting widespread hunger since December, and in January the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that more than 100,000 people in Honduras would be at risk for famine within the next few months if severe drought conditions continued and if international aid organizations and Honduras' government and society did not mobilize to meet the emergency food and water needs of people in nearly 200 municipalities. (3/10/10)

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It is cliché to say that the youth of a country represent its future and its hope. But it's true. And it is especially true in Honduras, where approximately 45 percent of its population of more than 7.2 million is under 15 years of age. President Porfirio Lobo has emphasized education as one of the central elements of his plan for governing Honduras over the next four years. He wants as many Honduran students as possible to learn English and to master computer skills that will allow them to keep up and surpass students from any country. He sees this as the basis for Honduras having well-informed and wise leaders and a better trained workforce in the future.

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He had gotten himself way too wrapped up with the smooth-talking wealthy guy from the south and was hopelessly smitten.

By Marco Cáceres
It is unclear when the lovefest between Hugo Chávez and Manuel Zelaya actually began, although you can assume that it has been ongoing at least since their formal engagement on August 25, 2008 when Mr. Zelaya signed Honduras up for Mr. Chávez's ALBA arrangement. The signing took place at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa, complete with all the requisite pomp and circumstance and witnesses, including Evo Morales of Bolivia, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Carlos Laje of Cuba, and even Roberto Micheletti. It has been a whirlwind engagement that began with Mr. Chávez showering Mr. Zelaya with all sorts of presents to demonstrate his affection. (3/9/10)

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On the way home on Sunday, we returned via Sambo Creek, and as we walked toward the highway a van full of smiling women waved at us. I thought they must be very friendly people to do that.

By Christina Taylor
I finally arrived in La Ceiba after 44 long hours of travel. The three other volunteers and I awoke around 5:30 am and walked down to school on the highway and I spent the day meeting the kids, drawing, doing some math and writing stories. The volunteers are always called ‘tía’ or ‘tío’ (aunty and uncle) and I think I had the only name they could easily pronounce “Tía Christinaaaa”. It seemed like half of the kids had rotting teeth and at some point in their lives they’d been severely malnourished because many were amazingly tiny for their respective ages. I wholeheartedly believed one of the smallest girls was around 2 and a half or 3. Wrong. She was just 5, and the top of her head came a little past my knees -- not high on someone who’s only 5' 4". (3/9/10)

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