Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Want to limit migration? We can start by supporting democracy in Honduras.

This Washington Post op-ed is one of the few pieces in the mainstream U.S. media to note the link between immigration from Honduras and the corrupt and repressive U.S.-backed government there. Far from connecting the dots, most U.S. media are downplaying the current electoral crisis. By contrast, there’s excellent reporting from Allan Nairn and others on the ground on Democracy Now! for December 5.—TPOI editor

By Kendra McSweeney and Sarah Chayes, Washington Post
December 5, 2017
The news out of Honduras has taken dizzying turns since the Nov. 26 presidential election — some predictably sickening, but some so exceptional as to startle even veteran analysts of this Central American country. A partial recount of disputed ballots now puts the incumbent, Juan Orlando Hernandez, ahead by a whisker – after inexplicable halts and delays in the counting.

That Hernandez should seek to doctor the numbers is no surprise. What is remarkable — and what deserves the support of democracies everywhere — is the civic patriotism of everyday Hondurans, who braved the odds to vote massively against a power grab Hernandez has been engineering for years.[…]

Read the full article:
Police tear-gas protesters in Tegucigalpa. Photo: Reuters

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