Zelya Returns and other unfinished business...

Right now, I'm on my own sitting in the lobby of hotel CADETUR in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Tonight is the eve of Mel Zelya's return after a constitutional crisis and a coup removed him from office on June 28th, 2009. After a few years of relative silence, the charges against Zelya were officially dropped on May 2nd 2011, sparking everyone in the country to speculate about his possible return. The co-signing of an accord with "Pepe' Lobo on May 22nd made his hypothetical return imminent. The street-vendors have long since started to cash in on the hype by selling laminated 1000 Lempira bills with his face on it.

Members of the FNRP and other groups from throughout Honduran society will be descending on the capital. Some will be their supporting Zelya, others supporting there to support the demands for a Constituyente, others will denounce his return aswell. And there will be others like myself, simply there to observe the proceedings.

Protests after the coup in 2009

To bring anyone who cares about what I've spent the past two weeks...

I've traveling to some hot-spots within the country with Karen Spring (Right's Action, http://www.rightsaction.org/) and some classmates and peers (Syndicateffect). We have visited..

...The COFADEH office, and a talk with Adrienne Pine

...The hunger-striking teachers in Tugucigalpa,

protesting the loss of IMPREMA through corruption.

...One of many disenfranchised Garifuna communities

near Trujillo. Then we followed up with OFRANEH.

...A natural hot-spring, which was near...

...The communities affected by mining around El Porvenir...

...and campesinos locked in a a deadly struggle for land

in Guadalupe Carne. R.I.P. Sixto Ramos May 18th, 2011...

[Yes, it's his truck is pictured above]

In just under two weeks, we covered a few issues in depth, and have emerged with broader understanding of the country's history and current political situation, although the surface has only been scratched.

Tomorrow should be interesting, as I plan to meet with a couple of the people that I have had the privilege of talking to during my stay in Honduras, but this time...on the streets of Tegucigalpa!

As to the two months of missed info about Guatemala. I will share my reflections on the events and experiences that worth sharing. It won't be a chronicle of the events by any means, but it should be a bit more thought provoking.

Another post coming tomorrow...