Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!philmtl!philabs!ccnysci!decwrl!labrea.stanford.edu!cdp!ni!criesdif@mtxinu.COM From: decwrl!labrea.stanford.edu!cdp!ni!criesdif@mtxinu.COM Newsgroups: misc.headlines.unitex Subject: Honduras: Army and Parties Message-ID: <3211@ccnysci.UUCP> Date: 25 Sep 89 11:50:08 GMT Sender: patth@ccnysci.UUCP Lines: 217 Approved: patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu /* Written 3:46 pm Sep 23, 1989 by criesdif in ni:ni.centam-elect */ /* ---------- "Honduras: Army and Parties" ---------- */ ************* ROLE OF ARMED FORCES CHRONOLOGY 1954.- Modernization begins with the first Constitutional Law and the agreement with the US on military aid. The Secretary of War is created, answerable to the President and in charge of army, navy, and air forces. 1956.- Coup. 1957.- The Armed Forces High Command is created and becomes autonomous from civic power. 1963.- Coup. 1970.- The Supreme Council for National Defence is created with 19 members, all of them military. 1972.- Coup. 1975.- The Supreme Council becomes a decisive body and its members unite democratically against the government of General Lopez Arellano. 1977.- The Supreme Council becomes hierarchical once more and all lieutenant-colonels are expelled. 1978.- Coup. 1980.- The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (COSUFFAA) is created with 45 members. 1984.- The COSUFFAA is reduced to 21 members, with a Junta of Commanders of 8 members. 1985.- The COSUFFAA regroups with 47 members. 1987.- Internal crisis due to the election of Humberto Regalado. CHARACTERISTICS Corporativism and non-institutionalism. From 1957 onwards, the Armed Forces obtain autonomy from executive power, due to the creation of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, a corporative body which makes all the decisions within the institution, separate from the president and the cabinet. From 1963 onwards, the Armed Forces violate institutional legality by a series of coups. >From 1972, the army starts controlling the key mechanisms of the country, in economy, planning, and foreign policy, imposing their own project independent of traditional politicians. Despite the fact that the army returned formal control of the political process and public administration to civilians, they still run internal affairs, and therefore the election of the Chief of the Armed Forces, which should be done by Congress following a nomination by COSUFFAA, is done directly from within the military body, violating the Constitution and the Constitutional Law of the Armed Forces. In May 1985, due to an institutional crisis provoked by President Suazo Cordova, the Armed Forces once again impose a political system, defining the mechanisms for the 1985 elections. Conflicts within. The different graduating classes of the Francisco Morazan Military Academy since 1963 attempt to control the command of the Armed Forces or the COSUFFAA. In 1975 the COSUFFAA is extended to support the army's strong role in public administration, but two years later all lieutenant- colonels are expelled. In 1980, it is extended once more under General Alvarez, but four years later the officers from the 6th and 7th graduation depose Grl. Alvarez and name General Walter Lopez as Chief of the Armed Forces. In 1986 General Humberto Regalado is named, but his renaming for a second term provokes a military rebellion. At the moment, Regalado maintains his position by moving against those officers who may oppose him. THE HONDURAN POLITICAL PARTIES THE NATIONAL PARTY (PN) Founded in 1919 as a split from the Liberal Party, opposing Morazan's Central Americanist tendencies. It represents the interests of the latifundist and military sectors. This party organizes the first professional army. Traditionally identified with the more conservative interests of Honduran society. As of 1963, it becomes the civilian component of the military governments. In the recent electoral process the party was divided into two sections, when Leonardo Rafael Callejas, a technocrat who worked in planning with the military governments in the 70's, became leader. Later, General Alvarez is put in charge of coordinating the participation of unionist and corporativist movements for APRHO. In the 1985 campaign he reappears in a new, non- traditional business export sector and a new technocracy of the "Taiwanese model". Callejas represents a current of economic "neo-liberal" thought which confronts the rural bossist mentality of earlier leaders. With strong propaganda ($6 million), he obtains the most votes. He replaces the ideology of Ricardo Zuniga, traditional leader of the party and military advisor. Later he makes a pact with Azcona and gains control of the electoral bodies and the Court of Justice, and thanks to this he manages to dominate in the party presidency and nominates himself presidential candidate. Zuniga's ideas are practically removed from the party. Since 1985 Callejas has been searching for "ideological shade" under which to shelter his neo-liberal ideas. In 1986 he initiates an agreement between the PN and the Christian Democratic International. After that he approaches the Democratic International Union (of social-democratic tendencies), favoring a visit of its leaders to the country. Lately, Callejas has been claiming his party stands for the genuine values of liberalism, basing this on the 1919 split and accusing the Liberal Party of betraying them. In the last PN convention only 100,000 voters turned up out of the expected 500,000, and rivals accused him of fraud for claiming the presidency of the party and electoral nomination. LIBERAL PARTY (PL) Emerged in 1891, representing liberal capitalism and foreign investment. Initially its members are the business class linked to foreign capital. After presiding various reformist governments in the 50's and 60's, it loses power after the 1963 coup and does not win it back for another 17 years. When it reappears, it has three internal tendencies: The Liberal Roderist Movement, founded by Modesto Rodas Alvarado (who died in 1980), which represents a conservative turn after the previous experiences. It emerges in the 60's founded by Suazo Cordova. The People's Liberal Alliance is created in 1977 by the progressive currents of liberal industrialists and bankers from the north of the country. The M-LIDER movement of Carlos Reina is a split from ALIPO in 1977, which is looking for a more social-democratic ideology within the ranks of the PL. Suazo Cordova's maneuvers and the tendencies existing in the PL mean that four candidates are present at the '85 elections. Azcona wins, having left the Roderist current to ally itself with ALIPO, and Suazo Cordova's candidate, Mejia Arellano, former minister of government who controlled the organization of the party, takes second place. In third place is Bu Gin, the representative for Roderism, and last, with only 43,373 votes, the social-democratic tendency's candidate. Under Azcona's presidency, another internal current emerges headed by Carlos Orbin Montoya, who obtained 27.2% of votes in the last convention. The same convention, however, is won by Carlos Flores Facusse, who represents the Roderists and has been supported since 1985 by Suazo Cordova, obtaining 35.5% of internal votes. ALIPO's candidate was Ramon Villeda, who only received 10.4% of the votes. Carlos Reina of the M-LIDER obtained 168,415 votes, which is a surprising result considering his total of only 43,373 votes in the 1985 presidential elections. During Azcona Hoyo's term as president, the Honduran Liberal Party ends up presiding the Liberal Federation of Central America and the Caribbean, which is formed by El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras, and is patronized by the Frederich Naumann Organization. The convention for the election of a presidential candidate got 614,312 votes (78% of the electorate) and nominated Carlos Flores Facusse. The presidential candidate for the '90-'94 term is the owner of "La Tribuna" newspaper and nephew of Miguel Facusse, owner of the Galaxia investment group and principal economic advisor for president Suazo Cordova. Under Azcona's rule the financial scandals of the Galaxia Group since the '70's with the National Investment Corporation were brought into the open and Miguel Facusse became one of the most attacked personalities in the country. Carlos Flores was presidential Secretary and Liberal deputy with Suazo Cordova. HONDURAN CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY Born in 1968, its members are from reformist sectors of the petit bourgeoisie who want to reach the popular sectors. They define themselves as social-christians and are considered the most progressive of Central America's Christian Democratic parties. Their presidential candidate for 1985 was Hernan Corrales Padilla, founder of the party who manages to double the party's votes (18,000 in 1980, 30,173 in 1985), partly by capitalizing on the parliamentary opposition work of deputy Efrain Diaz Arrivillaga. He becomes president of the party and presidential candidate in 1988, displacing more conservative sectors of the party. He has proposed political union with the PINU. INNOVATION AND UNITY PARTY (PINU) Created in 1969 and representing a sector of the reformist middle classes which emerged with the capitalist development of the country. It stands for certain liberal ideologies in economics and politics. Their candidate in 1985 was Enrique Aguilar Cerrato, Minister of Health in several previous governments. But the electoral results bring them down from 3.6% in 1980 to 1.5% in 1985. In 1986 the Social-democratic Movement emerges headed by German Leitzelar, who immediately proposes that they ally with the Socialist International. At the same time, certain currents emerge within the M-LIDER which suggest separation from the Liberal party and the construction of their own social-democratic strategy, and which were stopped when Carlos Roberto Reina obtained 24% in the PL's internal convention and his brother Jorge Arturo (The other leader of M-LIDER) allied himself with Montoya's liberal current. At the approach of the 1989 elections the PINU-Social- democrat Union is formed in 1988, and it joined with the Honduran Social-democrat Party founded by Jorge Illescas Oliva. Both of them renominate Enrique Aguilar Cerrato as presidential candidate for 1989. --- Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726 patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733 patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud) -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-