Blood of Extraction

by Todd Gordon

  137 S.R. Boucher, B.L. Barham, and M.R. Carter, “The Impact of ‘Market-Friendly’ Reforms on Credit and Land Markets in Honduras and Nicaragua,” World Development, 33, 1, 2005, p. 108.

  138 R. Ruben and M. van den Berg, “Nonfarm Employment and Poverty Alleviation of Rural Farm Households in Honduras,” World Development, 29, 3, 2001, p. 550.

  139 Ibid., p. 551. For some basic detail on this matter, see also K. Kok, “The Role of Population in Understanding Honduran Land Use Patterns,” Journal of Environmental Management, 72, 2004, pp. 73–89.

  140 T. Kerssen, “The Military-Aid Complex, Agrofuels and Land Struggles in Aguán, Honduras,” Food First, October 6, 2011. Available online at: http://www.foodfirst.org/en/Honduras+land+grabs. Accessed on February 2, 2013.

  141 W.I. Robinson, Latin America and Global Capitalism: A Critical Globalization Perspective, Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2008, p. 120.

  142 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile 2008, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, pp. 15–16. This reports also points to the rise since the mid-1990s of non-traditional exports such as shrimp, tilapias, melons, and African palm oil. In the traditional agricultural sector, it charts the renewal of high prices in coffee since 2004 and the increased production that has consequently arisen, whereas bananas have suffered from increases in tariffs in the European Union. One of the areas highlighted to be of great interest to foreign investors is the mining of zinc, silver, lead, and gold. Honduras is thought to have large unexploited mineral deposits that could become available for foreign investors if controversial environmental legislation can be passed.

  143 Ibid., p. 24.

  144 J.A. Ocampo, “Latin America and the Global Financial Crisis,” Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33, 2009, p. 704.

  145 It should be noted that while Honduras benefited overall from the high price of its principal export commodities in these years it also suffered from the high price of oil between 2004 and 2007 given its status as a petroleum importer.

  146 ECLAC, Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2005, Santiago: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2006, p. 129.

  147 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile 2008, p. 17.

  148 ECLAC, Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2008, Santiago: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2009, p. 113. See also, N. Mapstone, “Remittance Flows to Latin America Fall Sharply,” Financial Times, August 12, 2009.

  149 UNDP, Human Development Report 2009, New York: United Nations, 2009.

  150 UNDP, Human Development Report 2011, New York: United Nations, 2011.

  151 CEPAL, Panorama social de América Latina 1999–2000, Santiago: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, 2000, p. 269.

  152 CEPAL, Panorama social de América Latina 2008, Santiago: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, 2009, p. 16.

  153 CEPAL, Social Panorama of Latin America 2011, Santiago: Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, 2011, pp. 16–17.

  154 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile 2008, p. 13.

  155 Ibid., p. 11.

  156 On the Vía Campesina, see A. Desmarais, La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants, London: Pluto, 2007.

  157 D. Frank, Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America, Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2005, p. 58. Hurricane Mitch, which struck in October 1998, left more than 11,000 dead, and an astonishing 2 million people homeless (of a total population of 7.1 million). Among the worst hit were the rural-to-urban migrants “who had settled on the crowded hillsides surrounding Tegucigalpa, which were washed away.” See Booth, Wade, and Walker, Understanding Central America, p. 145.

  158 Robinson, Transnational Conflicts, p. 132.

  159 Booth, Wade, and Walker, Understanding Central America, p. 147.

  160 A. Portes and K. Hoffman, “Latin American Class Structures: Their Composition and Change During the Neoliberal Era,” Latin American Research Review, 38, 1, 2003, pp. 66–70.

  161 M. Edelman, “Transantional Organizing in Agrarian Central America: Histories, Challenges, Prospects,” Journal of Agrarian Change, 8, 2-3, 2008: 229–257.

  162 Grandin, Empire’s Workshop, p. 207.

  163 J. Wolseth, “Safety and Sanctuary: Pentacostalism and Youth Gang Violence in Honduras,” Latin American Perspectives, 35, 4, 2008, p. 99.

  164 T. Mejía, “In Tegucigalpa, The Iron Fist Fails,” NACLA Report on the Americas, July-August, 2007, p. 27.

  165 Ibid., p. 27.

  166 Ibid., p. 28.

  167 Booth, Wade, and Walker, Understanding Central America, p. 147.

  168 Ibid., p. 146.

  169 A. Bracken, “Honduras: Murder Never Went Away,” Le Monde Diplomatique, English Edition, October, 2008. Available online at: http://mondediplo.com/2008/10/13honduras. Accessed on July 25, 2009. Two other MAO activists, Heraldo Zúñiga and Roger Ivan Cartagena, were assassinated by national police agents in 2006.

  170 Ibid.

  171 J.R. Webber and B. Carr, “Introduction: The Latin American Left in Theory and Practice,” in Webber and Carr, eds., The New Latin American Left.

  172 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008.

  173 G. Grandin, “Democracy Derailed in Honduras,” The Nation, June 30, 2009.

  174 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008, p. 12.

  175 EIU, Honduras Politics: Mixed Report Card for Zelaya, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009.

  176 J. Romero, “La coyuntura económica del golpe: Crisis del regimen e inestabilidad del modelo de acumulación,” Socialismo o Barbarie, 23/24 (December), 2009, pp. 129–138.

  177 EIU, Honduras: Country Profile, London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008, p. 10.

  178 Ibid.

  179 L. Hernández Navarro, “La conversión de Manuel Mel Zelaya,” La Jornada, July 1, 2009.

  180 The Economist, “Zelaya Plays the Chávez Card,” The Economist, October 30, 2008, http://www.economist.com/node/12522958?story_id=12522958. Accessed July 2, 2009.

  181 The Economist, “Leaning Left: Honduras Joins a Club Promoted by Venezuela and Cuba,” The Economist, October 20, 2008.

  182 “Supporters of the coup,” Mark Weisbrot notes, “argue that the president violated the law by attempting to go ahead with the referendum after the Supreme Court ruled against it. This is a legal question; it may be true, or it may be that the Supreme Court had no legal basis for its ruling. But it is irrelevant to what has happened: the military is not the arbiter of a constitutional dispute between the various branches of government.” See M. Weisbrot, “Hondurans Resist Coup: Will Need Help from Other Countries,” The Guardian, July 9, 2009.

  183 Vásquez, it is relevant to point out, was trained at the School of the Americas on two separate occasions, in 1976 and 1984. The commander of the air force, Javier Prince Suazo, who also played a part in the coup d’état, was trained at the school in 1996. See D. Brooks, “Golpe de estado en Honduras,” La Jornada, July 1, 2009.

  184 The composition of the 128 seats in Congress was as follows: Liberal Party (62); National Party (55); Partido de Unificación Democrática (Democratic Unification Party, PUD) (5); Partido Demócrata Cristiana (Christian Democratic Party, PDC) (4); and the Partido de Innovación Nacional y Unidad-Social Demócrata (Party of National Innovation and Social Democratic Unity). The only party that formally took a position against the coup was the PUD.

  185 G. Grandin, “Battle for Honduras—And the Region?” The Nation, August 31, 2009.

  186 T. Gordon and J.R. Webber, “Honduran Labyrinth,” Jacobin, Issue 10, 2013. Available online at: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2013/04/honduran-labyrinth/. Accessed on May 29, 2014.

  187 D. Frank, “The Thugocracy Next Doo
r,” Politico Magazine, February 27, 2014. Available online at: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/honduras-the-thugocracy-ext-door-103883.html#.U4TbbU0U_cs. Accessed on May 27, 2014; T. Gordon and J.R. Webber, “Honduran Labyrinth,” Jacobin, Issue 10, 2013. Available online at: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2013/04/honduran-labyrinth/. Accessed on May 29, 2014.

  188 D. Frank, “A High-Stakes Election in Honduras,” The Nation, November 6, 2013. Available online at: http://www.thenation.com/article/177028/high-stakes-election-honduras. Accessed on May 28, 2014.

  189 Rights Action, “Context of the Honduran Electoral Process 2012–2013: Incomplete List of Killings and Armed Attacks Related to Political Campaigning in Honduras,” E-Bulletin, October 21, 2013. Available online at: http://rightsaction.org/sites/default/files/Honduras-Violence-Political-Campaign.pdf. Accessed on May 29, 2014; D. Frank, “Hopeless in Honduras? The Election and the Future of Tegucigalpa,” Foreign Affairs, November 22, 2013. Available online at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140283/dana-frank/hopeless-in-honduras. Accessed on May 28, 2014.

  190 E. Achtenberg, “Report from Honduras: How the Election Was Stolen,” NACLA Report on the Americas, December 9, 2013. Available online at: https://nacla.org/blog/2013/12/9/report-honduras-how-election-was-stolen. Accessed on May 29, 2014.

  191 D. Frank, “The Thugocracy Next Door”; E. Malkin, “World Bank is Criticized for Honduran Loan,” New York Times, January 10, 2014. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/world/americas/world-bank-is-criticized-for-honduran-loan.html. Accessed on May 29, 2014.

  192 On Canada’s response to pre-coup developments, see Gordon, Imperialist Canada, pp. 376–377.

  193 P. Kent, “Statement by Minister Kent on the Situation in Honduras,” Ottawa, Foreign Affairs and International Trade July 19, 2009.

  194 Arsenault, Situation Report, Tegucigalpa: Office of the Canadian Embassy, June 25, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2009-00780.

  195 Kent quoted in Rights Action, “Honduras Coup Alert 41,” Washington, August 2, 2009.

  196 P. Kent, “Canada Calls for Restraint and a Negotiated Solution in Honduras,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, September 22, 2009.

  197 For further discussion on Canada’s non-response to the violent repression of anti-coup activists, see Gordon, Imperialist Canada, pp. 377–379.

  198 Independent Honduran human rights organizations, such as Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras (Committee of Family Members of the Disappeared of Honduras, COFADEH) and Comité para la defensa de los Derechos Humanos (Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CODEH) issued regular reports on the political repression.

  199 Kent quoted in M. Lacey and G. Thompson, “Envoy prepares to visit Honduras, warning of obstacles,” New York Times, July 3, 2009. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/world/americas/03honduras.html?_r=0. Accessed on July 4, 2009.

  200 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 18.

  201 N. Reeder, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 30, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179.

  202 N. Reeder, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 9, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179.

  203 Minaker, Arsenault, Reeder, “Honduras: Internal Dynamics and the ALBA Dimension,” Tegucigalpa: Office of the Canadian Embassy, Specific date unknown, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2009-00780.

  204 N. Reeder, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 30, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179; P. Valdes, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 8, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179.

  205 P. Kent, “Canada Congratulates Honduran People on Elections,” December 1, 2009. Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and the U.S. also recognized the elections immediately.

  206 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Memorandum for Action—Recommended Canadian Policy Tools for Possible Use in Upcoming OAS Mission to Honduras,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, November 30, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-0242.

  207 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 13.

  208 J. Valdes, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 3, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179.

  209 Canadian frustrations were expressed in various Situational Reports sent from the office of the embassy in Tegucigalpa to Foreign Affairs and International Trade and, sometimes, the Canadian International Development Agency, in Ottawa. For example, D. Arsenault, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, September 24, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179; P. Valdes, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, October 8, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179; N. Reeder, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, November 3, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179.

  210 J. Valdes, Situational Report, Tegucigalpa: Office of the Canadian Embassy, September 29, 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-01179. This communication also mentions a discussion with Canadian business representatives about their concerns, but the details are fully redacted.

  211 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 13.

  212 A. Culham, “Special Period of Session of the General Assembly,” Washington: OAS, June 1, 2011. Available online at: www.oas.org. Accessed on June 2, 2011.

  213 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Honduras Country Strategy Process 2008–09, San José, Canadian Embassy: 2009, Access to Information, file A-2010-02422.

  214 P. Kent, “Minister of State Kent Concludes Successful Visit to Honduras,” February 22, 2010; El Heraldo, “Canciller de Canadá reitera apoyo a Honduras,” El Heraldo, February 18, 2010. Available online at: www.elheraldo.hn/Ediciones/2010/02/18/Noticias/Canciller-de-Canada-reitera-apoyo-a-Honduras. Accessed on March 1, 2010.

  215 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 14.

  216 Author unidentified, “Canadian Contribution to Honduran Truth Commission—Background,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, date unknown, Access to Information, file A-2010-01236.

  217 L. Edwards, “Canadian Contribution to Honduran Truth Commission—Memorandum for Action,” Ottawa: Foreign Affairs and International Trade, date unknown, Access to Information, file A-2010-01236.

  218 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 18.

  219 Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Canada Pleased With Release of Honduran Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report,” Ottawa: July 7, 2011.

  220 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 14.

  221 Canada’s silence around human rights abuses immediately following the coup can be contrasted with its the three press releases it issued in a two-week span earlier in June, 2009 condemning the Iranian government’s clampdown on protests following that country’s controversial presidential elections. One repressive government warrants direct criticism, the other does not. For a look at the different response by Canada to repression in Iran, on the one hand, and repression in Honduras and Peru, on the other, see T. Gordon, “Acceptable versus Unacceptable Repression: A Lesson in Canadian Imperial Hypocrisy,” Counterpunch, June 30, 2009. Available online at: http://www.counterpunch.org/2009/06/30/acceptable-versus-unacceptable-repression/. Accessed on June 30, 2009.

  222 La Tribuna, “Stephen Harper: Males de derechos humanos no son perpretrados por el gobierno,” La Tribuna, August 12, 2011.

  223 N. Reeder, Situational
Report, Tegucigalpa: Canadian Embassy, February 22, 2010, Access to Information, file A-2009-02141.

  224 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 21, 2011, 15.

  225 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, Ottawa: March 9, 2011, 14–15.

  226 The Associated Press, “Honduras: Court Clears Six Generals in Overthrow of President in 2009,” New York Times, October 21, 2011. Available online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/world/americas/honduras-court-clears-generals-in-overthrow-of-zelaya.html. Accessed on October 21, 2011.

  227 M. Rojas Bolaños, “Centroamérica: ¿anomolías o realidades?” Nueva Sociedad 226, March-April 2010, p. 111; R. Sáenz, “‘Tienen miedo porque no les tenemos miedo’: Después del golpe—rebellion, negociación y resistencia,” Socialismo o Barbarie, 23/24, December 2009, pp. 139–145; R. Sáenz, “El retorno de Mel Zelaya,” Socialismo o Barbarie, 23/24, December 2009, pp. 147–154.

  228 “Pinocheletti” refers to Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean dictator in power between 1973 and 1990. A. Borón, “Honduras: la futilidad del golpe,” Rebelión, June 29, 2009; F. Cuevas and H. Weissert, “World Leaders Increase Pressure on Honduras,” The Globe and Mail, June 30, 2009.

  229 A. Cano, “Zelayistas desafían el toque de queda; hay decenas de heridos,” La Jornada, June 29, 2009.

  230 Á. Cálix, “Honduras: de la crisis política al surgimiento de un nuevo actor social,” Nueva Sociedad, 226, 2010, p. 44.

  231 D. Frank, “Repression’s Reward in Honduras?” Counterpunch, September 25, 2010. Available online at: http://www.counterpunch.org/frank09232010.html. Accessed on September 25, 2010.

  232 Gobierno de Unidad Nacional de Honduras, Honduras: A Country Open for Investment, Tegucigalpa: Gobierno de Unidad Nacional de Honduras, 2011.

  233 Ibid., p. 1

  234 C. Mackay, “Canadá y Honduras, trabajando juntos,” El Heraldo, July 1, 2011. Available online at: http://archivo.elheraldo.hn/Ediciones/2011/07/01/Opinion/Canada-y-Honduras-trabajando-juntos. Accessed on July 1, 2011.