Honduras receives worldwide support to get back on track

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - President Porfirio Lobo's administration is off to a good start, as it is being offered US$390 million in loans by the World Bank to fund many of its projects.

The newly formed government, however, still needs broader recognition from the international community so it may continue to receive much-needed aid after it was cut off while it was resolving a dispute during which it has had three presidents since June of last year.

William Chong, the country's finance minister, explained that in order to access these loans, an agreement must be reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is sending a preliminary mission to evaluate Honduras' economy.

"But help will come only when the international community recognizes President Lobo so we will need to wait a few months," he said.

Mario Canahuati, the nation's foreign minister, said that recent steps, such as forming a coalition government, a truth commission and giving amnesty to those involved in the removal of President Manuel Zelaya, have strengthened the country's international ties.

"We're already being recognized by Asia, all of Europe and North America," Canahuati said. "And while in Latin America some countries are still out, once we normalize relations with Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, the rest will follow suit."

María Antonieta Guillén de Bográn, the country's vice president, said the top priority of the Lobo administration is to increase the wages earned by the average family by generating jobs, even if the positions are temporary.

"It is about small bridges, interior roads, stone masonry, school buildings and other small-scale projects," said Miguel Pastor, the public works minister.

The Honduran government also is seeking support for a project called the "Ten Thousand Bonus," through which about $820 lempiras (about US$44) will be given on a monthly basis to about 600,000 poor families so they can send their kids to school in addition to funding a project to pave the country's major roads.

Diana Bonilla, an academic at the economics, administrative and accounting sciences department of Honduras's national autonomous university, said Lobo's administration must provide incentives to small and medium-sized companies if the country is going to regain the 200,000 jobs lost during the political crisis.

"We must be more aggressive in promoting tourism," she said. "We must protect the manufacturing plants, and it is urgent that we expand the Temporary Protection Status [TPS] that allows 75,000 Hondurans to live and work in the United States and send remittances to their families. We need increased funding to start these projects because international assistance will take a few months and people need to have an income right away."

Pedro Rodríguez, who owns a car repair shop, said that "what we need here is for the United States to help us because the people need food now."

"I had three assistants and now I have only one because my clientele is gone," he said. "Those people who were let go by these businesses need to be given work, even if for the time being."

Orbelina Mejía, a fruit vendor, said it is integral to the country's future that Lobo's administration generates jobs.

"I remember that after Hurricane Mitch [in 1998] they came up with projects to clean the gutters and fix the roads, so that people could make enough money to buy food," she said.

Rony Espinoza, a leader from the Honduran association for the unemployed, said his organization will sponsor a march on Feb. 18 to call attention to the country's unemployment rate.

Celín Discua, a representative of the right-wing national party, said the government is doing its part.

"Now, we need for the countries who have offered their cooperation to deliver the help they have pledged, so we can undertake social work," he said.

Congressman Antonio Rivera said the government should focus on funding large-scale housing development projects because "construction is the sector that generates jobs the fastest."

But construction is not a panacea, Rivera warns.

"We must also finance agriculture," he said.

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