Opinion: The democratic crisis in Honduras has reached a boiling point
Students protest against education and health-care reforms proposed by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in Tegucigalpa on April 30. By Ricardo González May 9 at 2:14 PM Ricardo González directs Freedom House’s program in Honduras.
The proposals triggered mass protests by unions, students and social movement organizations. They have been scrapped, but a large question looms: How long will it be possible to sustain a government incapable of fulfilling the promises of democracy and economic growth? In March, Honduran police raided the Tegucigalpa office of a prominent radio journalist and government critic, David Romero Ellner. He was taken into custody to serve a 10-year prison sentence for defamation in one of the most high-profile examples of the deterioration of freedom of the press in the country.
For instance, at Freedom House, we helped build the Mechanism to Protect Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. While it has managed to protect dozens of activists and journalists, it has not broken the cycle of impunity or built trust among beneficiary groups, since government agents are the most frequent perpetrators of attacks and threats against these groups. In December, the government took over the whole operation.
But tensions remain high. We can expect the situation to continue deteriorating as the Hernández’s administration entrenches itself in power and fails to deliver concrete results.
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