Monthly Archives: August 2008

President Zelaya accuses USA of being coup promoter

News on August 28, 2008 by Administrator| Comments Off

The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelya attacked the embassy of the United States which he accused of being promoter of Coup d’états, invasions and nation rises from Central America.

He added that ex ambassador Charles Ford proposed he give him political asylum in our country to Luis Posadas Carriles, Zelaya refused this proposal.

The president defended the president of Venezuela at all times from all the criticism Hugo Chavez received from different business and political groups during the Alba signing ceremony.

Zelaya said Chavez only came to express his ideas and we should respect them, and that he shares his same ideas.

He then announced that as of September 1st, a salary adjustment of 70% will be given to all minimum wage government employees. He is doing this to give an example to the rest of the private sector so they can do the same with their employees.

Zelaya has given instructions to the Secretary of Finance to adjust the salaries to all government employees in relation to the cost of life, for example, if and employee makes 3,000 lempiras a month, it will be increased to 5,500 lempiras which represents 70% increase.

The president has also instructed Finance to prepare the funds and make the necessary transfers to in order to grant economic aid to the more than 225 thousand Honduran families living in extreme poverty in Honduras.

Comments Off

Posted in General Honduras News, Honduran Business - Economics

Honduras joins ALBA officially

News on August 26, 2008 by Administrator| Comments Off

Honduras officially joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of our America (ALBA) yesterday in the midst of speeches against the government system of the United States, pronounced by the presidents who form this mechanism lead by the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

The presidents Spike little about the reaches of this agreement, since they where mostly focused in criticizing the government of the United States, whom they blame for the sub-development the Latin-American countries live in.

The agreement document was signed in a public act at the presidential palace, where militants of the popular sectors, public employees, students and members of the government party assisted. The contents of the document are unknown to the press and the attendants since they not read during the ceremony.

The document was signed by President Manuel Zelaya and Hugo Chavez and had as honor witness the presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales, Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega and the vice-president of Cuba, Carlos Lage.

President Zelaya praised the kindness of the Alba and he even cataloged it as the hope and heart of the people of Latin America.

Without giving much details, he informed that this initiative will allow for the National Bank of Agriculture Development (Banadesa) to capitalize, this will help benefit the productive sectors of the country thru loans, as well as the donation of 100 tractors from Venezuela for the small producers and the access to 100 million dollar bonds to the informal sector of the economy.

As part of the other components he also cited the approval for the donation of seeds and fertilizers projects to farmers, the eradication of the illiteracy in only 14 months, the adoption of a power saving program and food aid, and the extension of the medical cooperation program on behalf of the government.

Zelaya said that the difference between the Alba and the TLC (Free Trade Agreement) is that the first one is an act of solidarity towards the poor, and the second is for the benefit of businesses.

Zelaya attacked the media because of the campaign of miss-information in what the Alba is concerned, he also attacked the conservatives and businesses that to his judgment accumulate riches and do not distribute it to the people.

In that sense he called the private sector to a national dialog so that they do not continue to investing only in the candidate who will favor their interests in the next elections, but to invest in the interest that favor Honduras the best.

Comments Off

Posted in General Honduras News, Honduran Business - Economics, Politics in Honduras

Honduras Heads Home from Olympics

News on August 14, 2008 by Administrator| Comments Off

Being a small Central American country, Honduras knew the Olympic tournament was going to be difficult. But after upsetting Mexico in the CONCACAF qualification tournament, they would’ve hoped things went a little better than they did.

Three games. Three losses.

Fives goals against. Zero goals for.

Of course, they did face a tough group, consisting of Italy, Cameroon, and South Korea. All in all, the Honduran team left China on Thursday feeling like the experience wasn’t a waste. Which makes sense, since this was only their second Olympic qualification; the full side has advanced to the World Cup finals only once, in 1982 in Spain, where they managed two draws but did not escape the group.

“There is always a positive side to everything,” head coach Roberto Yearwood on Fifa.com. “The players will just have to accept what happened here and we mustn’t lose sight of our future objectives. The next step for them is the full national team, and there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ve gained an awful lot in terms of experience in this tournament.”

Veteran defender Samuel Caballero agreed with his coach. The former Chicago Fire and Udinese defender saw positives in the performance, even if the results were less than desired. And sees payoff coming soon.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t bring some joy to the Honduran people but you have to understand that we can learn a lot from this for the future,” the 33-year-old said. “I’m getting on so for me playing in the Olympics is just something I can be proud of. For them, though, it’s another benchmark in their personal development and they’ll get the benefit of it in the future.”

The full Honduras side kicks off its CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualifying bid against Mexico next Wednesday in Mexico City. Whether any of the Olympians will be on the side remains to be seen, but someday hopefully they will reap the benefits of Beijing.

Comments Off

Posted in Sports in Honduras

Tagged ,