Honduras Coup and Electoral Fraud Update November 2013

November 2013 – Honduras coup (and now electoral fraud) update

On 24/11/13, the presidential election happened again in Honduras.

Fraud was already written in the May 2011 Cartagena Agreement – a whitewashing instrument facilitated by the Colombian and Venezuelan presidents of that time, that in return for Zelaya's return, swapped the advances in international relations, cooperation, Organisation of American States recognition – all blocks put in place because of the illegitimate coup regime and human rights violations and impunity – none of which ever got addressed and continue to be worse everyday. Fraud – announcing as the winner preferred by the elite rather than the voted for winner - was easier to pull of as a whitewash option.

Elections were sold as the only available exit from the crisis – the media made out presidential candidates as national heros who will fix everything, using discourse of dialogue, peace, and voice of church and referring to international validation.

Counting was never part of the plan in deciding the winner. TSE electoral commission announced it would give results just 1 hour and 40 minutes after the voting centres close.

Initially the counts were in favour of Libre candidate Xiomara Castro – Libre being the electoral arm of FNRP. Within an hour of Radio Globo announced that Xiomara Castro was winning at 7.44pm (by 6 points, 30.6% Libre, 25% National), TSE then announced at 8.35pm that JOH was winning. Channel 11 ended up announcing JOH won by 6 points. TSE prepared the ground to ensure monopoly and control on announcing results and winner, by trying to impose a pact on medias critical of the coup to not announce count progress before 7pm, though that were not to apply to TSE. TSE also called on international observers to not 'divulge any results, or take sides...or watch at the tables'. In the end, TSE announced winner after counting 54% of votes. Final official announcements were: 34.19% (1,131,516 votes) for JOH, 28.83% (885,260 votes) for Castro

More signs of fraud:

Some of the dead voted, and some who were alive were recordedly dead and not given the right to vote – it had been known for sometime that this would repeat, but the electoral roll was not cleaned up – CESPAD documented at least 310 cases of dead persons on the roll.

Armed forces contracted (paying about $2 million to) Latin Com to interfere and hack transmissions of electoral results in favour of National Party. The two weeks job including calls interception, interference of radio and tv chains, alternation of submarine cable to influence communications, as the counting happens and in preparation for it. The same Latincom (US company) was contracted by Micheletti's armed forces to obstaculise medias opposed to the coup in 2009.

Irregularities with ID cards and table representative credentials were detected including the National Party giving ID cards to salvadoreans living in border communities to vote for JOH, evidence of markets of table representative credentials and of lending of IDS

Votes were bought. The most blatant is the use by National Party of Bono 10,000 through its giving out of the cachureco prepaid discount card just before the election – it is a government program created and financed (loan) by international development banks in 2010, for women in extreme poverty to send their children to school everyday. The cards were given out with the presumption that cardholders vote for JOH – the back of the card identifies cardholders as National Party Sympathisers. There have also been reports of offers of employment in exchange for votes, and door-to-door vote buying offer – in Zacate Grande for example.

More than 800,000 – 12% of votes have been manipulated according to evidence and investigations by Libre members. They showed that of 14,593 counting documents (acts) representing 214,575 votes, 82,301 were falsely counted in favour of National, and others 55,720 that were meant to be fore Libre, 34,184 meant for PAC, 29,063 meant for Liberal, didn't. Many acts transmitted by TSE did not match up with originals table representatives received in the numbers and signatures. Voting turnout average was 61%, but the sites where JOH won, there is an inflated 'turnout' of 70-85%. Of 14,583 acts, at least 2805 were not transmitted to parties nor published by TSE on website. 2134 other acts representing 883,140 votes went blank – they were sent for 'special scrutiny' and the 'results summary' appeared to be zero and could not be evaluated.

There are 3061 farmers of CNTC who could not vote because of pending legal actions/charges against them related to their participation in land struggle

Not to forget the context of 229 political assassinations recorded during the Lobo regime, 39 murders and 6 attempts against party political opposition – mostly of Libre, and the assassinations of Maria Pineda and Julio Araujo the night before the election.

Militarised election. To persecute, raid, intimidate, sow terror, and as part of his electoral campaign to provide 'security', JOH implemented Public Order Military Police in the major cities of Honduras. The military also occupied alternative medias critical of the coup and fraud in the midnight hours before the election.

Consequences of having Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) as the defacto president are increased militarisation and privatisation, accroding to expert Leticia Salomon, and promises of JOH himself and his track record. He promised to extend Public Order Military Police which has so far been active in raiding homes of activists, repressing protests and sowing terror in the cities. He also proposes to further privatise national goods and resources, in the name of supposeably generating 800,000 new jobs during his term. His track record as congress president?

Propelling foundamental law of education (privatisation), law of promotion of development and reconversion of public debt (concessioning natural resources), and temporary and casualisation labour laws. He also promoted public private alliances, new mining law, antiterrorism law, communications intervention law, and when his model cities law was blocked by 4 judges because the law was unconstitutional, his party fired the judges and passed the law

While human rights organisations condemned the fraud, states and states' organisations have pulled out white paintbrushes to say this 2013 election was all good. Reports that raised concerns and grave condemnations about the irregularities and violations in this election came from FIDH international human rights mission, International Union Mission of Electoral Observers and from observers of various grassroots organisations and networks.

OAS, EU reported the election was transparent – an Austrian observer complained that EU report did not reflect what EU observers presented. Even Nicaraguan President hurried to congratulate the 'elected president of Honduras' the next day.

And USA? US Embassy told everyone to recognise and accept TSE report – US Ambassador in Honduras Kubiske said US government financed 600,000 ID cards and 'voters education' (on how best to exercise one's vote, weeks before the elections), in addition, TSE government officials have declared that they would 'collate their data with the US Embassy before 'giving definite results'. A visitor also came for this election from the US who was amongst the intellectual actors of the 2009 coup, Roberto Carmona – he directs 'Fundacion Arcadia', an office of CIA, which dedicates itself to preventing or bringing down more progressive governments of Latin America.

As predicted, under coup regime, the poor gets poorer, the gap gets bigger. A report was just released by Centre for Economic And Politics Research, showing that between 2006 and 2009, poverty in Honduras reduced by 7.7%, but since the coup, poverty increased by 13.2% and extreme poverty by 26.3%. The GINI index for inequality increased from 50% in 2009 to 59% in 2011 – the biggest increase in inequality relative to the region Honduras is in.

International Penal Court does not recognise Crimes Against Humanity in Honduras. It appears the end of impunity, and justice, would not be found in this channel, for the mass human rights violations that continue and gets worse, in Honduras, as the preliminary report given by International Penal Court was not in this direction.

POLITICAL PERSECUTION FROM NOVEMBER 2013

Tallies – death toll of political persecution under Lobo regime
Under Lobo, 229 political assassinations have been carried out, mostly by state security forces or death squads that are linked to the state or to Honduran elite, facilitated by the coup (source: Rights Action)

In the same period, at least 69 lawyers have been killed, Victor Rivera Garias being the 69th, killed on 21/11/13 (source: MADJ)

Summary of political murders this month of November 2013:

Organised farmers Maria Amparo Pineda Duarte and Julio Araujo of El Carbon and CNTC were murdered by hitmen on 23/11/13.

Organised farmer Gilberto Lara was assassinated and decapitated on 27/11/13.

Motorcyclists in resistance Antonio Ardon and Eugenio Melgar Zavala were assassinated on 30/11/13

Against organised farmers, three assassinations and one continues to be held political prisoner

On 23/11/13, at 7.45pm, two men behind masks ambushed and blasted high caliber weapons, assassinated Cooperativa El Carbon president Maria Amparo Pineda Duarte and member Julio Araujo when they were walking home with Julio's son Wilmer from polling training. The killers fled without stealing anything other than their lives. Maria had before made repeated complaints to Cantarranas and Talanga authorities that Fermin Portillo, a local large landowner and head of Cantarranas National Party – who had been in conflict with Carbon Cooperative for 16 years, was making death threats against her. The death threats escalated over them and he had threatened her with 'eliminating them one by one'.

The MCA farmer and political prisoner since 5 years and 2 months ago, Chavelo Isabel Morales, was supposed to be released now having been held for a crime he did not commit, - the court has sent the case back to the lower court in Trujillo and ordered for Chavelo to be released during the trial, but it is delayed due to bureaucratic delays – the longer he waits inside prison the greater the risk to his life, because Henry Osorto, who used his influence and police connections to get the false conviction - has made attempts on Chavelo's life in the past and has wanted him dead.

on 27/11/13, Gilberto Lara of the farmers group La Laguna was assassinated and decapitated in Santa Barbara – since the 2009 coup, over 103 compas belonging to the farmers federation CNTC have been assassinated.

Heavy repression against students mobilised against the electoral fraude – under Anti-Juan-Orlando-Hernandez (Anti JOH)

Anti JOH mobilised on campus in the cities. In Tegucigalpa:

On 26/11/13, at 1.50pm, antiriot police and even paramilitary hooded agents arrived on campus to evict with tanks, gases and batons, at 2.25pm, they repressed and gassed UNAH students together with Bessy Marin – Radio Globo and Globo TV journalist. They beat students savagely with sticks and kickings. Tanks entered in the uni disrespecting the autonomy of the university in which state security forces are not welcome. From this repression, 25 were injured and 18 were detained and their whereabouts were not known at time of the report. UNAH buildings were completely teargas (made in US) comtaminated. Injuries included student teacher Percy Garcia who has a right leg fracture from teargas bullet wound, Darcy Manuel Mejia whose leg break from beating with sticks of antiriot cops. Journalists of Globo TV and La Tribuna fainted. Another had a fractured knee.

On 27/11/13, a contingent of around 50 arrived but about 2pm an official ordered them to evict the students that were blocking the way. The conflict started when cops started to launch teargas bombs at the protesters making them move back, and also provoking stones to be thrown at the cops, with the confrontation lasting 2 hours after 2 hours of protest. Teargas smoke was so strong that even the police were affected and some had to move away to breathe. Water tank then arrived spraying students with chemical water. And police kept launching bombs and students throwing stones, up to 4pm. One student was wounded in the head. Others were hurt but didn't need to go to hospital. Some police complained of being hurt from stones thrown at their legs, etc.

Assassinations of motorcyclists in resistance

On 30/11/13, Antonio Ardon was assassinated with 4 gunshots a block from his home in colonia Altos de Santa Rosa in Tegucigalpa. Antonio is a Libre activist and was part of the motorcyclists group that ride in the resistance mobilisations since 2009 – he is known as 'Emo dos' as his appearance is similar to well known and previously assassinated resistance activist known as Emo. He is described as pleasant and friendly. The same day, another member of the same motorcyclists in resistance group, Eugenio Melgar Zavala, was also assassinated.
Massacre threats by police, followings by death squad, etc against Rio Blanco community and organisers

– Rio Blanco has been blocking a road since 1/4/13 to prevent the installation of the imposing Agua Zarca hydroelectricity company opposed by the communities
On 1/11/13, armed police – some hooded - violently raided the Tejera indigenous community in Rio Blanco, when most of this community was in the cemetary burying the daughter of an elders council member. They forced open doors of homes of Francisco Sanchez Garcia, Marcelino Gonzalez, Ceferina Sanchez Garcia and Irene Gonzalez Gutierrez, in search for the indigenous council president, threatened to shoot at children and the elderly. They showed no order of invasion but announced that they have an order to kill, and warned that a Tegucigalpa contingent will come and carry out a massacre in the community. Video with English subtitle here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iis4kr54IJo&feature=youtu.be

On 6/11/13, Victor Fernandez, the lawyer following up on legal cases of Rio Blanco/Copinh for Berta Caceres, Aureliano Molina and Tomas Membreno, was driving home accompanied, when they were followed on the highway towards San Pedro Sula, up until Villanueva Cortes – a three hours journey, by a white double cabin 3.0 Toyota Hi-Lux without numberplates, which stayed behind them the whole time, and when they were passing through Santa Cruz, they used highbeams to ensure Victor and his companion knew they were being followed. Victor was coming home from a meeting on the Copinh cases. He is also victims to threats and charges for following up on charges on behalf of Locomapa and Atlantida communities struggling that have faced persecution for their struggles against mining companies, and in his capacity as coordinator of Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y Justicia.

On 8/11/13, Copinh activist under judicial persecution, Copinh activist Aureliano Molina Villanueva, was followed since Siguatepeque turnoff, while driving from Tegucigalpa towards La Esperanza. His followers were individuals in two cars without numberplates, both toyota hi-lux, 3.0, with tinted windows. One was white and another grey. They followed for 10 minutes and intermitently put on highbeams. Aureliano travelled to fulfil his bail condition of signing at the court every 15 days. This adds to the repeated death threats against Aureliano as well as other occasions of being followed in car but armed men, judicial persecution, and intimidation. He suspects his followers belong to the Agua Zarca hydroelectricity project.

Bertha Caceres reported death threats by national police also. She told Radio del Sur, 'we reiterate our dignified position of self-determination and sovereignty, of what happens, whatever happens, whatever the costs, we keep standing as the people and do do that because we are not going to delegitimise the struggle of the communities organised in the struggles of Copinh, we are firmly in the struggle. She said they know of a plan that the foreign company and politicians have, to after the elections, remove copinh members alive or dead from Rio Blanco. She herself continues to face charges.

On 19/11/13, DESA employee and mayors' relatives acted as paramilitary imposing an added checkpoint at Santa Ana village of Zacapa, Santa Barbara, to impede the movement of community members who need to go out to the hospital and for other basic needs, and to impede those who visit them including human rights delegations.

A beaten up journalist and militarisation and censorship against anticoup antifraud medias

On 4/11/13, Nicaraguan photographer and correspondent in Honduras for Reuter, Jorge Salvador Cabrera Alfaro was beaten up by Hospital Escuela security guards at the parking lot, they first told him he can't park where he regularly parks, then as he left his car they hit the car and when he confronted them about it, six guards beat him, grabbed and dragged him on the ground, and when he tried to get ready to defend himself, they beat him on the head and back with sticks, causing him grave injuries with a swollen arm that he could barely move, a lot of pain, and damages to the camera too

On 21/11/13, as the election was approaching, Radio Globo, TV Globo and Cholusat Sur – alternative media critical of the coup regimes, spoke up about censorship against them, - having been called by the electoral commission TSE to sign a 'moral protocol' prior to the elections to commit to not transmitting information on the day of the election – they did not sign. Radio Globo also raised that there has been interventions and cutting offs to their signals in Lempira, Colon, El Paraiso, La Paz, Santa Barbara, according to reports from listeners.

In the midnight hours just before the election began on 24/11/13, heavily armed military hidden behind balaclavas occupied the antennas of Radio and TV Globo in Cantagallo, Francisco Morazan, as well as of Canal 11, Canal 13 (Hondured), Canal 36 (Cholusat Sur) – medias critical of the coup and fraude. Head of army General Osorio Canales said on telephone to David Romero of Radio Globo that the militarisation is in response to an order from electoral commission TSE to 'provide protection to media transmission plants. Romero said, 'We have not requested this (military) presence. They want to use this to pressure us and shut us up, but Radio Globo will be on the air, whatever it takes'

On 29/11/13 it was reported that there has been massive blackouts that have been uninterrupted since 24/11/13, with suspension of transmissions of cable and internet to Globo and Cholusat Sur and the radios, UNO, Progreso and others that denounce electoral fraud.
Threats against human rights defenders

On 5/11/13, a leaked alleged diplomatic cable, of a communication from the Honduran Ambassador in US to Lobo, showed government's negative attitude towards the human rights defenders who participated in Inter American Human Rights Commission meetings and made press comments on human rights violations, corruption, impunity and persecution against political opposition of the Honduran regime. The cable said, 'with the participation of Bertha Oliva and Victor Fernandez, it leaves proof of conspiration of NGOs and Hondurans against the electoral process in Honduras'. Oliva is coordinator of human rights organisation Cofadeh, and Fernandez the General Coordinator of Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y Justicia. Cofadeh staff have suffered from 5/11/13 verbal aggression and suspicious vehicles watching Cofadeh offices and following Bertha Oliva and other staff members.

On 13/11/13, at 5.30pm, after the vigil in memory of human rights defender Walter Trochez politically assassinated in 2009, unidentified men followed the youths of Apuvimeh (lgbti/HIV organisation) Frank Ortiz and Oscar Ortiz and hit and snatched their phones, the attackers told them it is because of their protest actions that they were attacked.

Electoral repression and persecution this November 2013

This is not a comprehensive report, but lists some of the more violent and intimidating cases. There were many other reports of bribery, militarisation, military impeding the work of observers, of blackouts, of voting centres closing early

Context – at least 16 libre activists murdered in the life of its campaign.

On 31/10/13, Libre candidate Beatriz Valle, met with general prosecutor Oscar Chinchilla and human rights organisations, on death threats from unknown sources she is receiving, and she was recommended by the group to leave the country for her safety. - she was a vice chanchellor in the Zelaya Rosales government before the coup.

On 6/11/13, 6.30pm, 15 people wearing DGIC (CIA/ASIO of Honduras) vests arrived running with small weapons in their hands, balaclavas over their faces, ambushed the campaign tent of the Libre party in Colonia La Fraternidad of Tegucigalpa – making the Libre committee members Dalia Pino, Yesenia Macoto, Yoselin Macoto, Nesly Maradiaga, Douglas Garcia and Josue David Elvir to put their hands in the air and put their backs against the wall of the home where the tent was set up, giving them death threats and taking their mobile phones, searching especially the phone of the collective president Josue David Elvir (31) – without explaining why, they deleted everything on his phone including the music. When Josue protested what they were doing, he was threatened by the woman of the group with a 9mm pistol, who told him to shut up unless he wanted to be shot by them. They continued going through the phones until they saw others were coming to see what was happening, at which point they returned the phones and left quickly, hopping onto a microbus. Then on 11/11/13, a woman parked and came out of a grey Toyota Corolla without numberplate and began to take photos of members of the tent and when confronted she began to yell.

On 8/11/13 in the afternoon, on the road, hitmen gave death threat against Bayron Martinez – coordinator of the Comision de Transporte of Colectivo No 1 of Colonia Lomas Las Minitas in Tegucigalpa, when he was dropping children home. Other Libre members are receiving death threats on mobiles.

About a week before the election, groups of military (army and plain clothes hooded men) arrived to the neighbourhoods of the homes of the women who are part of Las Chonas women's movement and who have been participating in the electoral process and were going to be observers and representatives on electoral tables. The military were reported to have gone around collecting information about who and how many live in the houses. The women expressed that they always feel watched in their communities, by groups of hooded men in suspicious vehicles who take photos, watch the houses, in daytime and at night time.

Libre table representatives started receiving death threats early in the week. Many chose not to be table representatives after being threatened and libre table reprentatives had to be brought in from SPS.

On 22/11/13, at 7pm, four immigration agents of Yoro aggressively raided the halls of La Fragua Training Centre inside the buildings of a Jesuit radio team ERIC, saying they received a complaint that there were 'Salvadoreans and gringos' on site, demanding the electoral commission TSE accreditations for about 166 members of different organisations and countries who had come to Honduras as elections observers, including of La Voz de los de Abajo from Chicago US, Sister Cities from El Salvador, and others from Guatemala, Canada and Germany. A TSE workshop had ended just before for the international delegations. They also gave a summons for the delegations to appear to the Immigration Office.

It was reported by Mesa de Analisis sobre Violacion a Derechos Humanos en el Proceso Electoral Hondureno that different degrees of harrassment occurred against international observers in 9 hotels in Choluteca, 2 hotels in capital city, and in Intibuca and Rio Blanco.
On 22/11/13, at 10pm 3 patrols of military police (about 36 all up), all wearing balaclavas, tried to raid/break into the Libre office of Colonia Kennedy – they surrounded the building and two tried to open the door, they intimidated the 4 people who were there and were about to leave. They left as other party members and Radio Globo were told and began to arrive. In the meeting Libre members were putting together lists of people who would do shifts on the electoral tables.

On 22/11/13, at night heavily armed men went to Lempira communities of Quiscamote and Chintal to sow terror, and at the same time the armed presence was felt in San Bartolo and Gualcira, and witnesses said one of the two cars then went at 2.45am on 23/11/13 to drop the men in La Union at a home of a known leader of a coffee rancher who is very close to the presidential candidate Juan Orlando Hernandez – heavily armed men this night also went to surround the house of the Libre candidate Noah Alvarado.

On 23/11/13, about 10.45am, 6 hooded and armed plainclothes agents accompanied by three people wearing immigration T-shirts arrived in Hotel Suites Aurora in Tegucigalpa, demanding credentials of international electoral observers and accompaniers, and went to the reception asking about the people in the lobby and then asked for all international observers (who came from different Latin American countries) to go to the lobby where they were interrogated including about if they belonged to political parties and of any political affiliation and had about 20 of their passports checked. They took passports of two Brazilian international observers, and when questioned, they said, 'because yes we can', and threatened people saying that they could turn up to their rooms any time. Later, they returned the passports they stold to Karen Spring of Rights Action. One observer asked a soldier to identify himself, to which he said he was under the command of Manuel Escobar Mejia.

On 23/11/13, at 1.30am, 14 metro city police agents raided searched customers' wallets in the restaurant of Libre activist Luis Alberto Cruz Rodas, separating men and women, and photographed two visitors from other countries – Suizos and Carlos Diaz – artist and social activist. The police came in a white double cabin pickup truck, no IDs, and 2 patrols, one was registered as MI-32. The police asked for the business permit, confiscated it and came back to return it hours later.

On 23/11/11 in night time, Libre party table delegates were b while driving in the El Carbon village in Cantarranas, Francisco Morazan. From the attack 2 people were bullet wounded who have not been identified at the time of the report – they returned from receiving their accreditations and are activists of the Cantarranas mayor Luis Alonso Reyes.

On 23/11/13,in El Paraiso, Copan, 100 armed men threatened 50 people who were to be representatives on electoral tables forcing them to stay inside a hotel, threatening these with burning if they leave to go to the tables. Another group heading to 10 voting centres initially were able to go but on the way there the road was blocked by two Prado SUVs with heavily armed men who went to stab the cars' tyres with knives and threatened to kill anyone who tried to go to the voting centres.

On 24/11/13, Libre activist Yovany Reyes received threats from military police who were called in by national party activists there, and the El Chile neighbourhood was on this day completely militarised by military police and police.

On 24/11/13 heavy militarisation was reported in Bajo Aguan, Santa Barbara including of Nispero hydroelectricity dam, in the Cuiscamote and Chintal communities of Lempira, and in San Bartolo and Gualcira, at the Jesus Aguilar Paz institute in Tegucigalpa, at the El Reparto Escuela Republica de Chile voting centre...

On 24/11/13, employees of Morolica Mayor (national party, candidate for re-election) who owns the Okramor company – of okra plantation, who refused to go vote for him when he mobilised 120 to do just that, were forcefully rostered on a long day to stop them from voting – when the workers reacted by occupying company lands to prevent harvesting of okra by scab workers, the workers were dismissed. They demanded reinstatement and continued occupation but feared likely repression.

On 24/11/13, in the neighbourhood Nueva Esperanza in Tegucigalpa, young Denis Aguilar was attacked, kicked and spat on by twenty national party activists, when Denis asked the table delegates on table 9357 of the Tomas Alvarez Dolmo school to 'sing out the votes'. When he asked the b there for help, they took him to the police station, where they threw him onto the floor grabbing and kicking him in front of the police head. 'This is not fair what you are doing to me' Denis said, and then they threatened to incriminate him, and Denis said they are not lawyers or judges and that the detention was illegal. They tried to take his papers but he refused. When he asked for names to the police head of the agents who attaked him, another group of police officers gave him apologies, he was freed after midnight when his relatives arrived. When he was released but he was warned against speaking up about this, and he anwered 'you have violated a right of mine and I cannot keep quiet about this, I dont want this to happen again not to a countrymate or any foreigners'.

On 24/11/13, military gave death threat to a youth called Abil Caballero Juarez.

On 24/11/13, outside the Mercado San Pablo voting centre, hooded soldiers parked in front of the national party tent and hopped out of 3 of 4 vehicles – the other one had black tinted windows, and they posed in a ready to attack position, leaving after staying for a minute and apparently checking something.

On 24/11/13 five people were assassinated in Mosquitia at 6.30am by gunshots of armed persons who arrived in the Juan Francisco Bulnes community, 20 metres from voting centres. National party MP Maylo Wood announced this as an isolated event (despite famous massacres that have taken place in Mosquitia involving including DEA of US, and announced suspension of voting, but claiming that none of the killed persons were members of a political party, even though none of the victims were actually identified at that point while police waited for forensic medicine to arrive. Police said they are investigating to see if there are any relations with the 5/8/13 massacre in which at least another 5 died there

Snapshot of actions and solidarity in Honduras in November 2013

Weeks before the election, networks of social and grassroots movement met – amongst their proprosals was to work towards a self-convoked, original, grassroots and inclusive National Constituent Assembly. They are also working on alternative economic proposals to replace the capitalist neoliberal system to one based on solidarity and cooperation and respect for life and nature, on reclaiming public spaces, on popular education, on communitarian territorial defence, etc.

University students were fast to organise non-party-affiliated mobilisation against the electoral fraud – calling themselves Anti-JOH and 'black shirts' and defended themselves with stones as they faced severe repression from the military and police http://losangelescaminan.blogspot.com/2013/11/honduras-universitarios-pr...