Canadian capital stands to benefit from the fraudulent election of a far right-wing government that has brought down the full force of the military on Hondurans – particularly on activists like Berta Cáceres.
On the morning of December 15, 2017, spontaneous protests erupted across Honduras, and the poor neighbourhood of Villanueva in the capital of Tegucigalpa was at the centre of the actions. Protesters, many of them wearing improvised gas masks, had arrived early that morning to establish a barricade of burning tires on the main road that cuts through the neighbourhood. Black smoke hung thick in the air and chants of “Fuera JOH” – “Down with Juan Orlando Hernández” – rang through the streets.
The Honduran National Police and the Honduran military were mobilizing up the road. Every so often, officers wearing gas masks would try to remove the burning tires with a long metal rod, but the protesters would quickly pull the tires back into place. By 9 a.m., the military began to advance on the protesters, shooting tear gas into the crowd, but the protesters held their ground until midday.
Honduras is in a political crisis following the highly contested presidential elections that took place on November 26, 2017. Millions of Hondurans went to the polls, but signs of fraud on the part of the administration of incumbent Juan Orlando Hernández brought thousands to the streets to denounce his illegal second term. Much of the international community, including Canada, has not spoken out against the flawed election process. Canada in particular stands to benefit economically from the return of a government that is resolutely pro-mining and has been accused of grave human rights violations, narco-trafficking, and corruption.
This story is from the March/April 2018 edition of Briarpatch.
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This story is from the March/April 2018 edition of Briarpatch.
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