Newspapers in Honduras
According to HYPERRESTAURANT.COM, Honduras is a country located in North America. The spread of newspapers in Honduras is relatively modest (55 newspaper excl. Per 1,000 residents, 2000). Of the country’s eight daily newspapers, the left liberal El Tiempo with about 70,000 copies. largest, while the conservative La Tribuna has about 50,000 items. The press in Honduras has ancient origins; the oldest, still published daily newspaper, La Gaceta, was founded in 1830. There is no formal censorship.
Honduras has about 200 radio stations, most of them private. There is also a state radio, Radio Nacional de Honduras (founded in 1976). The television business is run by six private companies. There are 412 radio and 96 TV receivers per 1,000 residents (2000).
Culture
According to CALCULATORINC, Colonialism severely disrupted indigenous cultures, but in some villages traditional crafts are still practiced, mainly wood carving. In addition, some ethnic groups usually use their land in a traditional collective way.
Among Honduras authors is the poet Juan Ramón Molina (1875-1908), who was the representative of Spanish American modernism in the country. Other prominent poets are Clementina Suarez (1903–1991), Amanda Castro (1962–2010) and Roberto Sosa (1930–2011). Among the living poets Oscar Acosta is one of the best known, but the younger Alejandra Flores Bermúdez should also be mentioned.
According to POLITICSEZINE.COM, Honduras most well-known artist is José Antonio Velásquez (1906–1983), who is regarded as the American continent’s first representative of primitivism in the arts. A young film director, Juan Carlos Fanconi (1979–) should be mentioned for a couple of successful, science fiction films on the American continent, including Almas de la media noche and El Xendra.
2017
December
New request to annul the election
December 27
Former President Manuel Zelaya formally requests that the electoral authority annul Hernández’s re-election, citing fraud. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry rejects a request from the regional cooperation organization OAS that the election should be made, and to send an expert group to investigate at least twelve deaths in connection with the protests. The opposition alliance states that 34 people have been killed.
Nasralla backs from demands for victory
December 22
Honduras seems to be stepping back from an emergency crisis when Salvador Nasralla, President Juan Orlando Hernández’s challenger in the presidential election, says he is no longer aspiring for the presidential post. Nasralla points out that the United States has explicitly given Hernández support.
The opposition says yes to dialogue
December 20
Defeated presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla accepts an invitation to speak with President Juan Orlando Hernández. In a TV talk, Hernández says he wants to reach a national peace and security agreement for all citizens, while Nasralla says in another TV channel that he obviously wants to participate in a dialogue.
Hernández is awarded rolling victory
December 17
Three weeks after the election, the TSE Election Authority states that Juan Orlando Hernández won the presidential election. According to TSE, the incumbent president won by 1.53 percentage points over challenger Salvador Nasralla. EU observers say there is no evidence of election fraud in connection with the new recalculation carried out.
Military is deployed against protesters
December 11
Soldiers and police raid barricades on the roads and drive away protesters who obeyed opposition candidate Nasrallah’s calls for continued protests after the election. No victors have yet been proclaimed, despite the fact that the electoral authority has recalculated votes from a quarter of the polling stations and states that the reported result stands. Nasralla said at a press conference that the opposition has evidence that cheating occurred at around one-third of the polling stations.
The opposition calls for a re-election of the presidential election
December 10
Two weeks after the election, the Opposition Alliance against the dictatorship formally requests that the presidential election be annulled, citing that it was rigged to President Hernández’s favor. At the same time, the Election Authority TSE has launched a new recalculation of votes from almost 5,000 ballots, following a request from the regional cooperation organization OAS. The Liberal Party, which is not part of the alliance, has demanded that the results be annulled also for the congressional and local elections.
Amnesty sounds alarm about violence
December 8
Amnesty International warns that the state is using “dangerous and illegal” tactics to silence opponents in the aftermath of the election. According to the human rights organization, 14 people have been killed, most of them by gunshot injuries, in connection with protests that have been largely peaceful.
The police refuse to follow the president’s orders
December 4th
The national police, including elite forces, state that they intend to refuse to comply with the curfew. The police remain passive until the political crisis has been resolved and do not want to “choose sides”, it says. Several spokesmen say the police cannot oppress the people and violate its rights. Election supervisors from the regional cooperation organization OAS state that “irregularities, errors and systematic problems” with the presidential election mean that the result is uncertain.
Hernández is looking for conversion, tense position
December 4th
After recalculating 6 percent of the vote, the electoral authority states that Nasralla received 42.98 percent of the vote, compared with 41.39 for Nasralla. Despite this, the authority does not formally declare a winner, as more re-examinations may be forthcoming. The opposition has demanded that far more votes be recalculated and does not recognize the recalculation made. About ten people have been killed and hundreds arrested in connection with protests. Nasralla has called on the military to rebel. The government has introduced emergency permits for ten days and curfew prevails at night to stop the violence.
November
Hernández is said to be victorious, violent protests
November 30
When all votes are counted, President Juan Orlando Hernández is reportedly victorious with 42.9 percent of the vote, against 41.4 percent for Salvador Nasralla. But a number of disputed votes must be recalculated. Supporters of Nasralla protest on the streets of Tegucigalpa and clash with the riot police. Nasralla accuses the Electoral Court (TSE) of cheating. The suspicion is great against the TSE – partly because the court is appointed by Congress, which is controlled by the Nationalist Party, and partly because the clear leadership that Nasralla had initially disappeared. The slow vote count is also questioned, and the entire process stalled for 36 hours since the first interim report was published. According to TSE, it was due to technical problems.
Nasralla leads the vote after the election
November 26th
The presidential and congressional elections are being carried out as planned. Both President Juan Orlando Hernández and main rival Salvador Nasralla proclaim themselves victors before any results are available. Ten hours after the closing of the polling stations, when 57 percent of the votes were counted, the first partial result is presented. Unexpectedly, Nasralla is leading by five percentage points ahead of Hernández. Accusations of planned election fraud have already occurred before the election and the situation is now tense.
The opposition threatens boycott
November 7
Up to 10,000 members of the opposition alliance (see May 2017) participate in a protest march before the election. Critics claim that the operator of the electronic voting system to be used has links to the ruling Nationalist Party. The opposition threatens to boycott the election result unless ballot papers are counted manually, even if it takes longer. In addition, the opposition still believes that President Hernández does not have the right under the Constitution to stand for re-election (see August 2016).
October
State actors are singled out for activist murder
October 31st
An international group of experts accuses state actors (police, military and others) and executives of the energy company Desa for lying behind the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres (see March 2016). Five academics and lawyers from the US, Guatemala and Colombia are behind the 92-page report commissioned by the Copinh organization. The report also accuses Honduran authorities of failing to investigate the murder.
The President presents a new government program
October 9
Ahead of the election, President Hernández presents his plans for a forthcoming term, with efforts to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and to develop the country into a regional hub for transportation and IT companies. Other priority areas are education and care, security and the fight against corruption. Hernandez is leading the way in opinion polls ahead of the November 26 presidential election. The PN politician has the support of about 37 percent of voters, while his main competitors TV star Salvador Nasralla, of a left-wing populist Anti-Corruption Party (PAC), has 22 percent support and Luis Zelaya of the Liberal Party has 17 percent.
September
Former President Lobo’s son is sentenced in the United States
September 5
Fabio Lobo, son of former President Porfirio Lobo (2009–2014), is sentenced to 24 years in prison in the United States for involvement in extensive cocaine smuggling into the United States (see also May 2015).
Large strike against criminal gangs
September 14
Police forces in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala carry out joint action against the criminal gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Around 1,000 suspected gang members are arrested and a number of properties and vehicles are seized. According to analysts, the operation may be a result of pressure from US President Donald Trump who has promised to crush MS-13, which is also operating in the United States.
July
Accusations of false electoral lengths
31 July
Manuel Zelaya, ex-president and leader of the Libre opposition party, calls on the Supreme Electoral Court TSE to “clear” electoral lengths to prevent cheating in the November elections. According to Zelaya, more than 1.8 million false voters are registered. It is unclear where that figure comes from, but in May, TSE reported that there were 6.2 million voters in the ballots. This would mean that over 70 percent of the residents were voters, which is not possible in a country where more than 40 percent are under the age of 18. Most of the “fake” voters are believed to be now deceased persons.
Campaign draws attention to violence against women
July 6
Members of some 20 women’s organizations are campaigning to draw attention to the violence against women. They say that just in the last two weeks, 18 women have been murdered. And of the 463 cases of women murder in 2016, only 15 have been investigated by the police. According to official statistics, published earlier this week, the number of murders has decreased by 22 percent in 2016, a figure the women’s groups question.
June
Journalist murdered
Television journalist Víctor Fúnez is shot to death outside his home in the town of La Ceiba by an unknown motorcycle perpetrator. Fúnez was a candidate in the fall parliamentary elections for the Conservative Nationalist Party. He becomes the 70th journalist murdered in the country since 2003.
May
Alliance is formed before the election
May 21
An opposition alliance is formed before the fall elections, between PAC, Libre and Pinu. PAC leader Salvardor Nasralla is appointed presidential candidate, which means Librarian leader Xiomara Castro refrains from running for office (see March 2017).
March
Primary elections determine candidates
the 12th of March
When primary elections are held before this fall’s election, President Hernández wins a superior victory in the Nationalist Party and Xiomara Castro becomes equally convincing candidate for Libre. The Liberal Party appoints Luis Zelaya as its candidate.
King of drugs points out ex-president
March 7
A former drug king in Honduras states before a US court that he paid large sums in bribes to ex-president Lobo and his son Fabio, to avoid prosecution. The testimony comes during a trial against Fabio Lobo (see May 2015). According to drug king Devis Leonel Rivera Madariaga (“Don Leo”), the notorious cartel Los Cachiros collaborated with several politicians as well as with police and military in the smuggling of tons of cocaine. Porfirio Lobo rejects the allegations. Later, Don Leo also points out a brother to the incumbent president, Tony Hernández, as recipient of bribes.
January
Contributions to stop migration
January 31
Honduras receives $ 125 million to try to prevent illegal migration to the United States through investment in security and improved living conditions. The money is part of a regional program (Alliance for Prosperity Plan) where $ 750 million is set aside to reduce illegal migration by addressing underlying causes. The program, which also includes El Salvador and Guatemala, was launched during Obama’s reign. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Hondurans head north each year to try to get to the United States.
Journalist murdered
January 17
A reporter working for the television company HCH is shot to death by men wearing police uniforms in northern Honduras. He becomes the 69th media employee to be murdered in the country since 2003.
