Purpose

Americans who have learned about the government corruption and economic poverty in Central America often debate about whether America really wants to help.  The argument may come from a variety perspectives but the main ideas remain the same.  On the cynical end, I have heard that the U.S. is happy with the condition of Central American poverty.  We get cheaper bananas, metals, coffee beans, and clothing as a result of the cheap labor in Honduras, or any Central American Country.  The political instability, the government corruption, the lack of strong domestic industry keep Central America Countries continuously poor; thus continuously providing cheap labor for foreign business.

The other side, that my colleagues and I argue is that America means the American people, and that most American people would want a better democracy and economic standard of living for Central American people if they knew the daily reality its people live in.  I have heard and participated in this debate specifically with regards to Honduras, the country that has been coined, The Banana Republic. While it may seem like Americans don’t care about Honduras, we believe the general apathy towards Honduras is due to a lack of accessible information about how the quality of life, quality of the economy, and quality of government of Central America and the United States are interlinked and interdependent.

This blog is written on one hand to provide information and analysis that is lacking in U.S. medias.  Myself and other community organizers and leaders have chosen to report on Honduras because Honduras is experiencing an especially important moment in its history.  On June 28^th, 2009 president Manual Zelaya was overthrown in a military and business coup d’état.  In reaction to this affront to democracy, over 70% of people in Honduras have participated in events, surveys, meetings, rallies, artistic expression, and action to resist the coup d’état. A movement of community members in diverse sectors of the economy throughout the county is trying to reform the Honduras government to not only be a democracy in which people are truly represented, but also some hope, a democracy in which the people actively are invited to participate.

With this in mind, this blog also analyzes democracy processes –specifically comparing representative democracy models and participatory democracy models from the angle of human rights and economic development.  As organizers and community leaders in the U.S., the movement for participatory democracy in Honduras reflects the reason for much of our work.  As health debates continue to dictate our future healthcare without active participation by everyday Americans; as early child education funding is cut by our states without the say-so of parents; as economic stimulus continues to bolster top CEO’s leaving small-business owners without a voice; many of us in the United States are also frustrated by a lack of participation solicited by our own government.  In fact, there is little or no visible citizen participation with regards of U.S. foreign policies.  This blog thus seeks to understand how regular teachers, restaurant workers, nurses, small business owners, youth, factory workers, and many other ordinary persons work to improve their system democracy and reduce government corruption.

Just as this blog analyzes democratic participation, I invite the readers to participate in this discussion and dialogue.  Please comment; send me articles; pictures; stories so that I can post them to tell a more holistic story.