Failed Elections in Honduras: Peaceful Resistance Boycotted Coup efforts while Repression causes one Dead and Dozens Tortured and Detained

A peaceful resistance movement in Honduras successfully boycotted today's marred presidential elections. Following a plan of civil disobedience, most Honduran citizens didn't vote today as a sign of protest against the coup government of Roberto Micheletti.

Since the coup d'etat carried on June 28 this year, the opposition in Honduras have organized what is known as the National Front of Peaceful Resistance. Today they organized several acts of disobedience to boycott the elections that will not be recognized by most countries in the Americas -except the United States- and which only included candidates of the officialism, and ignored the popular demand for a ballot that supported a Constitution reform.

Human rights activists in Washington, DC, protest the Honduras elections. Photo by Arturo Viscarra

Independent observers are sending reports via Internet, including some from the Quixote Center, and they tell about violent clashes between protesters and government forces in Honduras today. There were rumors of a plan for a mass massacre but so far there are reports of one man killed and dozens of detained civilians. President Manuel Zelaya has said that today there has been a voter abstention of up to 80% in some cases.

This exclusive video report by The Real News was posted yesterday and it describes the current situation in Honduras:

International organizations and U.S. based activists have warned of the lack of conditions for fair elections in Honduras, but the Obama administration has said it will recognize the outcome. Lisa Haugaard from the Latin American Working Group has wrote about her recent trip to Honduras:

I have just returned from Honduras, and I can tell you, there is no possible way that there are the basic conditions for free and fair elections on November 29th. / All over Honduras, youth in resistance, women in resistance, artists in resistance, lawyers in resistance, well-dressed and blackberried political party leaders in resistance, campesinos in resistance, are saying no to these November 29th elections—and for good reason.

Leaders of the Honduran resistance Bertha Oliva and Araminta Pereira were recently in the U.S. reporting to members of U.S. Congress about the current situation in Honduras that includes a humanitarian crisis, violent repression, military raids and forced disappearances, and tortures that opposition leaders are facing daily. Reports also tell of abuses against Honduran women and over 350 have been killed after being sexually abused.

Teacher and activist Araminta Pereira related horrifying stories of abuses, killings, rapes, corruption, illegal actions of the current Micheletti government in order to continue in power. In her recent visit to NYC, Pereira announced the boycott of the elections as a sign of civil protest.

As a response to reports of human rights abuses in Honduras, U.S. unions AFL-CIO and SEUI have sent letters to president Obama protesting the lack of actions against the Micheletti coup, and its abuses against workers and students. Thousands of scholars from universities and colleges from all over the country have also written to Obama and the U.S. Congress members, demanding to withdraw the support of the U.S. government for today's elections.

Under the motto "Don't Vote, Say No to Elections in Honduras under a State of Terror" Honduran activists are demanding for more international support to the civil resistance. I met with Honduran writer and journalist Roberto Quesada, a former diplomatic in New York city and he is one of the organizers of the resistance movement in the United States. Quesada said in a video interview that Honduras will continue fighting for democracy, which will return to Honduras sooner or later, and that everyone in the U.S. can support this effort.

Most Honduran people are against the Micheletti government, according to Arturo Viscarra, a U.S. attorney of Salvadoran origins, about 60% of civilians are opposing the current coup rule, while 20% remained silent out of fear. Viscarra said that the U.S. Congress have acted divided in the Honduras case, with Republicans supporting the coup and some progressive Democrats have asked Obama to demand the return of Zelaya to power.

Since Micheletti took power five months ago, there have been many reports of violence against civilians including abuses suffered by workers, students, women, elderly and children. The government says there are about 27 people killed, but the resistance members talk about hundreds of missing peoples. Most opposition media and press have been shut down, censured or threatened. Most current news coming from Honduras are produced by manipulated media outlets linked to the coup supporters.

More reports are coming from Honduras, follow news with Twitter, the blog Habla Honduras and special reports from the Quixote Center.


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9 years old boy died in DC: gentrified City obsessed with Profits and Social Divide instead of Improving Lives of current Neighbors

A day after Oscar Fuentes, a 9 years old Indigenous boy was killed by a robber and gang member, I walked by the 1433 Columbia Road NW building.

The place, a rundown abandoned-looking and neglected building suddenly got the attention of the city authorities and all the local media and blogs. A boy had to die.

Sign says "From Reina: God keeps you in his holy reign, and I am sure you will be giving strength to your mother, God bless you"

That afternoon I saw TV stations crews installing special equipment, the DC police had shut down the street for a special news conference to be held there. Some neighbors were standing by the entrance door, looking sad, lost, but ready for the cameras.

I spoke to a neighbor who said this was a gang-related crime, of course I said, then we spoke about gangs in the area for a few minutes.

Warning? As I was writing a post about this crime that night, I got a call at 1:13 am from the number 301-442-5667, it was a man with an accent, perhaps someone whose first language is Spanish, who said: "hey, what are you doing, listen to me: you need to shut your mouth, shut the fuck up..." then he hanged up the phone.

The next day, a big lighting pole and a DC police car were installed in front of the building, while lots of stuffed animals and toys were placed in the exterior fence. The whole thing looked fake, sad, useless for a family that lost their son... how many times do we need to see that?

The rest of the story, we know: public ceremonies with sad speeches, DC government authorities and cops lamenting the killing, while talking about "enforcing" housing codes and promising to make repairs in a place that they knew well its owner was violating all the city regulations, but no one gave cared to enforce. It had to do with the tenants.

In the same street block, some buildings that used to occupied by immigrants and working class neighbors -sadly some of them got involved in crime, drug abuse and violence- are now either emptied or remodeled and with new tenants. They now look fancy and clean, safe enough with strict security systems and well kept gardens.

It's the trend happening in Columbia Heights and many sectors of DC, a city so focused on money and profits that is overlooking its poorest, focused on bringing in the rich, the fluent, the arrogant selfish, while they kick out the working class folks.

Last night I walked by the 1433 Columbia Road NW building. Now the city has painted the interiors, placed a new entrance door, the apartment 22 -where Oscar and the Fuentes family used to live- is vacant now, and its gun shot door has been replaced by a new, clean one.

Some neighbors I spoke to, they are still nervous "this is nothing new, there have been always fights and violence here", they add that some tenants are involved in gangs for sure. Why they don't inform the police? Distrust, fear, they all mind their business, lack of community organization.

Photos by Carlos in DC

One of the tenants that live in the building for over a decade, tells me that the owner of the building is a Dominican woman who inherited the property from her defunct husband. She is afraid of the gangs, but she is also "a cheap selfish bastard" who cares little about her tenants. But the media says the owner is John Steininger someone who is neglecting the building on purpose. Also the neighbors, who spoke to me comfortably until I fixed my photo camera -then they run away with a scared face- said that the Fuentes family had move in only a year ago or so, and that Oscar Fuentes was the most well behaved kid in the building.

Blame the owners, how easy. The true responsible people for the dead of Oscar Fuentes, are the same people who are promoting the gentrification of this city, for the sake of assuring that areas like Columbia Heights become a place for the rich. They know exactly what buildings need to be fixed, they know the living conditions of the poorest neighbors, they know many of them won't call the police out of fear, they are waiting for a disgrace to happen. Only then, they pretend to care. Give me a break.

The Fuentes family lost their youngest son because they live in a city of materialist hypocrites, where humanity and sense of community is being replaced by consumerism and racial economic divide, where children are the victims of a heartless city. In this city, gangs rule and poor people get killed, evey day. Nothing happens except by sad press conferences.

What can you expect of a city where only half of public schools students graduate? where half of its residents live alone and have no children to raise, where good parenting is rare to find, where its authorities and newcomers are just talking about hotels, ballparks, office and retail space while they shut down schools and fire teachers and counselors, where there are more homeless people and evictions while housing and renting prices are going up without control. We are allowing these tragedies to happen and no one seem to care, until a kid dies. Next week, same shit again.

Entrance hallway at 1433 Columbia Road NW: clean freshly painted walls that a young Indigenous boy won't ever get to see.

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First ever Andean Film Festival in DC to be held at Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre: Ventana Andina 2009

The DC area’s first ever film festival dedicated exclusively to Andean films,“Ventana Andina 2009” will take place from December 10 to 12, at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre in northern Virginia. This festival is co-presented by the Andean Film Project and Arlington County's Cultural Affairs Planet Arlington.

Tropical Andes. Map by The Encyclopedia of Earth

The Andean region in South America is a unique region in the world, one of six geographical areas in the planet where human civilization was created, thousands of years ago.

According to the Ventana Andina 2009 festival's press release, the Program will include:

The festival's first night will offer an introduction to the unique cultures of the Andes with films that explore traditional dance, the indigenous community in the central Andes, and will conclude with Hananpacha.

The second night will deal with contemporary social issues in the Andes, such as the effect of poverty on families; the impact of the civil war and those swept up in the brutal violence of the conflict with Shining Path insurgency.

The final night will offer horror films such as Nilo Inga Huaman's Blood and Tradition, Lalo Parra Bello's Head of the Witch, and Cecilia Cerdena's Amapola Green.

The festival is produced by the Andean Film Project, co-directed by Rock Wheeler, programmer for National Geographic’s "Tuesdays at Noon" film series, and by artist Etel Garro Cerrate, a native artist from the Andes of Peru.

Admission to the festival will be $10 per evening, and $25 for a three-day pass, with tickets available at the door and online through Ticketmaster at 703-573-SEAT (7328).

For more information, check the Andean Film Project website and Planet Arlington or by calling 703-228-1850.

Ventana Andina 2009
Andean Film Festival

December 10 to 12, 2009 7:30 PM

Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre
1611 North Kent Street
Arlington, VA 22209

Metro: Rosslyn station
Free garage parking

Don't Get Lost: The Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre is kind of hidden behind a big high rise office building. If you come from the Metro or any Parking lot, look for the Channel 7 ABC building -you can't miss that big TV screen- and across the street there is a Chipotle restaurant. From that corner, walk down the hill and look for the sign "Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre" and follow the signs, including the staircases.

View Larger Map

The Andes

The Andes mountain range runs through the west side of South America, its complicated and amazing geography includes thousands of valleys, snow peaks, flat cold pampas, elevated tropical forests, big metropolitan urban areas, many lakes and rivers, vast deserts, beautiful small towns and many Indigenous sacred places, African communities and Hispanic old towns that tell of the rich history of the peoples that live there.

The Andean people have many cultures and heritages that are unique, and very different from what most U.S. people and media might think of the rest of the Americas.

In fact, the Andean countries -Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela- have an important population of Indigenous peoples, and its cultures are strongly influenced by Native American heritage, mixed with the contributions of African, European, Arab, Asian immigrants.

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Tonight Free Concert of Inspirational Music: tenor B. Jackson Caesar will perform at UDC - Open to the public

Tonight, come and see B. Jackson Caesar, the amazing DC-based tenor who will perform a FREE concert at the University of the District of Columbia.

Photo by B. Jackson Caesar

Jackson who is originally from Oklahoma, has a personal singing style that is very inspirational, relaxing, touching. I have had the pleasure of seeing him performing live before, his voice is just a gift to the senses. Tonight Jackson presents a program with mostly Gospel, Opera, and Classic American music. This concert marks the end of his studies at UDC previous to his trip to Europe, where he will continue his vocal studies. He writes:

I am writing briefly to extend an invitation to you, your family and friends to attend a special event. My plan as a vocal performer, entertainer is to sing songs that will touch, move and inspire your hearts. This is my senior vocal recital in which I am pleased to announce that I will perform in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, German, and French. I have a guest list of up to 150+. I hope to see you there! Free and open to the public.

A reception will follow the concert. Watch this video of Jackson performing at a benefit concert early this year:

B. Jackson Caesar
Senior Vocal Recital

Tuesday Novermber 17, 2009
7:00 PM

Auditorium of the University of the District of Columbia
Building 46 EAST
4200 Connecticut Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Metro: UDC-Van Ness Station (Red Line)

View Larger Map


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Sammy Sosa wants to be Latino: in a World of White Privilege some Hate being Black

A Black man trying to be White

Photos by Gather

What happens when a Black person is ashamed of his African roots and wants to be White? Don't mention Michael Jackson because he had a skin disease... Ok. yes MJ wanted to be White but the skin disease gave him an excuse after all. However the true disease MJ had is called self loathing racism.

That's exactly Sammy Sosa's problem, a Black man who wants to be a Latino, he wants to pass as White, he thinks that's cute but he is a fool.

Sammy Sosa hates his Black skin because he thinks that being Black is wrong, that being White gives him privileges... hmm maybe he is right. This we can understand because Sosa is from the Dominican Republic one of the most racist countries in the Americas, where a minority of wealthy Hispanics discriminate and exploit Blacks and Natives based on their race, skin complexion.

Take the case of Black immigrants from neighboring Haiti being slaved in the DR. Here you can read seven stories that will open your eyes- and also please watch the video at the end of this post.


Negros who want to be Blancos... or Latinos

Sammy Sosa is not the only Black person who speaks Spanish who wants to be White. In a world of White privilege, many Black and Brown people want to pass as Whites and that is why they call themselves Latinos or Hispanics, that is why they dye their hair, they spend so much money in plastic surgery and they deny their true heritage.

These photos are of Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), an Afro Puerto Rican woman who also wants to look Latina, she wants to pass as White:


The disease of self racism makes our peoples do horrible things to our own communities. This video shows the case of a Dominican man of Haitian heritage, being denied the Dominican Republic citizenship because he is dark-skinned. Imagine... this is the kind of racism that Sammy Sosa had to face while growing up:

The Sammy Sosa case leads me to another: Congresswomen Loretta Sanchez and Linda Sanchez, the Democrat sisters from California who spend tons of money and time trying to hide their Native Mexican roots:

Looking White is looking powerful
Photo OC Register

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Lou Dobbs Forced to Leave CNN while 1,200 Undocumented Workers got Fired and Immigrant Woman sues MD Sheriff - Immigration Reform anyone?

This is just great, Lou Dobbs has quit his post at CNN, after a public outrage over his racist and hateful remarks on undocumented immigrants.

Photo by Standing FIRM

CNN is considered the most viewed TV news station in the United States and perhaps in the world, and it's faced a lot of protests before and after the "Latino in America" series which were intended to attract more Native, Black and White viewers of Latin American heritage.

Lou Dobbs is a well known voice for the views of radical, conservative and racist right-wing anti-immigrant groups in the U.S., who oppose any kind of immigration legislation reform.

For about 27 years Dobbs has been part of CNN, from 1980 to 1999 and then from 2001 to last night, his show was filled with a hateful and divisive speech based on racist and xenophobic views and false statements. CNN will replace Dobbs with John King, another CNN talk host who is known for his neutrality, unlike Dobbs.

The fall of Lou Dobbs is indeed a triumph of online activists like BastaDobbs, civil rights advocates like the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a result of an increasing pressure from the public opinion, all of who demanded for CNN to fire Lou Dobbs. Apparently Dobbs was forced to leave after disagreements with the news' station management. A month ago I interviewed Favianna Rodriguez of BastaDobbs.com and this is what she said:

Today could be a day of celebration, but unfortunately we hear some sad news as 1,200 undocumented workers were fired in Minneapolis because they failed to prove their legal status in this country. The workers were fired from ABM, one of the biggest cleaning services companies in the country, reported $3.6 billion in profits in 2008 and it was forced by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to check on its employees' immigration status and work documents.

Now if you think becoming a U.S. citizen is easy, think again. It's a very expensive and tedious process that most undocumented workers can't afford as right now. Even those who follow the law are suffering from an obsolete and broken system.

For instance, in California a U.S. District Court has ordered the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to finally expedite citizenship applications of hundreds of documented immigrants, which were stuck in a bureaucratic process that had them waiting for years without much hope.

Without Immigration Reform in sight and with such a bad economy in the country, it's really bad when thousands of families have been left jobless and condemned to poverty, because of an obsolete immigration legislation, worsened by the 287g Program which allows local police to commit human rights violations.

CNN also reports that an Indigenous woman from El Salvador is suing the sheriff's office in Frederick County, Maryland after she was "unconstitutionally interrogated and detained last year because of her [Native American] ethnicity." The DC-based non profits CASA de Maryland and LatinoJustice PRLDE are backing the immigrant woman in this case.

Yes, the defeat of Lou Dobbs is truly a victory for immigration reform advocacy in the media, but it means little when the political leadership in this country is not taking action towards a real immigration reform. The way how undocumented workers are being treated by the Obama administration confirms this sad panorama.

Having the power to stop deportations and raids, president Obama is doing the opposite by enforcing current obsolete laws, allowing for thousands of workers to be fired around the country. Though president Obama promised to introduce legislation for an Immigration Reform in his first year in power, but in the 2008 fiscal year more undocumented workers have been deported than in the last year of the Bush administration.

Talk about change. Dobbs have been fired, now will president Obama fire DHS Janet Napolitano?



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Yoani Sanchez I don't believe a thing you write

More of the Yoani Sanchez drama. Now the Cuban blogger -praised by right wing Miami Cubans- is accusing the government of Cuba of sending thugs to beat her up, to prevent her from attending a rally. Hmmm...

Yoani Sanchez in the comfortable apartment she received from the Cuban government for free. Photos by OpinionNoticias

It sounds bad, but Sanchez hasn't even posted a photo of her injuries or any other proofs of the attack, more importantly how can she know her attackers were members of the Cuban government?

Sanchez has posted a summary of what she said happened to her, this is the way she ends the post:

We were left aching, lying in a street in Timba, a woman approached, “What has happened?”… “A kidnapping,” I managed to say. We cried in each others arms in the middle of the sidewalk, thinking about Teo, for God’s sake how am I going to explain all these bruises. How am I going to tell him that we live in a country where this can happen, how will I look at him and tell him that his mother, for writing a blog and putting her opinions in kilobytes, has been beaten up on a public street. How to describe the despotic faces of those who forced us into that car, their enjoyment that I could see as they beat us, their lifting my skirt as they dragged me half naked to the car.

Does this description sound reliable to you? Not to me. It's hard to trust someone who only complains about the failures of the Cuban government system -what society is perfect anyways- but remains totally silent about the abuses of the U.S. blockade which forces Cuban people into extreme poverty. Yoani doesn't protest about the Cuban unfairly imprisoned in the U.S., or the extreme poverty that thousands of Cuban exiles suffer in cities of the U.S. and other countries of the Americas, and other important issues.

Cuba is not a perfect society but it has some good things, including the completely free educational system that has benefited Yoani Sanchez. It's obvious to me that all the awards and sponsorship she gets are coming from Miami and Madrid, especially from anti-Castro groups.

You see, Yoani Sanchez likes to victimize herself as a martyr suffering from a cruel persecution. She has created an image that allows her to get about 500,000 hits a day (?) and supporters call her "the voice of Cuban dissidents". She's been praised by many receiving awards, money, and all kind of favorable propaganda.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that all types of violence must be protested, and no one should be intimidated by their ideas or opinions or what they write in their blog. But I just wonder why would the Cuban government send thugs to beat up a group of biased bloggers? Who wins from this? This makes no sense, unless this is just another publicity scheme to benefit the image of Yoani Sanchez. It's working only for those who refuse to see all sides of her stories.



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Racism in Mexican TV: mockery of African Student and a Native Woman is presented as Comedy [VIDEOS]

This video shows a television "comedy" show produced in Mexico, and its content is proof of the deep racism that exists in Mexican society today. This show like most television programs in Mexico, was produced by white people, mostly Hispanics and other European descendants.

Please be aware, this video is very offensive. I'm posting the videos to bring awareness of the deep racism in the Hispanic media against Black and Brown peoples.


Most television companies in Mexico and Latin America are owned by racist groups. A white supremacist mentality runs this media garbage. Even though most of our peoples from Mexico to Chile are Native Americans and Blacks.

TV shows like in these videos portray Black and Native peoples (African and Indigenous) in very demeaning and offensive ways. In this case, they show an African student as a monkey, while making fun of his skin color and facial features.

Notice the teacher who is dressed as a Native Maya woman, in the sitcom she is an old angry woman. The students are mostly white -they try- and they are supposed to be rich students. This TV program is broadcast in the United States by Galavision and Univision channels:

La Escuelita VIP

This show is titled "The Little VIP School" and it's produced by Galavision, a subsidiary of Televisa, the media giant that controls most of Mexican television, and which is the biggest provider of programs for U.S. owned and based TV channels Univision and Telemundo.

La Escuelita VIP is produced and directed by a racist Mexican actor, Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo, a white man of Hispanic heritage who is renowned as one of the most popular theater and film actors and directors in Mexico.

According to the his biography at Televisa's website, Jorge Ortiz de Pinedo was honored in 1999 the U.S. by president Bill Clinton. He is the tall student with a mustache and a hat on.

Photo by Galavision

Mexican media doesn't represent all Mexican people, that is important to clarify. Televisa and other Mexican media corporations are owned by whites, mostly Hispanics and other European and Arab descendants.

Not all whites in Mexico are this racist, but racism is so deep in Latin America that many people in Mexico don't see anything wrong with this kind of crap.

Children in the U.S. watch this racist show thanks to Univision and Galavision. So our children are learning that is alright to discriminate our own communities, destroying their self esteem.

What are the "Hispanic" civil rights organizations in the U.S. saying about this brutal show of racism? Nothing that I am aware of. Just imagine that some U.S. white-owned TV station would present Blacks and Brown people in this offensive way. Would this be allowed?

Actually, Televisa, Globovision, Univision, Telemundo and all the TV channels in Spanish with licenses in the U.S. are owned by white people.

The racism that Hispanics (white European descendants) promote against Indigenous and Afro descendants must end. That is why the U.S. government should stop calling us Hispanics, when in reality we are Native and Black peoples who speak Spanish. We don't need to support the same racist people who deny our own existence and make fun of our peoples with their racist media.

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Restoring Human Rights and Democracy in Honduras: Resistance leaders Bertha Oliva and Jessica Sanchez will speak at Busboys and Poets in DC

Bertha Olivas. Photo by www.frontlinedefenders.org

This week two Honduran leaders, Bertha Oliva and Jessica Sanchez will pay a special visit to Washington, DC, to expose the human rights crisis of Honduras at the OAS Inter-American Human Rights Commission, possibly to meet with Congress members and with the Obama administration. Thanks to local non-profits, you can meet them in person and hear their personal testimonies:

Restoring Human Rights and Democracy in Honduras:
An evening with Bertha Oliva and Jessica Sanchez at Busboys & Poets

Thursday November 5, 2009
7:00 PM

Busboys & Poets
Langston Room
2021 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

See Map
U Street or Dupont Circle Metro stations

More details about the event and a brief biography of the guests:

The Quixote Center, Center for Economic and Policy Research and Just Associates present:

Restoring human rights and democracy in Honduras: An evening with Bertha Oliva and Jessica Sanchez at Busboys and Poets

Please join us for an evening with two leading voices of the movement of resistance to the coup regime that took power in Honduras on June 28th:

- Bertha Oliva, founder of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras and a key figure in the Latin American human rights movement

- Jessica Sanchez, of the National Alliance of Honduran Feminists in Resistance

Bertha and Oliva will discuss the dramatic human rights situation in Honduras, the broad-based movement of resistance to the June 28 coup and the implications of the tentative settlement reached on October 29.

Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, will introduce the event.

About the speakers:

• Bertha Oliva: her husband, professor Thomas Nativí was "disappeared" in 1981, during the period when the death squads were active under Honduras' military dictatorship. She founded the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras (COFADEH) together with other women who lost their loved ones, in order to seek justice and compensation for the families of the hundreds of dissidents that were "disappeared" between 1979 and 1989. Bertha has since become an emblematic presence in the Central American human rights movement and today is one of the leading voices of the resistance to the coup that ousted the elected president of Honduras on June 28th. Bertha will be visiting Washington to give a hearing at the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and to present her and to discuss the human rights situation in Honduras with U.S. administration officials and policy makers.

• Jessica Mariela Sanchez, Honduran women's rights advocate and journalist, is in Washington, DC representing the national alliance of Honduran Feminists in Resistance. She served as Director of the Gender and Civil Society Unit in the Access to Justice Project of the Honduran Supreme Court for four years, founded the Honduran network Women of Comitzahual, and currently undertakes legal research for UNIFEM, UNDP and the ILO. In August of this year, Ms Sanchez joined an international women's rights fact-finding mission examining the impact of the coup on women's rights, and now participates in the ongoing Feminist Transformation Watch - a joint effort between the Honduran feminists the Mesoamerican Petateras, JASS and Radio Feminista - spotlighting women's perspectives on the crisis.

The coup in Honduras of June 2009 marks a new age in politics of the southern countries of the Americas, and their relations with the United States.

Although it seems that the U.S. government didn't intervene directly in the planning or execution of this coup, but there are strong connections between U.S. interests groups and the corrupt elites that own most of Honduras' land and resources, and most of whom live comfortably in the United States.

President Omaba has called it a coup, but Secretary Clinton and the State Department haven't done it. Some Republican Congress members are in support of the current illegal government, despite of dozens of people being killed during popular protests. Last week an accord was reached thanks to the U.S. diplomacy pressure on the coup president Micheletti and his government.

In fact the coup was planned, financed and is being executed by a group of business owners, military leaders and right-wing politicians organized to oust elect president Manuel Zelaya. The coup represent somehow another negative interference of U.S. corporations in the rule of a small country that have seeing too much political violence for most of its brief history, due to its natural resources and lack of strong civil institutions.

The people of Honduras are organizing themselves to continue a popular resistance movement to bring democracy back to their country, through the restitution of elect president Manuel Zelaya, and future free elections after he complete his mandate by law.

Please watch this video by Real News, including an interview with Bertha Olivas who says "Coup leaders are reviving despotism of the 80s in bid to crush participatory democracy"

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