Honduras

El 26 de noviembre se realizaron elecciones nacionales en Honduras. La elección se ha dividido en dos bandos: quienes apoyan al actual presidente Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), que busca su reelección, y quienes apoyan al candidato de la Alianza contra Golpe, Salvador Nasralla. En los primeros se posicionan las fuerzas máscara reaccionarias que buscan mantenel er sus privilegios, empezando por el histórico partido Nacional, principal fuerza política de la oligarquía; con los segundos están las masas de obreros, campesinos, desempleados, estudiantes, amas de casa… que ya no soportan su condición de explotación, pobreza, violencia y falta de democracia y aspiran a un cambio profundo de la

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On 26 November, national elections were held in Honduras. The election was divided into two camps: those who supported current President Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH), who is seeking re-election, and those who supported the candidate of the Alliance Against the Coup, Salvador Nasralla. The first block consists of the most reactionary forces that seek to maintain their privileges, starting with the National Party, the main political force of the oligarchy. The latter comprises the masses of workers, peasants, unemployed, students, housewives...who can no longer stand their exploitation, poverty, violence and lack of democracy and aspire to a profound change in society.

En la elección del pasado 26 de noviembre el pueblo hondureño dio un mensaje muy claro: ¡Fuera Juan Orlando Hernández! La elección ha sido bastante concurrida y pese a irregularidades (compra de votos, no ampliación de la apertura de las casillas cuando la gente estaba queriendo votar, manipulación mediática del régimen, relleno de urnas, alteración en el padrón electoral, etc.) todo indica que el voto está favoreciendo a la Alianza de Oposición contra la Dictadura y su candidato Salvador Nasralla. Pero Juan Orlando Hernández, quien quiere reelegirse como presidente, se ha declarado ganador, mostrando que no quieren dejar el poder y mostrando nuevamente que poco le importa la opinión

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[This article was written on Wednesday 27 of October] Three days after the end of the elections in Honduras the results have still not been published. Despite this, the Supreme Electoral Committee has declared the “victory” of the extreme right-wing Nationalist Party candidate for president of Honduras. Several right-wing regimes have already congratulated him on the “victory”. Meanwhile the masses are protesting in the streets in order to defend their votes and while the fear of electoral fraud grows, so does the demand for a transparent recount.

On May 28 Mel Zelaya, the Honduran president removed by a coup in June 2009 returned to Honduras where he was met by a massive crowd. On June 1, the Organisation of American States voted to readmit Honduras as a member, with only Ecuador voting against. The agreements that made this possible have provoked a lot of discussion amongst Honduran revolutionaries in the Resistance Front (FNRP) and throughout Latin America.

América Socialista – the Panamerican magazine of the International Marxist Tendency, interviewed Tomás Andino, a leading member of the Honduran Resistance.

We have received the following message from Honduran activists of the National Front of Peoples' Resistance against the repression of the Porfirio Lobo government. His government was installed through fraudulent elections organised by the coup regime, despite massive abstention of the masses and harsh repression. The repressive attitude of the Lobo government uncovers its pretence of being democratic. The International Marxist Tendency declares its full solidarity with the Honduran workers and youth who continue to struggle and are suffering the repression, killings.

The elections called by the Honduran coup regime on November 29 saw a significant increase in abstention, despite the harsh repression by the military and the police. But the regime has not been able to crush the movement of workers, peasants and youth. On the contrary, they are now more politically aware, better organised and ready to struggle against the oligarchy.

In a previous article we pointed to the fact that the Tegucigalpa/San José Accord signed on October 30 was a farce. Events have now confirmed that we were right. To accept the agreement now would be a betrayal of the mass movement. What is required now is an active boycott, combined with mass mobilisation for the overthrow of the present illegitimate regime.

A lot of noise had been made about the so-called “reinstatement of Zelaya”, but is that what is really happening. So far a lot of wheeling and dealing has taken place, but no concrete steps to put Zelaya back as the legitimate president. We will see in the coming days how real this agreement is.

Four months after the coup against democratically elected president Mel Zelaya in Honduras, a combination of brutal repression and stalling tactics at the negotiating table have temporarily defused the resistance movement, but not decreased the people's opposition to the Micheletti regime. The level of consciousness has experienced a giant leap. It is necessary to group the most advanced activists of the movement into an organisation based on the ideas of Marxism.

Yesterday morning police and army forces brutally attacked thousands of supporters of Honduran president Mel Zelaya and removed them violently from outside the Brazilian embassy in the capital Tegucigalpa. However, this brutal repression did not crush the will of the Honduran working people to resist against the coup. Following the lead given by the National Front of Resistance, there were mass demonstrations and barricades set up in all of the working class neighbourhoods of the capital and in the main cities throughout the country.

Yesterday morning it was confirmed that Mel Zelaya was in the capital Tegucigalpa. He made an appeal to the people to come out to protect him. The masses responded by the tens of thousands. The next few hours will be decisive. The balance of forces is on the side of the masses. They can deal the last blow to the coup regime and start the building of a new political regime based on the organisation of the masses.

Eighty days since the coup in Honduras there are no signs of the resistance being weakened. On the contrary it is growing and becoming more militant. The conditions exist for the coup regime to be overthrown, but this requires decisive action in the form of a total, all-out general strike.