Resistance in Honduras
Marches on as Political Prisoner Is Released on Bail
Demonstrators march to demand the
resignation of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in Tegucigalpa,
Honduras, on August 9, 2019.ORLANDO SIERRA / AFP / GETTY IMAGES
August
15, 2019
After 18 months in
maximum-security jail enduring inhumane conditions, Honduran activist and
political prisoner Edwin Espinal was released on bail last week. Upon his exit,
Espinal opted to eschew the type of comforts many others might have sought
after securing their freedom: Still wearing his jail garb, he went straight to
a demonstration to greet his supporters, thank them for their tireless efforts,
and pledged to continue the struggle against the regime of Honduran President
Juan Orlando Hernández — the very same work that led to his imprisonment by the
regime.
“When I left the penal center,
I felt a need to show our people — all the international organizations who have
shown strong support to help secure my release — that neither their jails,
their bullets, nor their repression can defeat us,” Espinal told Truthout in
his first international media interview since his release.
Espinal was charged and jailed
as a result of his participation in protests opposing the re-election of
President Hernández in the 2017 vote that was widely perceived by international election monitors and many
Hondurans as fraudulent.
A close ally of
the United States, Hernández has ruled Honduras since 2014, presiding over an
administration that has militarized public security and has allowed public
health and education to languish.
“This is typical of
right-wing governments: they invest in prisons, in repression against the
people instead of education, health, work and public safety,” said Espinal.
“Since this man came to power, we’ve witnessed the total collapse of
institutions.”
Edwin Espinal stands before the
Honduran attorney general’s office, which has been marked with graffiti that
reads, “Freedom for political prisoners,” in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on August
14, 2019.KAREN SPRING
The Hernández government has
also faced credible allegations of association with drug traffickers, with the
president’s brother, Antonio Hernández, having been indicted on drug-trafficking charges in
late 2018.
In documents unsealed
from New York’s Southern District Court, prosecutors signaled Juan Orlando
Hernández as a co-conspirator in the case. Although the documents do not name
the president directly, the court filings leave little doubt that “co-conspirator 4” is the sitting president,
who is said to have funneled drug money into his presidential campaign in 2013.
According to Karen Spring, a
Canadian human rights activist based in Honduras and Espinal’s wife, the court
documents merely confirmed what many already suspected.
“Hondurans are very clear about
the fact that this government has no legitimacy, that the government is a
fraudulent government and the revelations from the New York court documents
just affirm what Hondurans have been saying for many years,” Spring told Truthout.
She suspects that the allegations
against Hernández played a role in Espinal’s release.
“The political context of the
country has shifted, and it seems the dictator has much greater worries than a
couple of political prisoners that represent a lot to the social movements,”
said Spring.
With the possibility that
Hernández could be charged and extradited, the U.S. court allegations have sent
the regime into crisis and the Honduran president traveled to the United States
this week, to try to shore up support from his most important ally.
“Repression is the primary tool the
dictatorship uses to stay in power.”
According to Spring, the
Honduran opposition movement against Hernández, composed of both grassroots and
political adversaries, suspects that the U.S. may withdraw its support for
Hernández and she speculates that the Honduran president will be forced to
relinquish power before the end of the year.
Without the backing of the
United States, Hernández would struggle to remain in office.
“We know the government is
maintained in power by the government of the United States,” said Espinal.
The allegations against
Hernández have also served to further motivate the opposition movement that
sees his government as illegitimate, and the Hernández regime appears to be in
a vulnerable position.
However, Espinal warns that the
movement cannot let its guard down.
“When dictatorships feel
cornered, when they feel like their backs are against the wall, that is when
the claws come out and they begin to repress with much greater force,” said
Espinal.
An Edifice of Repression
Repression of dissent is a
fundamental component of Hernández’s grip on power. Honduras has been ruled by
a representative of the National Party since the 2009 military coup that ousted
leftist President José Manuel Zelaya. The policies implemented by the National
Party governments have adversely affected Hondurans from all walks of life.
Spring says that the
consequences of the 2009 coup have dramatically changed the lives of Hondurans,
with the costs of essential goods, transit and services all increasing while
wages have stayed stagnant, making survival virtually impossible.
The opposition movement that
sprang up in the aftermath of the coup has waged a consistent and determined
struggle to restore democracy to Honduras, but has been met with the repressive
apparatus of the state.
The removal of a figurehead is often
not enough to dismantle the regime they installed.
The opposition put forward
Salvador Nasralla as its candidate for the 2017 presidential election. As
results came in the night of the election, it became apparent that Nasralla was
on the path to victory, and the vote count was suspended by authorities. When
the count resumed, Hernández had secured a lead and was eventually declared the
winner.
In the face of mass protests
against the perceived fraud, the Hernández regime deployed security forces into
the streets.
“Over 35 people were shot by
state security forces and hundreds of people were thrown in jail,” said Spring.
The charges Espinal faces are
related to those protests, with authorities accusing him of engaging in violent
acts. A well-known figure in the opposition, Espinal says he was targeted for
his activism.
“Repression is the primary tool
the dictatorship uses to stay in power,” said Espinal.
With his credibility and
legitimacy undermined as a result of the fraud allegations, President Hernández
has struggled to implement unpopular reforms. Earlier this year, the Platform
for the Defense of Education and Health, a nonpartisan coalition comprised of
trade unions and civil society organizations, staged a 48-hour national strike over
efforts to privatize public services. These actions were also met with
repression, with local media reporting the use of live ammunition against
demonstrators.
“Every year the level of
repression increases against our people, against our resistance, against our
people who fight every day to preserve our fundamental and inherent rights,”
said Espinal.
“The Fall of This Regime Will Only Be the Beginning”
However, with little popular
support, the limits of repression as a means of staying in power are becoming
evident, and Spring believes Hernández may be cast aside in order to appease
the opposition and stabilize the political climate in the country.
She argues that the U.S. wants
to maintain its domination in Honduras to ensure its hegemony in Central
America and does not feel any particular loyalty to Hernández.
U.S. House of Representatives
Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently led a congressional delegation to Honduras, but
opted not to meet with Hernández, who tried to save face by claiming he was
unavailable to meet with them.
However, Spring warns that
ousting the current president will not be enough.
“This is an entire system, from
the top to the bottom, that has been run by drug trafficking and corruption
networks for a very long time,” said Spring. “Picking off even the president
himself is not going to destroy the structure that has slowly caused a
deterioration of Honduras and Honduran public institutions.”
Other experiences in Central
America — such as that of Guatemala, where mass protests ousted former
President Otto Pérez Molina — have shown that the removal of a figurehead is
often not enough to dismantle the regime they installed. Conservative Alejandro
Giammattei, who has shown a reluctance to address rampant corruption, won
Sunday’s election in Guatemala and is expected to be a close ally of the United
States.
“The fall of this regime will
only be the beginning,” said Espinal. “There is a lot of struggle ahead, a lot
of work to be done.”
For now, there are still
battles to be fought. Espinal himself still has to face trial on charges of
arson, property damage and use of explosive material, with proceedings
beginning today, and there are other political prisoners in the country who are
still being held by the regime.
However, the resolve of
opposition supporters and human rights defenders remains strong.
“There is no way they can
eliminate that feeling we have, the love we have for our homeland, the love we
have for the people, the compulsion we have for us to recover our dignity, our
need to raise our voice and let this regime know that they cannot defeat us,”
said Espinal.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be
reprinted without permission.
José Luis Granados Ceja is a writer and photojournalist based in
Mexico City. He previously worked as a staff writer for teleSUR and
currently works on a freelance basis. His stories focus on contemporary
political issues, particularly those that involve grassroots efforts to affect
social change. He often covers the work of social and labor movements in Latin
America. Follow him on Twitter: @GranadosCeja.
Donations can be sent
to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD
21218. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives."
Eugene Victor Debs
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