Observations on Honduras - post elections

It's been two weeks since I withdrew from Great Facebook Politics War and declared neutrality. I have to say, it's been more difficult to remain uninvolved than I had thought it would be. My main recourse has mostly been to just stay off Facebook altogether. When I have gone on, I immediately regret it, as the whirlwind posting of left and right wing propaganda seemingly has continued unabated. However, I have experienced some positive results these past two weeks. My blood pressure has been lower, and I'm much less argumentative in general.

As the battle continues to rage in the USA between the left and the right, I have been thinking about Honduras since the elections and the riots last November. I read today that last week the First Lady of Honduras went to the US border to inspect detention centers. (As first lady, the country's child welfare services falls under her oversight.) I personally, was very happy to see her go and review the situation firsthand. During her visit, she admonished her own people to "stay home for the safety of your children". She also said that President Orlando is committed to addressing the issues in Honduras that are encouraging Hondurans to leave their own country. I view Honduras accepting their responsibility in this problem as a huge step towards solving this issue of illegal immigration.

The absolute number 1 reason people make the dangerous and costly journey north through Guatemala and Mexico is economics. It isn't fleeing violence or gangs, although these do play a role in this story; it's in search of jobs.

I find it very interesting that, with the exception of two families, of all the many men and women that I have interviewed who have made the trip illegally, none have had any real desire to become American citizens and live in the USA forever. (The two families would actually like to become US citizens someday and went north in the hope of providing their children with a better future) Instead, what I have seen time and time again, is that as soon as the individual arrives in the USA and finds employment, they first begin sending money home to their families to help support them and second, begin sending money home to build themselves a house for when they return and third, they begin saving money in order to start a small business...in Honduras. (Please read my post "Why I'm mad...and sad" )

What role has crime and violence played in illegal immigration? While the media has portrayed illegal immigrants as "refugees" fleeing a war zone, this is not at all accurate. I live here in Honduras. I know what I'm speaking of. With the exception of gang controlled barrios in the larger cities, most of Honduras is a reasonably safe place to live. Typically, if you mind your own business, don't get mixed up with trouble makers and leave other's wives and girlfriends alone, you'll be okay. If you live in one of the gang controlled areas. then it's true that staying safe is much harder. However, that leaves the rest of Honduras for people to move to in order to "escape" the violence. Ah, but there's one problem: those places don't have much in the way of jobs either, so when they finally do decide to leave the barrio they head to the US instead of a safe town in Honduras. This is why I say with confidence that the ultimate motivation to travel through two countries illegally and risk life and limb is economics, plain and simple.

People close to President Orlando have told me that since the November elections and riots and particularly the death of his sister in a helicopter crash during that same time, that these events have affected him dramatically. He is a more serious person and he is serious about bringing change to Honduras. He has chosen to work closely with the United States and the war on drugs, illegal immigration and organized crime, believing that this is best for his country. If this is true, I couldn't agree more with his decision. (Please read my post "When the righteous prosper the city rejoices")

What Honduras and Hondurans need are jobs, with foreign investment being at the top of the list on where those jobs come from. With Orlando's Plan 2020, he hopes to encourage foreign investors to see Honduras as a legitimate investment opportunity. His plan seems to be bearing fruit already; Green4U Technologies just announced their intention to invest 20 million USD in a new electric vehicle assembly plant in Honduras. This is incredible news for Honduras!

Today I spoke with a man I have known for years and who is one of the most honorable men I know. He's a coffee grower, barely eking out a living as coffee prices have plummeted over the past few years. I asked him if he thought it was right for Hondurans to go to the USA illegally. He said this, "I think it would be far better for people to stay here and find a way to support their families, but if you have nothing, you do what you have to do."

For those of you who know me personally, I'm sure you have heard me say over and over again,     "Stop complaining and start doing something to change the world around you." 

We are committed to investing in and providing jobs to Honduras. If you would like to partner with us in helping Hondurans stay home by providing jobs, please contact me for more information at mwolfe.ent@gmail.com. We welcome you to come and experience firsthand what Honduras offers investors.

Sailing Lago de Yajoa, Honduras

Sailing

Is there anything more romantically adventurous than the thoughts this word brings to the imagination?  Gentle breezes filling the sails, the sound of the water passing under the hull, sun sparkling off blue waters, amazing sunsets, pristine lakes, south sea islands, the lure of adventure? It does for me anyway.
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In the past we've owned a couple of different bow riders and enjoyed them on Puget Sound and the beautiful lakes surrounding Seattle. After moving to Maine, we boated in many of  Maine's equally beautiful lakes and made several trips down the Kennebec River, through Merrymeeting Bay until the river empties into the Atlantic at Fort Popham. We usually did this trip with friends, Brian and Alice, in October when the falls colors were at their peak. Amazing memories.





Now that we spend so much time at our villa on the Caribbean, the boys and I have been talking about buying a sailboat with the goal of sailing to Utila, one of the Bay Islands 15 miles off the coast of Honduras and a true, undiscovered gem. Other places on the list to sail to are; Roatan, one of the worlds best diving spots and Cayos Cochinos, All of these islands are part of the Mesoamerican reef system, the second largest coral reef in the world..

Never having sailed before, it was recommended that we not buy a large sailboat, which of course is what I wanted to do. After all, it's a big, big ocean. However, after a lot of research I did listen to CW and decided on a West Wight Potter P19. It has a decent size cabin which sleeps four, is very forgiving to beginners and has actually circumnavigated the globe....although it's hard for me to imagine doing that in a 19 foot boat.

Somewhere in route

In January, I located one in Wisconsin, reached an agreement with the owner to store it until spring, and rather impatiently waited for May. Mark and I flew to Maine to see friends and family and to pick up the car I had purchased to tow the boat back to Honduras. Leaving Maine, we crossed through Canada re-entering the USA in Michigan. We had a smooth, 5000 mile trip home with no problems, other than a flat tire on a mountain pass in Mexico.

Now began the challenge of learning the ropes,literally...and the lingo; sheets, halyards, clew, tack, cleat, vang, jib, jibe, starboard, leeward, close hauled, long reach, and on and on. Our very first sail was in the safety of the driveway.

The big day finally came for our maiden voyage. We chose to play it safe and begin the sailing learning curve in Lago de Yajoa, a lake about 45 minutes from us. Locating one of the few boat ramps on the lake at Honduyate, (a very nice place featuring cabins, a marina, hotel, restaurant and a place to store and launch boats), we began our first sail.

It was a beautiful day! Yes, there were a few tense moments, like when we lost the lanyard to the outboard and it wouldn't start, or trying to take down the sail in gusty winds, but overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing day. I do think it will be a bit before we get out on the BIG water though. Special thanks to the previous owner who has spent countless hours emailing information and suggestions to me, and to Barbe's Uncle Vigo who with Aunt Paula taught themselves to sail after purchasing a boat in New Zealand and then spent two years on the high seas in the "Marijke". BTW: The boys are already talking a bigger boat and sailing the Caribbean islands!

The Problem with Facebook and Politics

I admit it. Yesterday I gave in and involved myself in the Great Facebook Politics War. About once a year I slip and break my personal vow to abstain from the over-the-top, left vs right, mud slinging fest that Facebook has become a platform for.

On the other hand, I have also vowed to be more vocal in my own personal, conservative beliefs and convictions, whether it be politics, religion, the economy, personal responsibility etc. In the past, not wanting to offend, or in order to avoid an argument, I mostly chose to refrain from expressing my own views when around people who were polar opposites in order to avoid conflict - at times a very difficult thing to do. Nowadays. I tend to respond more frequently, because I believe it's the right thing to do. (Facebook is not the right place because it's just too easy to throw out an offensive comment or make snap, in the heat of the moment, illogical, responses.)

According to some of my friends in the USA, the bashing of each other's political views, and particularly President Trump personally, has reached near epidemic proportions. My little foray yesterday into this vicious world on Facebook seemed to confirm that, apparently, this is true. It's all out nuclear warfare. There seems to be another driving force behind this problem, besides the Facebook platform. According to my sources, millions of Americans are now actually addicted to the 24/7 news/talk show drug that has taken America by storm.

Fortunately, living in Honduras I'm not particularly exposed to this narcotic on a regular basis or it's unbalancing effect on my intelligence, but I did experience it's hallucinogenic high on a recent road trip from Maine to Honduras. The car I purchased is equipped with a SiriusXM satellite radio whose subscription is current. Amazingly, we were able to listen to great music all the way to Siguatepeque, where reception finally began to get a bit spotty. Listening to XM for nearly 5000 miles, I was blown away with the number of 24 hour news stations and talk radio programs that exist. All day and all night long they emit a non-stop, audial drip-feed of addiction in whatever brand your particular form of bias comes in. Is it any wonder Americans are obsessed with political/social debate and that every little issue is turned into something of monumental proportion worth dying for? (I actually blame my lapse into insanity on this trip)

The reality is that this politically dissident time we are living in is an actual battlefield. Our weapons are words, phrases, slogans, satire. and cutting, but humourous gifs.      Fact: Whenever one chooses to engage in battle, there will be casualties. Words have the power to wound and to kill. For those who have strong opinions and express them, it shouldn't come as a shock when others express equally strong and opposite opinions which one may find hurtful and offensive. Battles typically are never one sided events where missiles are only hurled in one direction. If one is foolhardy enough to launch a barrage of super-charged opinions on one's favorite pet peeve of the day, be forewarned, someone is going to fire back.

Warning: War is a dangerous business should you chose to engage in it. Remaining neutral may be your only hope of escaping unscathed, and history shows that even that may not protect you.

As stated above, although I regret giving into the impulse to engage in this ridiculous war of left vs right, liberal vs conservative, Democrat vs Republican, my purpose and original point was that the bashing of the President has reached an all-time high, even surpassing the angst that surrounded President G.W. Bush...and that was horrific. In my opinion, it is approaching a level that is becoming destructive to the very fabric of our country. As citizens of the United States of America we are given the constitutional right to disagree with our government and our elected officials. I do not believe that right should be abused to the extent that it has been since President Trump was elected. The beauty of our republic is that we have available to us the means to rectify our choice in elected officials every four years. It is at the voting booth where our voices and political expression should be most vocal. The rest of the time, we should be working constructively, not destructively, together for the good of our country.

I do not believe that disrespecting the office of the president is how an American citizen should act. I disagreed with much of what President Obama did during his eight years in office, but I never disrespected him. I have called to task a number of conservatives who I heard crossing that line of free speech and disrespect when Obama was president. If that is you today, when you talk about your president, I would ask you to consider your words. You don't have to like or even respect the man, but are you disrespecting the office and your country with your rhetoric? 

I have no desire to wound or inflict damage on anyone. If my post or some of the private messages that followed caused that, I am truly sorry. Although my personal opinions remain firmly in place, it doesn't mean that I don't love you. We just have radically different views on life, that's all. My invitation to all, to come and visit and see what we are accomplishing here, remains open.

Today I announce that I'm officially withdrawing from the Great Facebook Politics War. I'm going to try for permanent neutrality from this day forward. I sincerely hope I can keep my pledge this time. Please don't attempt to engage me, because I will return fire. Neutrality must be respected by both sides in order to function. I prefer peace with all men whenever possible. 

I want to leave with this thought, because since yesterday it has been on my mind and the implications it holds for each of us who hold citizenship in the United States of America.

Recently, I had opportunity to speak with a person who is applying to become a US citizen about what it means to become a citizen of our country. I had never actually researched the oath that an immigrant swears to on the day they become a naturalized citizen. I did not realize it was so profound an oath. It is truly a solemn event, or at least it should be. As I read the oath, I thought about those of us that are born US citizens. If this oath applies to a naturalized person, how much more should it apply to those born into citizenship. 

 Take a few minutes to read and consider.

Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America

Oath

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

Note: In certain circumstances there can be a modification or waiver of the Oath of Allegiance. Read Chapter 5 of A Guide to Naturalization for more information.

The principles embodied in the Oath are codified in Section 337(a) in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which provides that all applicants shall take an oath that incorporates the substance of the following:

1. Support the Constitution;
2. Renounce and abjure absolutely and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which the applicant was before a subject or citizen;
3. Support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
4. Bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and
5. A. Bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; or
   B. Perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; or
   C. Perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law.

The language of the current Oath is found in the Code of Federal Regulations Section 337.1 and is closely based upon the statutory elements in Section 337(a) of the INA.

                                               God Bless America

Observations on Honduras’ current political situation

To begin, much of what is happening goes back to the 2009 coup and removal of then president Mel Zelaya. Zelaya, who had very, very close ties to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro, attempted in a non-legal fashion to run for president a second time, which was unconstitutional. The country, fearing a dictatorship, organized a coup and removed him from office. Zelaya continues to maintain a strong following, especially in the southern, rural areas of the country and among teachers. Although he is prohibited from running for reelection, he continued and continues to attempt to return to power, first through having his wife run for president and currently, by joining forces with presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla as the face and voice of the new Alianza Party.

Honduras is a country with multiple political parties. (at this time there exist 9 political parties) Because of this, the winning party often does not actually represent the majority of its citizens, because when votes are divided 9 ways, the winning party may only represent 30% or less of the votes. Seeing this weakness, a new party was formed called the Alianza. As it’s name suggest, it is an alliance between the pre-existing Libre party represented by ex-president Zelaya and his wife and the pre-existing PINU party represented by TV host Salvador Nasralla. The Alliance is officially represented by Nasralla.

The elected president replacing Zelaya, was Perfidio Lobo. By most accounts he was not good for Honduras. With close ties to the drug cartels and apparently little interest in governing Honduras, most of the foreign investors, including many of the large textile companies who employed large numbers of Hondurans, left the country in search of countries with more stable governments. The negative effect on Honduras’ economic well-being was devastating.

In November of 2013, Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party won election. Looking at world statistics and from the viewpoint of a foreigner living in Honduras, he has been a president whose policies and actions have been good for Honduras. In four years he has reduced the murder rate per capita, has worked to control the massive drug cartel/gang problem, has encouraged foreign investment, has greatly improved the infrastructure of Honduras, has brought Honduras’ public schools to a higher educational level when compared with the rest of the world, and has worked closely with the USA in many areas, including the war on drugs. As a foreigner, I have seen the positive results of his presidency. A much safer country, a growing middle class, a growing economy, a reduction in government and police corruption and a rising interest in Honduras from foreign investors who are beginning to see some signs of a return to stability. However, this is not to say that his administration has not suffered severe issues, such as the theft of millions of lempiras from the country’s already less than adequate social security fund.

As I have spoken with many people about the situation, most agree that Juan Orlando has been a good president. What has fueled the anger we are seeing in this year’s election is that Orlando, through a Supreme Court decision which most of the country felt was done illegally or at best underhandedly, changed the Constitution to allow a president to run for a second and possibly indefinite term. The outcome is the same thing ex-president Zelaya tried to do through brute force and the majority of the population feel that the change made to the Constitution was not done correctly nor reflects the will of the People. Some of what we are seeing now, is a backlash against Orlando because of this.

That brings us to this year’s election. (Fortunately, Honduras did invite observers from the EU and the OAS to come in October to begin observing the electoral process.) On November 26, Hondurans went to the polling booths.   

As the votes came in, the Alianza was initially ahead, then the National party after a technical problem began to marginally pull ahead. By the following day both parties claimed victory. Immediately, the Alianza party accused the National party of voter fraud, meddling in the voting and tabulation process, irregularities and party control of the voting process. That began a lawful 30 day review process of any allegation of fraud brought to the TSE. This is the only reason that no winner was announced immediately.

Without waiting for the TSE under the supervision of EU and OAS observers to review the allegations or to recount the large number of votes that had been challenged, the Alianza supporters took to the streets in protest fueled and encouraged by both Nasralla and Zalaya, who, already having made the decision that they had been cheated, demanded their candidate be made the winner. The National party felt they too had won, and from there everything began to go downhill, naturally.

What began as emotional and heartfelt protest by supporters of the Alianza party, within hours turned to rioting, burning and looting of public and private property, including the closure of public thoroughfares which greatly impacted all of the Honduran people and the economy. The rampant rioting and looting brought a national curfew into effect which helped reduce the violence. Within a few days, the curfew was lifted and there began several days of peace, although fraught with tension.

Both EU and OAS issued statements saying that although there were “irregularities” found in the voting process, no fraud was actually found. The EU’s statement was much more accepting of the election results, but encouraged reform, while the OAS, although apparently unable to actually find fraudulent behavior, went so far as to reject the election outcome based on the irregularities and recommended a new election be held. This did not happen and probably won’t for a variety of reasons, not least being that the constitution of Honduras, as I understand it, does not allow for a run-off election.

After almost 3 weeks, the TSE officially declared Juan Orlando the winner. This immediately restarted the protest and outrage, except this time even more violently. For four days the rioting, burning and looting went almost completely unchecked, especially in San Pedro Sula. The US Embassy issued a “hold in place, hunker down” statement to all US citizens living in Honduras. Finally, the Honduran military and National Police force were brought in to restore law and order. Of course, and unfortunately, there were clashes between protesters and law enforcement personnel resulting in death and injuries on both sides.

On Friday the 22 of December, the US Embassy issued a statement recognizing Orlando as president while at the same time, encouraging the country to refrain from further violence, to engage in a robust debate on electoral reforms and for both parties to work together to restore unity to the country. Following this statement, Nasralla conceded defeat, withdrew from his party, although publicly stating that he "believed the USA had sided with Orlando because he is more closely aligned with them". He then recanted his withdrawel and as of this date claims that he will hold his own presidential inauguration in San Pedro Sula the same day as President Orlando has his inauguration in Tegucigalpa. It will be interesting to see if he actually does this as the legal or illegal ramifications of this would be profound. (Following the US’s recognition of Orlando, most of the other world leaders have followed suit.)

It is difficult to say what the final response of Nasralla and Zelaya will be. In my opinion, they have only two realistic options to choose from. (a) To continue to incite civil disobedience and unrest, possibly leading to civil war, or (b) to concede defeat gracefully and to look towards a new opportunity in 4 years. Next week should be very interesting.

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The following opinions are mine. 

I do NOT claim to be unbiased or neutral in my opinions of what has taken place. As a foreigner I am unable to vote. However, as a foreign investor, I certainly have a vested interest in the outcome.  

Let me begin by saying that, although my world view falls solidly on the conservative, capitalistic side of the fence, I am not an Orlando supporter as such. I do support the conservative direction in which he has steered the country economically and applaud the advances he has made in reducing crime and murder rates in the past 4 years. Nasralla may have made a decent president, but his political leanings and choice of political partner makes me very wary of him, and here I am speaking from the perspective of a foreign investor and property owner.

I will however, comment on what I have observed this past month.

First and foremost, I am absolutely for freedom of speech and expression. I have observed many peaceful protest here in Honduras and the police have always helped the protesters by directing traffic and giving them space to protest freely. I have never, myself, seen any oppression of free speech. However, when the recent protest turned to raw greed, vandalism, looting, rioting and destruction, not only did I lose my respect for the civil rights “process”, but also for the opposition leaders who openly encouraged and incited their supporters to continue the violence and rampaging. In contrast, the National party and it’s supporters were quiet, orderly and non-confrontational.

In my opinion, in a democracy, which Honduras is, civil rights do not extend to harming other’s bodies, or to infringe on their right to engage in commerce, or the destruction of property, public or private. It is true that protest often become violent as passions are high, and it’s a recognized and documented fact that when this happens, it almost always leads to looting.  Although some see violence as the only way for poor people to be heard, I encourage these people to read history, where peaceful protest by poor and oppressed people, has changed the course of nations.

In my opinion it was wrong to begin rioting before the electoral review process had been completed, or to begin at all for that matter. There is nothing romantic about violence and bloodshed. There is nothing beautiful in the death of a young person who probably doesn’t even know what he or she is actually fighting for. More often than not, that death is for nothing more than a politician’s desire to be in power. and not really for the perceived cause.

Division and strife is the number one weapon being used at this time. It’s evident in the streets, but it is also evident in conversations, in families, in local churches and even to some degree among the foreign community here. Everyone has an opinion including myself, and of course that opinion is the just one, the correct one. In the end, the vote was a mere 1.5% difference. It’s George Bush and Al Gore all over again except thankfully they don’t have hanging chads here. Half the population feels cheated while the other half feels they got what they voted for.

When discussing the election, I have often expressed the importance that in a business sense, (and probably in a political sense too) it is never wise to bite the hand that feeds you. (The Alianza has already expressed a much lesser willingness to work with the USA than the National party has shown, including the promise to remove our army base near Comayagua.) Not only is the USA Honduras' number one trade partner, but there are an estimated 250,000 legal and 450,000 illegal Hondurans living and working within the USA who each year send millions and millions of US dollars back to Honduras to support their families, which also hugely benefits Honduras’ economy. This does not take into account the millions of dollars the USA gives to Honduras each year to fight the war against drugs and for social programs. Nor the thousands of teams that arrive here each year bringing medical brigades and other types of donations from clothes to support for children's homes. Should these enormous flows of funds and services be restricted or eliminated completely, it would deal a nearly crushing blow to Honduras' already fragile economy.  Considering this, it seems to me that it would be wise to work with, rather than against your best customer. (There does seem to exist here a real lack of understanding of the economic impact the election may have on the country's economy. As a matter of fact, the inability to understand and analyze world history and current global events seems to play heavily into the population's failure to view this election in the economic light it I feel it deserves.)

Speaking of education, in my conversations with many people here, it seems that most do not actually realize that Venezuela's economy has been bankrupted at the hands of it's own government (Venezuela is a big supporter of the Alianza)  nor that around the world the majority of socialist countries are struggling under the weight of inadequately funded social programs even as aggregate taxes and unemployment soar. Here, the average working class Honduran currently pays little to no personal income or property tax. The government's main source of revenue are corporate taxes, income tax on the wealthy and a national sales tax on the purchase of goods and services. Taking all this into consideration, it seems unrealistic to expect that a third world country such as Honduras, could actually create enough wealth to pay for all the services expected of socialism, without a solid economic base which can only be provided through strong international trade and foreign investment, which depends on a stable government that sees the value in creating and maintaining these relationships long-term.

So can anything good come from this? Absolutely.

It’s obvious that the people of Honduras want a change from the status quo of politics. The same wave of change that carried Trump into office is what brought Honduras to this point. They want a government that is less corrupt, that cares about Honduras as a country first and foremost.  People want change and the current administration would be wise to hear them.

I have been saying for several years that, as Americans we have a crystal ball with which to gaze into Honduras' future. That crystal ball is the United States of America. Although the gap is closing rapidly due to technology, in general Honduras is 30 - 40 years behind the US in standard of living, infrastructure development and use of technology and information. Most streets are unpaved, water and sewer treatment plants are almost non-existent. Eighties music is still popular here. Conservative churches are still struggling to deal with issues the American church dealt with long ago, etc. However, I believe that all of this set to change, and rapidly. I also believe that the youth are on the brink of a cultural revolution, just like we experienced in the sixties.  No, I don’t think Honduras will have a “hippie” generation, but the youth here are tired of seeing no opportunities unless you are born rich or can get to the US. There is a growing middle class here that are being educated. (Ah, here we come back to education as bringing enlightenment) These are bright kids, graduating as engineers, technicians, nurses, and lawyers….with nowhere to practice. How frustrating that must be for them. So look out Honduras. I only hope that a sufficiently honorable cause will be presented to these young people. One that will catch their attention and light the fire of passion, and not some cause that ultimately they will be disillusioned by when all they fought and died for doesn’t bring the change they so ardently hoped for.

I hope that this election will cause the current government to realize that it is in their best interest to bring the change the people want. I hope that they will recognize the urgency to rid the country of the gangs that control much of the larger cities. I hope they will bring economic reform through an anti-corruption agenda so that foreign investors will feel safe in bringing much needed jobs to Honduras. I hope the US sees the importance of helping the strategic ally we have in Honduras by encouraging and rewarding foreign investment through tax incentives and other methods. 

Honduras needs jobs. 

I believe with all my heart that jobs solve most of society’s problems, at least those that are not spiritually or emotionally rooted. When people are working, providing for their families with their own hands and seeing the rewards of hard work demonstrated through better living standards, people are more content and less likely to cause trouble or turn to crime. Honduras has an incredible workforce, just waiting for opportunity. My constant refrain to people who want to help Honduras is this. “Please stop bringing free things which only reduces a society to a dependent welfare state void of honor and self-respect, and instead bring jobs which allows the person to purchase for themselves the things they need, while at the same time benefiting the overall economy of the country”. This is what Honduras wants.

This is a great country and one I have grown to love. I pray that this nation will honorably face the future united, and that the world will see all that Honduras really has to offer.