Latinnews Archive
Latin American Weekly Report - 16 January 1981
HONDURAS: Left divided over reactions to Central American revolutions
Both right and left in Honduras have felt the impact of revolutionary events elsewhere in Central America. While the armed forces have been strengthening their counter-insurgency capacity, with US help, the left has divided into 'new' and 'traditional' tendencies.
Although the success of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and the impressive advances of the various left-wing forces in El Salvador and Guatemala, have underlined the importance of unity on the left, the short-term effect in Honduras has been to provoke serious fragmentation. The most significant development has been the formation of a number of parties and organisations based on the new Central American model. These groups have been scornful of the tactics and activities of the 'traditional' left, which has suffered a steady loss of militants to the rival bodies.
The newest of the revolutionary groups the Union Revolucionaria del Pueblo (URP), was formed in late 1980 by a breakaway faction from the Moscow-line Partido Comunista de Honduras (PCH). In September 1979, the Frente Morazanista de Liberacion de Honduras (FMLH) had been formed by ex-members of the Partido Comunista Marxista-Leninista (PCM-L), and the Movimiento de Unidad Popular (MUP) had emerged from the solidarity campaign with the Nicaraguan revolutionaries in their struggle against the Somoza dictatorship.
AIl three groups believe that an armed confrontation with the right is inevitable, and that they must concentrate on political and military preparations for the forthcoming clash. Although guerrilla organisations along Salvadorean or Guatemalan lines have yet to appear in Honduras, there can be little doubt that some of the new groups are working in that direction.
The attempted kidnapping last April of the local Texaco manager, Arnold Quiroz, was seen by some observers as the first military action of the revolutionary left in Honduras; the alleged culprits were identified by the authorities as members of the Honduran section of the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores Centroamericanos. On 18 December last, a prominent US banker in Honduras, Paul Vinelli, was kidnapped in the centre of Tegucigalpa in an operation of military precision.
The impact of these developments on the 'traditional' Honduran left has been confusing. The PCH, PCM-L and the recently-founded Partido Socialista (Paso) joined with the Christian Democrats to form the so-called Frente Patriotico Hondureno (FPH) for last April's elections. The front's attempt to organise a mass boycott of the elections was a complete failure.
Subsequently, the Christian Democrats broke with the FPH over the issue of solidarity with the Salvadorean opposition, and decided to concentrate on preparations for the 1981 elections. The Communist and Socialist parties are still illegal in Honduras, despite promises from Liberal deputies that the ban will soon be lifted, and are therefore unable to take part in elections.
The growing realisation that a peaceful solution to Honduras's problems might prove impossible has convinced a growing number of members of the 'traditional' left parties that elections are a waste of time; the ultra-cautious PCH, at its last plenary assembly in December, voted against both the legal registration of the party and participation in the 1981 elections.
* US steps up aid : WR-80-33.
Politics Tegucigalpa-style
While galloping political polarisation has gripped other Central American countries, Honduras has continued to shamble along with a bizarre hybrid of elected leg slature and military executive. The constituent assembly elected in April produced an uncomfortable near-tie between the Liberals and Conservatives, with the tiny Partido de Innovacion y Unidad (Pinu) holding the balance.
As the most convenient way out of this impasse, all three parties decided to 'deposit' power in the hands of the president of the outgoing military junta, General Policarpo Paz Garcia. Relations between the parties and the President have not been easy. The armed forces have been particularly incensed by the assembly's attempts to revise decisions taken by the executive.
The military have promised completely free presidential elections this year, but every politician knows that the only hope of survival is to win the backing of a powerful army officer, Meanwhile, the army may yet decide that the security situation is too serious to be left to the civilians. TThe military have promised completely free presidential elections this year, but every politician knows that the only hope of survival is to win the backing of a powerful army officer, Meanwhile, the army may yet decide that the security situation is too serious to be left to the civilians.
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