Final Showdown over the Honduran Institute of Anthropology

It is over a week since we reported that the union of workers employed by the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, or IHAH) was on strike to protest the mismanagement of Virgilio Paredes. In a statement dated November 10, the union notes this is the first time in sixty years that it has taken such a drastic action.

Paredes, we noted, has served as the person in charge of IHAH since being appointed by Myrna Castro, who played the role of head of the secretariat of Culture during the de facto regime ushered in by the June 2009 coup.

Now comes the news from sources in Honduras that they fully expect that a meeting of the Consejo Directivo of the IHAH called for tomorrow will result in the installation of Áfrico Madrid as head of the Consejo, self-designated, "in the name of Lobo".

Áfrico Madrid is the Secretario de Estado en los Despachos de Gobernación y Justicia, a cabinet minister in the government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa. This is the second most powerful cabinet position, after that of external relations.

Virgilio Paredes is a low level bureaucrat with a history of relatively unimportant managerial or consulting positions, now head of a dependency of the Ministry of Culture.

Why would Madrid be mobilized-- apparently at the direct request of the president of Honduras-- to protect Paredes?

Before we answer that question-- and there is, rare for political stories, an answer-- let's start with an update on the controversy.

When the union went on strike, it issued a statement indicting Paredes for his mismanagement. Included was a complaint that he had avoided convening the Consejo Directivo, and thus had impeded the Consejo receiving the report of a special commission looking into his defects as manager.

On November 2, that special commission, composed of three members of the Consejo Directivo, one of them, Doctora Olga Joya, Professor of History at UNAH, a former director of the Institute herself, presented its report.

It is damning.

It upholds the accusations made by the workers of the Institute entirely, concluding that

On the analysis of the documentation provided by both sides it can be inferred that the management by the director was insufficient in many aspects or lacked the required diligence.

In some respects, the commission's report goes further than the complaints by the workers that we previously discussed: it notes that in addition to failing to call meetings of the Consejo Directivo at least monthly, as required by law, Sr. Paredes traveled abroad without permission of the Consejo (in violation of long practice, and they argue, best practice) and has exempted himself from accounting for the costs of these trips. This is the kind of thing normally considered evidence of administrative corruption, not the basis for a defense by the extremely powerful.

More worrisome to us, the commission also found merit in the complaints registered about a failure in carrying out the basic mission of the Institute, to manage, protect, and disseminate information about the cultural patrimony. After interviewing the employees in charge of management of Copan, El Puente, Los Naranjos, and Omoa-- four of the major cultural heritage sites open to the public in the nation-- and the fine anthropology museum in Comayagua, they confirmed through the testimony of those front line employees that Paredes has failed to provide the supplies and funding required for the sites to be properly managed.

The commission cites specific examples. The most egregious: Paredes apparently failed to carry out activities funded to strengthen Lenca traditional artisans, and as a result, had to return almost half a million dollars to a funding agency.

The commission found that Paredes had allowed an agreement to be signed in Copan that violate the fundamental laws governing the management of cultural heritage properties in Honduras. The special commission noted that Paredes had delegated his authority to Señora Erlinda Lanza (whose hiring itself was a subject of complaint, for not following established procedures) to sign the so-called Copan Ruinas 2012 Agreement.

They note "clear arbitrariness and illegalities" in the Copan document, among them the agreement to illegally fire the employee in charge of the Copan archaeological site; changing the law of national patrimony in order to grant to the government of the town direct vote and representation in the Consejo itself (or what seems to be the Consejo, described inaccurately); and a grant of a portion of the income from site visitors to the town, which would, they say, clearly be detrimental to the IHAH.

So now we return to the question we posed above: given that this commission found that Sr. Paredes has indeed failed in his position, why would the authority of the president of the country be mobilized to back him up?

Simple: cronyism.

Or to translate the comments of a Honduran source:

Sr Paredes is  the godson of Pepe (Porfirio Lobo Sosa)... no one in the cabinet is going to move away from the presidential decision to protect him.

What do you give your godchild as a present?

In Honduras, apparently, the entire Cultural Patrimony.

To quote someone calling himself "Zaqueo Alavista" (roughly, Looting Onview), commenting on an article reporting the continuation of the strike in El Heraldo November 5:

In the meeting today there was presented a report about the ominous work of Virgilio Paredes in the IHAH, but Áfrico Madrid threatened everyone with jail if they came to present the said report.

Who is Virgilio Paredes that Africo would make such threats, and who is Africo to go to the extremes of such actions. Why would he defend so much an useless piece of junk?

Whoah, here there should be in play thousands of millions because they are killing themselves to defend a gerentucho (minor league bureaucrat) from an institution of barely 200 employees; they dream of oil, they dream of the treasures from the seabed at Omoa, they dream...

The Copan Agreement

Here is the text of the agreement signed in Copan, described by one of our Honduran colleagues as "a clear attack on the IHAH and the cultural patrimony". We would note that this "agreement", produced on letterhead of the Municipalidad of Copan Ruinas, entirely violates the long established constitutional principles that hold the cultural patrimony of Honduras as a common good of all the people of the country. (Note that "Copan Ruinas" is the name of the town, not simply a reference to the archaeological site; where the latter is intended, we use the English "Ruins of Copan" for the Spanish "Ruinas de Copan".)

Agreement Copan Ruinas 2012

Gathered in an Open Town meeting, in the Municipal Hall of Copan Ruinas, with the goal of reaching agreement over the subject of the sending abroad of archaeological objects from our national patrimony to the city of Pennsylvania, United States, with the participation of the municipal Mayor, the city council, Congressmen, mayors and representatives of nearby towns, the Minister of the Interior and Population as a representative of his Excellency the President of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, the Director of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, Commissioner of Municipal Transparency, brothers from the Maya Chorti, representatives of patronatos, brothers from the rural communities, citizens of Copan Ruinas. After hearing participation during the present Open Town Meeting, in Local and National interest, we agree conjointly, to the following points

1. The immediate firing from the post of Regional Director of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History of Salvador Varela, in light of his being responsible for the lack of communication between IHAH and the municipal government and people of Copan Ruinas.

2. To reform the Ley para la Protección del Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación (decreto 220-97) so that the honorable municipal government and town of Copan Ruinas have direct participation with voice and vote in the Consultation Council which supports IHAH, giving to the communities where the cultural patrimony is found the power and right to manage them, always within the law of the said Patrimony, so that with this [they become] the true protectors of our history.

3. To grant the honorable Municipal Corporation and town of Copan Ruinas the right to name representatives to make an complete inventory of all the archaeological pieces, documents and things of any type which are housed in the CRIA [the archaeological storage of IHAH in Copan], the Archaeological Park, Museums and any other site on the national level.

4. To grant the honorable Municipal Corporation and people of Copan Ruinas the right to name representatives that will be present in any excavation, discovery, or exhibit related to the Patrimony Ruins of Copan, which will give trust with transparency.

5. In light of the proposed law that would grant a percentage of the income from the Archaeological Park, the Ruins of Copan, coming out of an Open Meeting held in 2011, and that the same [law] is in the process of approval by the National Congress, knowing that the committee report is favorable, we ask the constitutional president of the republic, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, to support and favorable approval of the decree and ordering its publication as required by law.

6. To grant the honorable Municipal Corporation and people of Copan Ruinas the right to the sale of tickets, in conformity with the plan presented to the President of the Republic, a plan which comes from brotherhood of the honorable municipal corporation of Antigua, Guatemala and the honorable municipal corporation of Copan Ruinas.

7. To grant the honorable Municipal Corporation and people of Copan Ruinas to name a commission so that the same will be witnesses to the packing, supervision, and shipping of archaeological objects, thus to give faith in the return of all the objects that shall leave for exhibition.

8. Give the honorable Municipal Corporation the authority so that it can invoke the Legal Department of AMHON [so that] that the Ley para la Protección del Patrimonio Cultural (Decreto Legislativo 220-97) shall be reformed in every chapter and article so that the people of Honduras are empowered in their patrimonial historical legacy.

9. Ask the Investigating Prosecutor for legal processes against officials and employees of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History in local, state and national courts, as well as other dependencies of the state.

In witness the honorable municipal Mayor, the honorable Municipal Corporation, the honorable Congressmen, mayors or representatives of the nearby towns, Minister of the Interior and Population in representation of his Excellency President of Honduras Porfirio Lobo Sosa, Director of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, municipal commissioner of transparency, brothers representatives of the Maya Chorti, represenatives of the patronatos, brothers of the rural community boards, citizens of Copan Ruinas, we proceed to the signing of the present accord.

Given in the city of Copan Ruinas, on the twenty-sixth day of the month of February of the year two thousand twelve.

[the signatures of Mayor Helmy Rene Giacoman Franco, and of Africo Madrid, follow]
[below this is the signature and seal of Julio Cesar Gámez, interim representative of the Department of Copan in Congress]
[Below this follow the names of sixteen others, not identified to office]

Not Too Sexy After All

Two days ago, the censorship commission of the Ministry of the Interior ruled that the Ricky Martin concert on October 16th would potentially damage the mental health of Honduras's youth and they therefore set age restrictions on who could attend.

Porfirio Lobo Sosa returned to Honduras Saturday and overruled them. Anyone may attend the concert without respect to age.

This has, all along, been a battle between the conservative religious movements of Honduras, of which Interior Minister Áfrico Madrid is a member, and human rights, as recognized by Honduran law and international treaties signed by Honduras.

Lobo Sosa first intervened when Madrid made noises like he was considering not giving Ricky Martin a visa to enter Honduras to perform the concert. At that point Lobo Sosa ordered that Martin be admitted saying that anything less would be a violation of Martin's human rights.

Now he's made it clear that the age restrictions were wrong as well.

So Ricky Martin is just sexy enough for all of Honduras to enjoy the show.

Too Gay For Honduras

I was frankly amazed to read in Thursday's El Heraldo that Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop singer who is openly gay, might be denied a visa to enter Honduras and give a concert, solely because he's gay.

None the less, that's more or less what Áfrico Madrid, Interior Minister, (the man who banned Halloween in Honduras) told El Heraldo. In an interview he said that he had received pressure, though no written requests, from the church organizations of Honduras to deny him a visa because he was a bad example for families in Honduras. Madrid told El Heraldo:

"It is through the departmental rules that we will analyze the request they presented to hold the event and in all cases it is the management, based on the convenience and to safeguard the moral and ethical principles of our society, that will authorize or not the event."

"Representatives of the Christian churches, Evangelical and Catholic of Honduras, have asked that we not authorize the permission because he is not a good family example,....this is not the type of family that the laws of Honduras and Honduran society want to construct and promote in the young and the rest of the population."

Ricky Martin, openly gay since 2010, lives with his two children and his partner.

Just to be clear, Honduras cannot legally deny a person admission just because they are gay. As Sandra Ponce was forced to point out today in response to Áfrico Madrid's insanity, to deny him entrance would be a violation of the Honduran constitution, human rights, and international treaties to which Honduras is signatory.

But the fine points of law, like the Honduran constitution and human rights, often seem to be beyond the grasp of Áfrico Madrid.

Religious Freedom

The Interior Minister, Áfrico Madrid, has closed down the facilities of Creciendo en Gracia in Tegucigalpa. Creciendo en Gracia is a cult, headquartered in Miami, Florida. The founder, José Luis De Jesús Miranda, believes he is "the man Jesus Christ" and urges his supporters to tattoo "666" on their bodies.

On December 29 this year Creciendo en Gracia in Tegucigalpa held a public tatooing event, in which members got 666 tattooed on their arms, necks, foreheads, etc. On December 31, Áfrico Madrid and the National Police locked up the cult's facilities in Tegucigalpa.

This is not the cult's first run in with the law in Honduras. In 2009, the de facto regime placed a migratory alert so that the cult leader, José Luis De Jesús Miranda, still cannot enter Honduras.

Madrid alleges that the cult is operating under the wrong kind of paperwork, eg, they filed as a mercantile association, a business. That's not surprising since that's how they are organized in the US as well. They don't seek a tax exempt status and are happy to pay taxes. Its worth noting the cult has been operating in Honduras since 1994 and has centers in Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, and Santa Barbara.

Madrid says they need to file different paperwork to operate as a church. However, Madrid also said they were closed down by order of the Fiscal de Menores (Children's Prosecutor) who was concerned because they had tattooed children in their public event on the 29th, not withstanding the declarations of the cult leader in Honduras, Hector Fonseca, who said that the children were tattooed only with the permission of their parents.

Áfrico Madrid, the Interior Minister who previously banned Halloween celebrations, may need to read his constitution again. Article 77 of the Honduran constitution guarantees free exercise of any religion or belief as long as it does not contravene the public order or laws of Honduras.

Madrid failed to identify any law that had been broken by the cult that would justify shutting them down, and since they've been operating under the existing paperwork since 1994, it would appear that Madrid is once again carrying out his own religious agenda, in violation of the Honduran constitution.

When Citizens Aren't Equal

Áfrico Madrid, the Honduran Foreign Minister says naturalized citizens cannot engage in political activity. We wonder what constitution and set of laws he's been reading. His position would seem to violate the Honduran constitution and Ley de Migración y Extranjeria (Decreto 208-2003).

First to what Madrid told La Tribuna.

"The country is not a field in which the foreigners can do what they want and for this we are going to apply the screws [to them]...."
"The constitution of the Republic and the Ley de Migración y Extranjería facilitate evaluation of those persons who have acquired naturalization, including suspending and deporting from the country, this is a power the State has."

Well, yes that is a power the State has, but only under carefully defined circumstances as we will see below.

The only named individual to be threatened is Federico Alvarez, a Costa Rican citizen, former president of the Central American Development Bank, and 40 year resident of Honduras. During the de facto regime, Michelletti got Congress to pass a bill giving him naturalized citizenship. But Madrid, and Porfirio Lobo Sosa, claim that Alvarez and five "foreigners" are targeted for expulsion because of political activity.

Remind anyone of the excuse Micheletti's Foreign Minister, Oscar Matute, used to expell Father Andres Tamayo?

What they did then appeared to us at the time to be without merit in Honduran law.

This looks to us like more of the same creative fabrication of Honduran law.

Now in Federico Alvarez's case, Madrid may have a leg to stand on, if, as claimed, Alvarez did not complete the application process for naturalization. Honduran law is clear. Foreigners may not engage in politics in Honduras. But, once you're naturalized, a citizen can engage in politics. The things you, as a naturalized citizen cannot do are spelled out in the Honduran constitution.

A naturalized citizen is a full citizen according to the constitution of Honduras, except for certain clearly spelled out specific things in the constitution.

Article 26 says a naturalized citizen of Honduras cannot:

- Perform official acts on behalf of the Honduran government in your birth country.

Article 42 establishes the grounds by which you can lose citizenship.

- Supporting an enemy of Honduras in a time of war.
- Giving support to a foreigner or foreign government against the government of Honduras.
- To act politically for a foreign government or military, without the permission of Congress.
- by restricting the freedom to vote, adulterate ballots, or employing fraudulent means to circumvent the popular will.
- by supporting re-election of the President of the Republic.
- by, as a naturalized citizen, residing more than 2 years outside of Honduras.

Article 42 goes on to state that for the first two offenses, Congress must issue a law revoking citizenship. For next two, the Executive must issue a decree, and for the last two, the Executive must issue a decree, and there must have been a legal condemnation in the appropriate judicial court.

Decreto 345-2002 (ratified by Decreto 31-2003) establishes that you lose your naturalization if you

(1) accept citizenship in another country
(2) your naturalization letter is revoked for legal reasons.

The Ley de Migración y Extraneria establishes in Article 65 the following reasons a naturalized citizen can lose their citizenship.

(1) By becoming a naturalized citizen in another country
(2) By the cancellation of your naturalization papers
(3) when justified by serious reasons which show the citizen unworthy of Honduran nationality.
(4) when they made a false declaration to aquire citizenship.

That's it.

There's nothing there about a naturalized citizen not participating in the political life of the country. That would make them second class citizens, not something the Honduran constitution contemplates.

An Official "NO" to Halloween

"I take advantage [of this] to issue a call to all the population, especially the Christian population, so that they will prevent their children from participating in celebratory events that are not part of the Honduran nationality nor of our culture, like the satanic festival of Halloween; this is not part of our culture, nor of the beliefs and traditions of our country."

So says Áfrico Madrid, Minister of the Interior and Population. In a statement to the press covered in El Heraldo, Madrid said Honduras would not allow foreigners into the country who were planning to carry out satanic rituals during Halloween. Madrid said

"these are charlatans, defrauders who take advantage of the innocence of the people or their superstitious beliefs."

Using the law of public good, mayors were instructed to stop any such activities that have as a goal defrauding the public.

All of this because, again according to El Heraldo, a cemetery worker in Santa Barbara found what he said were the remains of a satanic ritual on a grave when he came to work a few mornings ago: photographs, blood, knives, cigars, and crosses made of corn. This, El Heraldo stated, was evidence that wizards and witches from different countries had met in the Santa Barbara cemetery to hold diabolical rituals. Only Jorge Canahauti's newspapers carried these two stories.

We are reminded that Santa Barbara was also the setting for the famous novel by Ramon Amaya Amador called Los Brujos de Ilamatepque ("The Sorcerers of Ilamatepeque") about two former soldiers of Francisco Morazan, the brothers Cipriano and Doroteo Cano, who are accused by the oligarchy in Santa Barbara of being practitioners of black magic and are killed by a firing squad. The story is a fictionalized account of a historical event documented by Rubén Angel Rosas in his book Tradicciones Hondureñas. The novel's exploration of the conflict between unthinking suspicion of new ideas and a kind of conservative traditionalism seems all too pertinent.

Halloween itself is a distinctly North American celebration, of course, and in that sense, it would not be surprising if a nationalist call were made to refrain from this foreign celebration. Most countries in Latin America celebrate the Day of the Dead (November 2) and All Saints Day (November 1), which are Roman Catholic holidays. During this period people will clean up cemeteries and visit the graves of loved ones. But what is being called for in Honduras is less a return to national traditions and more another blurring of the lines between secular practices, religion, and the conservative politics that guided the coup.

Making it much clearer what is at stake here, the presidential advisor on religion, Carlos Portillo, said that the government was preoccupied with the values of the country and would be organizing events for people to pray to support the Armed Forces of Honduras at various locations around the country. Portillo also announced an evangelical rally (he called it a crusade) to be held the 31 of October in Tegucigalpa. So, no satanic rituals: just the perversion of religion in the service of a kind of jingoistic patriotism.