By W. E. Gutman
Working in Central America, where journalists are often accused of conspiring against the status quo, can be daunting. Perched on the highest rungs of government, a crypto-fascist element continues to regard incorruptible and outspoken journalists as gadflies and muckrakers, meddlers, purveyors of social discontent, and blabbermouths who threaten the established order. People in positions of power and influence still equate popular aspirations -- the quest for truth, justice, respect for human rights and calls for transparency by the governing elite with political agitation and left-wing subversion. Such mindset, in a region were a few families own and control 90 percent of the national wealth, is archaic, hypocritical and tactless. (9/7/10)

By Marco Cáceres
There are many reasons that President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown. The biggest reason was probably fear that he was intending to remain in power. That, in addition to the perceived threat of the growing influence of Venezuela's self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist leader, Hugo Chávez, was too much for the powers that be in Honduras. I am not arguing that these reasons justified Mr. Zelaya's removal. In fact, I tend to argue that they did not justify it. The official reason that Mr. Zelaya was removed is that he allegedly deliberately ignored the rulings of his own government regarding the proposed opinion poll (encuesta) to determine the public's support for the proposed fourth ballot box (cuarta urna). He essentially attempted to redefine the powers of the presidency in midstream to allow him to act unilaterally to do as he pleased, so long as "The People" (El Pueblo) supported his actions. Unfortunately, that's not the way a democracy works. On the contrary, that is the way dictatorships begin. (9/5/10)

Projecthonduras.com today announced that it has revised the defining theme of the upcoming 11th Conference on Honduras from "Rebuilding Social Tourism in Honduras" to "Responding to Domestic Violence in Honduras". While the focus of the annual event in Copán Ruinas continues to be education, healthcare, and community building, each year a special theme is adopted to highlight a specific issue or problem in Honduras. "Given the political crisis in the country during the past year and its impact on some of the many foreign mission teams and other groups that visit regularly to perform volunteer and development work, we thought it would be a good idea to emphasize the importance of relaying to the world that Honduras is still in need in support from its friends abroad," said conference director Marco Cáceres. "But recently we have become more aware of the epidemic of domestic violence in Honduras, and so we decided to dedicate the conference to this problem in order to help raise consciousness." (9/4/10)

Former United States president Bill Clinton and Mexican businessman Carlos Slim will travel to Honduras on November 4-5, 2010 to help encourage private investment. "The visit is aimed at promoting the country as a tourism destination to the world, thereby attracting foreign investors," said onduras' Deputy Foreign Minister, Alden Rivera. Mr. Slim is listed by Forbes Magazine as the world's richest person, with a net worth estimated at US$60.6 billion. Mr. Clinton oversees the William J. Clinton Foundation, which has an endowment estimated at US$46 billion. Both Mr. Slim and Mr. Clinton are working with the government of Spain on a philantropic program, valued at US$150 million, to improve healthcare in Central America and southern Mexico. (9/4/10) (photo of Bill Clinton courtesy Internet)

The Honduran Institute for Coffee (IHCAFE) on Wednesday announced that coffee exports from Honduras declined by 49 percent in August to 85,812 60-kilogram bags, as compared to 169,515 bags in August 2009. Coffee exports during the current season, which began in September 2009 and runs through October 2010, have totaled 3.14 million bags, compared to 2.97 million bags a year ago. Despite the drop in exports, attributed to bad whether and the political crisis prompted by the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya last summer, Honduras is poised to surpass Guatemala and become the sixth largest coffee exporter in the world. Guatemala's coffee crop has been hurt by heavy rainfall and the eruption of the Pacayo volcano in May. The value of Honduran coffee exports is pegged at about US$700 million annually by IHCAFE. Most of Honduras' coffee is grown on small- to medium-size farms. Some 98 percent of the crop is cultivated by about 100,000 families who each own no more than 17.3 acres of land. (9/3/10) (photo courtesy Sustainable Harvest)

I have known the wealthy in poor counties set up meaningless foundations and charities that function in name only and which are pulled out as needed to demonstrate their commitment to the poor. It’s sad, but too often “serving” the needy only seems to serve the person doing the donating.

This week is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina hitting the US Gulf states five years ago. I recall how many community groups generously mobilized to offer support, including the church we attended at that time. Besides a one-ton generator, our church filled a huge truck with supplies and sent several reconstruction teams over the next few months. I pulled several shifts in collecting and organizing donated supplies like tools, cases of bleach, blankets, baby formula and clothes, and sorting them in huge plastic bins. We worked from a very detailed list of needed items provided by the Episcopal school that was acting as a collection and distribution point—sadly, they were the only building still standing in their Mississippi community. (8/31/10)

The Lobo administration and the teachers' unions yesterday ratified a previously signed 17-point accord putting an end to a month-long general strike by tens of thousands of teachers in Honduras. Public school students affected by the strike were scheduled to return to their classrooms this morning. Among the main provisions of the agreement is a mechanism for the government to pay US$194 million in past-due contributions to the Imprema teachers' pension and benefits fund that had accumulated since 2007. Teachers agreed to work extra days in September and October to make up for days lost during the strike. A provision requiring the dismissal of Minister of Education Alejandro Ventura, which the teachers had demanded, was not included in the deal. (8/31/10)

There exists a social movement in Honduras led by the National Front for Popular Resistance (FNRP) that proposes the establishment of a National Constitutent Assembly to review and rewrite the Constitution of Honduras. Part of Honduran society supports this idea, and part does not. It is an extremely divisive issue, particularly becaue it is unclear what the alternative to the current Constitution, approved in 1982, would be... and whether it would make things better or worse in Honduras. Honduras Weekly believes that the first step in any thoughtful discussion about the Constitution is to understand what is contained in this document. We have begun the process of translating the Constitution into English for our readers who do not have command of the Spanish language. There are English-language translations of the Constitution online, but we're hoping to improve on these. Of the document's 378 articles, we have translated 24 of them thus far. Click on the "Read Article" link below to track our progress. (8/30/10)

Teach the youths of Honduras how to fend for themselves and take care of their families and communities, rather than endlessly relying on government, wealthy business people, and clever caudillos who promise the world. Teach well and long, and create a powerful and confident middle class that is the key to every great modern society.

I was confronted with one heartbreaking story after another related to the human cost of low-priced coffee -- the despair and suffering of families unable to keep their kids in school or feed themselves on such low wages had an incredible impact on me. Before I knew it, I had a plane ticket to Honduras.

By Arondo Holmes
I never intended to be a coffee farmer. All I wanted, really, was a nice little piece of land in Central America that I could use as a retreat. You know, something simple where a guy could go to relax and get away from it all. So how on earth did I end up owning a Honduran coffee farm and importing, roasting and marketing my own coffee brand in the United States? It all started with a casual conversation with a despondent co-worker here in the US who, despite owning hundreds of acres of land and several coffee farms in Honduras, found himself working illegally in the US just to support his family. The price of coffee was so low, he told me, that he could not make a sustainable living there. (8/29/10)