This is the first in a series of postings where I want to put on the table ideas to support Mr. Pepe Lobo's administration in a proactive way with analysis and practical suggestions. I want to express publicly that this effort does not in any way mean that I am "unconditional" supporter of Mr. Lobo and thus will turn a blind eye to what I criticized of Mr. Zelaya's administration. What I am doing here is contributing to the "moving forward" process that our nation will endure shortly. In this sense, this support would have been offered regardless of who had won legitimately the November 29th elections. We cannot afford to have Mr. Lobo fail in his government. This would certainly mean loosing the fight for freedom, liberty and democracy in our country, as we will not have the other side of the story...justice for all.
First things, first. We need to figure out what is the current situation of our country in terms of the economy, security, poverty, health, education, unemployment, laws and regulations, governance, competitiveness, debt, and ongoing/concluded government programs and policies, in order to develop a strong diagnostic of our reality. Three of the pressing issues we will face are government budgets and debt, security and the polarization of our society. These are quite important to tackle first as they provide appropriate signals to investors, donors and our own people, that government is serious about solving our problems starting with a real dialogue. In this dialogue we need to develop a roadmap for success, built on consensus and real participation. One that sets aside personal gain but at the same time guarantees that most people will be better off eventually, that is the key to success in this effort.
I will expand more on this diagnostic in future postings. Here is one done by the World Bank Data Profile
http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport?REPORT_ID=9147&REQUEST_TYPE=VIEWADVANCED&DIMENSIONS=100
and the country summary
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/HONDURASEXTN/0,,menuPK:295096~pagePK:141132~piPK:141109~theSitePK:295071,00.html#summary.
Similar data from the IADB/BID http://www.iadb.org/res/lmw_countrytables.cfm?country=Honduras
Good stuff, Jose. I hope someone in the new government reads your posting and uses it as a punto de partida to get the dialogue ball rolling.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of making things more difficult, I would comment that, if possible, someone examine the question of what makes Honduras the way it is. Why has it historically been one of the poorest - if not THE poorest - countries in CA? What do Hondurans think of themselves and their situation? (I'm not talking about Honduras, per se, btw; Hondurans will always be proud of their country. Rather, how do they view their endemic poverty, and what do they think should be done about it?) What can Honduras do to generate sufficient, decent jobs such that Hondurans don't have to continue fleeing the country in search of work? There are a host of other questions, obviously, but we need to start out by asking, "What's wrong with this picture, and how can we fix it?"
Good luck, and I hope there are high level people in the Lobo government who think like you do, and really want to change things. Like I mentioned in an earlier comment, there might not be another chance to improve things peacefully, if Lobo is perceived to be just more continuismo...
Thanks!!. Well, always forward, never go back...that's my motto...
ReplyDeleteThe issue you raise are quite fascinating. I always wondered, for example, why the Mayas moved north rather than south, reaching Honduras only peripherally...
Certainly we did not have much gold or silver as Mexico or Peru or Bolivia had before the Spaniards made it to our coasts.
Certainly understanding the honduran psyche to figure out why we behave the way we do is another issue important to develop policies.
If you do get access to the book "Re-interpreting the Banana Republic" by Honduras historian Dario Euraque, I would recommend it, as it helps understand many of the institutional developments related to the banana companies and why Honduras did not fall into the civil wars that happen in Guatemala, El Salvador or Nicaragua.
Euraque's other book "El Capitalismo de San Pedro Sula y la Historia POlitica de Honduras" is a well researche chronicle but wish it had more synthesis and analysis of history.
Anyhow, I'll just keep at it...hopefully somebody will here, although I will of course try alternative ways to help this process.