Libre accepts questionable and partial National Party victory in Honduras

On Tuesday, Honduras' Supreme Court rejected Libre's legal challenges of the November 24th vote that saw the people of Honduras turn out and elect Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party president with 37 percent. The Court dismissed the opposition's motion to challenge the results without comment.

"We won't deny the victory of Juan Orlando, but we will categorize it as a questionable victory and a partial victory," Zelaya told Efe Tuesday after learning of the Supreme Court decision.

Libre, Zelaya said by telephone from his home province of Olancho, will conduct "a constructive opposition inside Congress," where the party will hold 37 seats, behind the National Party's 48.

Hernandez will assume the presidency of a country with the highest murder rate in the world (~85 per 100k if the government actually shared data) and on the verge of bankruptcy. And what do you know, the US recently issued another travel warning for its citizens traveling to Honduras.

The vast majority of serious crimes in Honduras, including those against U.S. citizens, are never solved; of the 50 murders committed against U.S. citizens since 2008, police have only solved two. Members of the Honduran National Police are known to engage in criminal activity, including murder and car theft. The Government of Honduras lacks sufficient resources to properly investigate and prosecute cases, and police often lack vehicles or fuel to respond to calls for assistance. In practice, this means police may take hours to arrive at the scene of a violent crime, or may not respond at all. As a result, criminals operate with a high degree of impunity throughout Honduras. The Honduran government is in the early stages of substantial reforms to its criminal justice institutions.

Transnational criminal organizations also conduct narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout the country, using violence to control drug trafficking routes and carry out criminal activity. Other criminals, acting both individually and in gangs in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and other large cities, commit crimes such as murder, kidnapping, extortion, carjacking, armed robbery, rape, and other aggravated assaults.

Kidnappings and disappearances are an ongoing concern throughout the country as well. Kidnapping affects both the local and expatriate communities, with victims sometimes paying large ransoms for the prospect of release. Kidnapping is believed to be underreported. Since January 1, 2012, four cases of kidnapped U.S. citizens were reported to the U.S. Embassy. The kidnapping victims were all subsequently released.

A US businesswoman and owner of a luxury spa on the beautiful Bay Island of Roatan was found dead a few days ago. However, the murder appears to be a case of domestic abuse as her Honduran husband was arrested in connection with her stabbing.

Guatemala tops femicide list...I guess

We all know Guatemala is a dangerous country, particularly for women. However, using the title Guatemala tops ‘femicide’ list in Central America just isn't really that accurate.

During the past decade, the number of women appearing in these articles has been rapidly increasing – so much so that a recent report found that more femicides occur in Guatemala than in any other country in Central America. A study by human rights organizations across the region found that in the past year 707 women have been murdered in Guatemala, followed by 606 in Honduras and 321 in El Salvador.

What's missing? Population, of course. Guatemala's population is approximately 15.5 million. El Salvador's population is about 6.2 million. And Honduras' population is about 8 million.

So there were about 9 women murdered per 100,000 women in Guatemala (based on an estimated 7.75 million women). There were about 10 women murdered per 100,000 women in El Salvador (based on an estimated 3.1 million women). And there were about 15 women murdered per 100,000 women in Honduras (based on an estimated 4 million women).

When looking at total murders, Guatemala looks like the most violent country among the three. That is why it tops the "femicide" list. However, once population is taken into account, it clearly is not.

And the 707 number is not just homicides but includes other violent deaths. The National Civilian Police reported fewer than 600 murders of women in Guatemala in 2012 (7.75 per 100,000). Don't get me started on the fact that the numbers also show femicide, after peaking in 2009, decreased in Guatemala in 2010, in 2011, and again in 2012. I know that it might be higher this year but that doesn't mean we shouldn't accurately describe the past.

And none of this makes Guatemala a safe place for women...we know that it is not. Being less violent than El Salvador and Honduras should not be the yardstick for measuring insecurity.

Challenging the Guatemalan Patriarchal State through Reforms to Sexual Violence Legislation

Sarah England recently published an article on Protecting a Woman’s Honor or Protecting Her Sexual Freedom? Challenging the Guatemalan Patriarchal State through Reforms to Sexual Violence Legislation in Latin American Perspectives. Here is the abstract in English and Spanish:

The coming of peace in Central America after several decades of civil war and military dictatorships has not resulted in an end to violence. Murder rates have risen to such a degree that these countries are among the most violent in the world. One form of violence that has received a great deal of attention is the murder of women, but many argue that this is only one of many forms of violence that women face on a daily basis. The women’s organizations that have emerged in Guatemala since the end of the civil war have focused on demanding greater political and economic rights for women and laws that recognize violence against women as a crime and improve the mechanisms for investigating and prosecuting it. Two recent laws redefine sex crimes in such a way as to suggest that they should be seen as heinous acts regardless of the woman’s sexual history, character, or age. Though these discursive changes are a triumph, problems with the legal system and the persistence of sexist ideologies have so far limited the effectiveness of these new laws.

La llegada de la paz a Centroamérica tras varias décadas de guerra civil y dictaduras militares no ha puesto fin a la violencia. El índice de asesinatos ha aumentado a tal grado que estos países se encuentran entre los más violentos del mundo. Una forma de violencia que ha recibido mucha atención es el femicidio, pero muchos argumentan que esta es sólo una entre muchas formas de violencia que las mujeres enfrentan a diario. Las organizaciones de mujeres que han surgido en Guatemala desde el fin de la guerra civil se han centrado en demandar mayores derechos políticos y económicos para las mujeres y leyes que reconozcan como delito la violencia contra la mujer, mejorando los mecanismos de investigación y justicia. Dos leyes recientes redefinen los delitos sexuales de tal forma que sugieren que pueden considerarse actos atroces sin importar la edad, carácter o historia sexual de la mujer. Aunque estos cambios discursivos representan un triunfo, los problemas con el sistema legal y la persistencia de ideologías machistas han limitado, hasta ahora, la eficacia de estas nuevas leyes.

Sarah's article is one in a special issue on Violence against Women in Latin America. According to the Coordinadora 25 de Noviembre, murders of women in Guatemala increased over 20 percent during the first ten months of the year compared to 2012.