Honduran Elections: Voters Throw Out Corrupt, U.S. Backed Regime

As soon as the first ballots were counted it became clear: Xiomara Castro of the Libre party was overwhelming the ruling party -- and winning the presidency of Honduras.

“What a beautiful sight -- to see people jubilant, waving flags, and dancing into the night in the streets of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, cities renowned for violence and corruption.” said Marco Castillo, leader of the CESPAD/Global Exchange observer mission. 

Yesterday, DEMOCRACY triumphed, although results remain preliminary and we must remain vigilant. (Follow us on Twitter for ongoing updates from our election observation team on the ground.)

Hondurans went to the polls and voted by stunning margins to end the miserable and corrupt rule of the National Party that had taken power in a 2009 military coup with tacit U.S. support -- looking at you Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  

Corruption and economic deterioration followed the coup and U.S. sanctioned election fraud in 2017 kept the national party in power -- looking at you now, Donald Trump. 

We know how Honduras has suffered as a pawn of violent U.S. policies in the region and as a northbound transport “trampoline” for cocaine traffickers. It was particularly galling when Donald Trump stigmatized desperate Honduran migrants who caravanned north after the 2017 election fraud (that he green-lighted) as “invaders”; but, the neocolonial domination of Honduras has long been bi-partisan. 

But yesterday, democracy and national sovereignty won, while authoritarianism and colonial domination lost. This is the reality that turned the streets electric and raised hope in a country where hope has been hard to find.

We congratulate the Honduran people on a hard won victory. We also want to thank our supporters who have helped us to invest deeply in supporting these elections and appeal to our supporters to help us stay the course. Honduras now has an enormous opportunity to redefine its destiny, but our support must continue and we still need your help.

Global Exchange has been involved in Honduras since the late 1980s when Media Benjamin wrote, “Don’t Be Afraid Gringo” the story of Elvia Alvarado, a Honduran organizer who galvanized her community despite the U.S. backed repression of that era.  We have worked to stay connected with Honduras and it was no coincidence that Tegucigalpa, Honduras was where we started our five-nation End the Drug War Caravan to New York City and the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in 2016. 

The connections we have made over the years led us to CESPAD, (The Center for the Study of Democracy) and the robust partnership we established to train, equip, and deploy hundreds of national and international observers around the country on Sunday.  We worked closely with CESPAD, for months, to investigate conditions on the ground and to attract media coverage to potential problems or irregularities prior to the elections.  

From SOA Watch.

In her victory speech Sunday night, Castro spoke of the past 12 years of resistance by the Honduran people and lifted up the memory of the numerous martyrs who lost their lives opposing the coup and subsequent regimes. She also emphasized her plan to build a government of unity and reconciliation. As President, she would face huge challenges. Since the U.S.-backed coup, there has been a massive looting of Honduras, with the violent implementation of extreme right-wing neoliberal policies that have plundered both public institutions and natural resources. This has resulted in massive poverty, displacement, migration, and the criminalization and murders of those who have defended nature and human rights. The damage that was done will not be fixed overnight, but will take sustained organizing. As Bertha Zuniga, General Coordinator of COPINH, wrote on Twitter on Sunday night, ''Now we must rebuild our Honduras so that never again are people murdered or jailed for defending nature and the rights of Indigenous peoples. The Struggle Continues.'' 

As Hondurans embark on the struggle to rebuild, the U.S. must not interfere. We know too well that the U.S. bears significant responsibility for the destruction of Honduras over the past 12 years (and over the past century). We will not forget that it was U.S. recognition of Hernandez as President that enabled him to stay in power despite massive fraud in the 2017 elections. We will not forget the U.S. training, financing, and equipping of the military and police forces that shot and killed demonstrators in the streets. We will not forget the U.S. financing of the Hernandez regime in the name of fighting the drug war even as his brother was prosecuted by the U.S. for drug trafficking. We will not forget the U.S. training of those who carried out the 2009 coup at the School of the Americas. In the days ahead, as the votes continue to come in and Hondurans continue organizing, challenging extremely violent and entrenched powerful forces, we must remain vigilant against U.S. interference and demand respect for the will of the Honduran population.  

While the road ahead is paved with challenges, at this moment we lift up the clear mandate of the Honduran people and what that represents after the past 12 years of repression and bloodshed. We also remember and honor all the martyrs of the Honduran resistance, from Isis Obed Murillo to Ra

Defend Immigrants' Rights

Autoridades mexicanas reubican a cientos de migrantes centroamericanos e...

Day of Action/Day of Shame: Nov 25th, 2018- At the Border

Credit: Jeff Valenzuela

Written by Maya Flores (DSA Immigrant Rights Committee & DSA-Fresno)

November 25^th, 2018 should be remembered as the day we, the United States and the Trump administration, gassed women and children in a sovereign nation. It should also be remembered as the day that those still aligned with constitutional and international law stood up for human rights. Those of us who organized the rallies, the marches, and the demonstrations had no idea that Nov. 25^thwould end in tear gas attacks, injuries, and stampedes. Some were at the border just to show solidarity, but would end up being tear gassed as well, others held events, while others watched in horror as the events unfolded November the 25th. It will be forever etched in our minds as both a Day of National Action and as a Day of National Shame.

DSA chapters nationwide organized for a day of action on November 25^th, 2018, to stand with the asylum seekers and to reject the false narrative of “invasion” and “illegitimacy”, to remind everyone of the long history of US political and economic interference that has acted as a catalyst for the mass exodus, and to declare “let them all in! Dejalos entrar!”

In San Diego, DSA-San Diego teamed up with Otay Mesa Detention Resistance, the Migrant and Refugee Solidarity Coalition, People Over Profits-SD, Union del Barrio, and other orgs to hold a rally and a march to the border. According to local news reports, there were over 600 attendees standing up for the rights of the asylum seekers! They held an initial rally with speakers, during which time multiple US helicopters buzzed low over their heads several times prior to the gassing at the border. After the speeches, the activists marched to the border en mass to show solidarity for the refugee caravan. San Diego is the closest to the border and DSA San Diego members felt it was their crucial duty to show up to declare “let them in! Dejalos entrar!” What nobody expected was the unprecedented and illegal use of violence against asylum seekers who were in a sovereign country at the hands of the US government. 

Steven Nieder (DSA-San Diego) was at the border near the front of the crowd when the US tear gassed the crowds, including many women and children. Steven was kind enough to not only give DSA his personal narrative, but to also get permission from an on-the-ground photographer so DSA can publish his startling, vivid, and shocking photographs from that day, November 25th. Here is his narrative, written in the first person, which he sent to me:

[Steven Nieder’s narrative]: I was there doing human rights observing and trying to help those who had been teargassed, as there were multiple barrages. The Mexican police had funneled everyone that tried to go to the port of entry into the canal next to the border. The caravan members involved were a rather small contingent of the group in TJ, and it was made up mostly of middle school and high school aged boys. I was staying back to where the teargas from the previous waves was manageable. I went up to the border fence, which in this particular area is just a few barbwire rolls on top of each other, when I thought everything was coming to an end. There was a layer of media next to the border, followed by a handful of policia in riot gear that was getting the caravan members to leave. I thought the events were over and was facing away from the border when I heard shots starting to go off. As I turned around, I found myself in a good 50 foot cloud of teargas. I started running and immediately was struggling to breathe and see. I wanted to drop into the canal, but knew if I ran onto an uneven surface I'd fall, so I kept running through the smoke. I, along with most others, was running with my eyes closed. I opened them when I started running into people. People were trampling over a girl probably ~10-12 years old due to having their eyes closed. A few of us were able to block her from the running crowd and get her to her feet again. I don't think I've fully processed it all yet, there were kids crying and a few women vomiting uncontrollably. It was pretty much just the media and policia who were actually next to the border at that time. It caught me completely off guard, as we were just standing there and they gassed us with our backs to them. [End of narrative]

(Photographs graciously provided by Jeff Valenzuela, all rights reserved)

Credit: Jeff Valenzuela

Activists Support the Migrant Exodus

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Join DSA in supporting the Refugee Exodus! #MigrantCaravan #CaravanaMigrante The Democratic Socialists of America and the national Immigrants' Rights Working Group are supporting the migrant caravan; those traveling in the caravan with demands for asylum in the US, and the groups providing material, legal, and organizational support. We need you, as individual members and as chapters, to help us with these efforts! DSA has joined border organizations in the International Call to Action for the Refugee Caravan and Central American Exodus. Chapters across the country will be participating in actions on November 25th in solidarity with the caravan! Read the statement here & reach out to us if you plan to organize or participate in a local action.  So, what can you do?