US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA960

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 000960 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR WHA/PDA (OHILTON), WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN (TKELLY) 
FOR INR, EB, AND CA 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, PREL, KPAO, ECON, PGOV, SMIG, HO 
SUBJECT: PUBLIC AFFAIRS INFLUENCE ANALYSIS FOR HONDURAS 
 
REF: STATE 33359 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Honduras is a small country of 
approximately 6.7 million people, 72 percent of them living 
on less than two dollars a day and almost 50 percent under 
the age of 18.  A small, core group of related and 
associated economic and political elites1, exercise 
effective control of business and government.  They, along 
with institutions such as the Catholic Church, the National 
Congress, the two major political parties, some academic and 
civil society institutions, the media and, increasingly, the 
Supreme Court comprise the most influential groups.  The 
majority of Hondurans have little or no influence on public 
policy, due to a lack of a democratic culture and weak civil 
society.  A well publicized transparency survey prompted the 
National Congress to address major legal reforms to improve 
their poor public image.  Hondurans are poorly educated with 
an average educational level of 5.3 grade years.  The power 
of the media is tempered because many of these major elites 
own the key media outlets.  There is an ineffective system 
of checks and balances, and laws are not applied equally or 
transparently.  END SUMMARY 
 
2. (SBU) THE PLAYERS: The upper crust of this elitist 
society consists of not more than a couple hundred 
interwoven families, some of whom came to Honduras from the 
Middle East at the turn of the century or during the First 
World War.  This upper class is, for the most part, educated 
in the United States.  For instance, the largest foreign 
student association at Louisiana State University (LSU) is 
the Honduran Student Association.  Mississippi State 
University, Texas A&M, and many universities in Florida are 
favored destinations as well.  Honduran matriculation in 
elite universities, such as Notre Dame or the Ivies, is 
limited.  Honduran students prefer applied education in 
business administration or engineering to broad liberal arts 
study.  The society is divided further along ethnic, class, 
and regional lines.  The elite group of Hondurans wields the 
greatest influence in the country.  The great majority of 
the upper class of Honduras, like all classes, lacks a 
democratic culture and takes for granted that their society 
is a spoils system. The elite does not take its civic and 
social responsibilities seriously and is an important target 
audience in Embassy efforts to introduce transparency in 
government, end corruption, improve the rule of law, 
increase progressive tax revenues, reduce poverty, improve 
primary education, and encourage the development of a middle 
class. 
 
3. (SBU) The small middle class lacks the economic and 
political strength to resist the elitist policies of the 
dominant class and has in the past accommodated itself to 
upper class practices, such as nepotism, cronyism and other 
sources of corruption.  The political and economic 
development of a more activist middle class group is 
essential to democracy, economic progress, transparency, and 
social progress. For this reason, they are an important 
target audience. The middle class is diminishing as poverty 
continues to grow and income gaps widen. 
 
4. (U) Because of the high percentage of poverty throughout 
the country, there is a growing Honduran population that 
lives abroad, especially in the United States, and that 
produces more than eight hundred million dollars a year in 
remittances (remesas).  These remesas are the single largest 
source of foreign currency for the Honduran national 
economy.  For this reason, issues such as Temporary 
Protective Status (TPS) and visas are a constant concern of 
the government, the media and the general population.  The 
population living in poverty, which includes many 
minorities, such as the small but numerous indigenous 
peoples groups and the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna community, 
has the least influence and the fewest available resources 
in education, employment, or health care.  Minorities also 
suffer disproportionately from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, 
tuberculosis, and malaria, poor education, and under- and 
unemployment.  They are more vulnerable to issues of 
interest to the U.S. such as illegal immigration, drug use, 
and smuggling, and trafficking in persons (TIP).  The 
Mission actively works with these minority groups through 
humanitarian, education, and aid projects. 
 
5. (U) In many cases, it is more useful to deal directly 
with more responsive institutions, such as government, NGOs, 
labor unions, municipalities, universities, and the media. 
It is critical to direct significant amounts of financial 
and human resources to these alternative sources of power to 
induce change in the country.  The judiciary receives a 
great deal of attention and U.S. government resources and is 
a high priority in Mission programming.  Without a fair and 
transparent justice system, the country will remain mired in 
the corruption that has eroded confidence in the 
administration of the country regardless of the political 
party in power. 
 
6. (U) There is another important population group that 
should not be neglected.  Since half of the population is 
under 18, it is imperative to find ways to reach Honduran 
youth, many of whom are crowded into the poor urban areas of 
the country.  Urban problems and youth unemployment are at 
the heart of the country's high crime rates, and much public 
investment is needed in the areas of economic opportunity 
and employment, public health, education, and recreation in 
the Honduran urban areas.  The growing number of gangs is a 
reflection of the growing despair and problems confronting 
young men and women.  Gangs and gang behavior are in part a 
reaction to the lack of employment opportunities and failure 
of public education in the country.  Gangs are also part of 
the illegal immigration problem which has emerged in the 
shadow of the close ties between the United States and 
Honduras.  While job creation has come to a standstill and 
economic growth has failed to keep pace with population 
growth - a situation exacerbated by a lack of a level 
playing field, poorly targeted investment, and a poor public 
education system, American popular youth culture is highly 
valued.  Illegal immigration to the U.S. is high and is a 
serious bilateral concern, as some returning and deported 
immigrants have developed sophisticated means of organizing 
gangs while in the U.S. 
 
7. (U) This is the context in which the media of Honduras 
functions.  The media can play an important role in moving 
Honduras toward more constructive institutions and a more 
functional democracy.  Yet, many journalists are hamstrung 
by low wages, the lack of social responsibility of the 
elites, and general habits of corruption, which affect media 
owners, business elites, and the government.  Some 
journalists admit to self-censorship when their reporting 
threatens the political or economic interests of media 
owners.  There have been highly publicized firings of 
journalists who dared to challenge the existing elite power 
structure. 
 
8. (U) A small number of powerful business magnates with 
intersecting business interests, political loyalties, and 
family ties owns almost all the news media.  For example, of 
the four national newspapers, a Liberal Party Congressman 
operates one, as well as a national TV station, and a former 
President (also from the Liberal Party) runs another.  A 
wealthy businessman owns the other two.  A wealthy 
businessman and Nationalist Party supporter owns the major 
national television channel.  Besides the national TV and 
print media, there are national radio channels with large 
audiences and small independent TV stations at the local 
level.  Smaller markets are covered sparsely by the national 
news media, so audiences there have to rely on their local 
cable channels for news of their area.  Most news media do 
not maintain overseas correspondents, but there is a fair 
amount of international coverage through AP, EFE or other 
news services, and, in the case of TV, CNN Espanol. 
Finally, there is a fairly small but growing percent of the 
population that is accessing news on the Internet. 
 
9. (U) This year's Mission Program Plan has six goal papers, 
not including Human Resources.  We support these goals with 
appropriate resources as outlined below. 
 
Goal 1.  Democratic Systems and Practices.  The Public 
Affairs Section (PAS) supports the efforts of the Political 
Section, USAID, and the Front Office through speakers, press 
statements, conferences, and briefings to develop Honduran 
democratic institutions, create more professional and 
capable Honduran law enforcement agencies and military to 
interdict drugs, fight organized crime, combat international 
terrorism, and strengthen justice sector institutions by 
reducing corruption, improving institutional capacity of 
courts, prosecutors, and public defenders, and promoting 
criminal and civil law reform.  The primary audiences for 
programs under this goal are the government, human rights 
and other nongovernmental organizations, and the media.  The 
Ambassador undertakes frequent press statements, interviews, 
and speeches on corruption, drug trafficking, and the need 
for an active and competent justice system.  We will sponsor 
a speaker for an upcoming TIP conference, as we did last 
year.  We also use AETN/DVC programs to address important 
audiences on these issues.  We keep the Mission home page 
updated with speeches and materials on these subjects, draft 
media reactions, and use IRC outreach to target audiences, 
including media, NGOs and government officials. 
Goal 2.  Economic Growth and Development.  PAS provides 
assistance to USAID and the Economic Section to explain the 
importance of compliance with IMF program benchmarks and the 
poverty reduction strategy and to encourage greater 
understanding of macroeconomic stability and the need for an 
attractive investment climate, effective use of development 
finance, and the importance of the creation of a 
professional civil service.  The primary audience for these 
programs is the government, Congressional deputies, 
municipalities, labor unions, business, and the general 
public.  Program strategies include speeches by Economic 
Section officers and the Ambassador, press statements, 
briefings, Web page, outreach, and other programs, such as 
DVCs for targeted audiences. 
 
Goal 3.  Trade and Investment.  PAS supports USDA, USAID, 
and the Economic Section in promoting the successful 
completion of the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement 
(CAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the 
Doha agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and 
Honduran support for trade liberalization in general.  We 
have conducted and will continue to conduct a public 
diplomacy strategy to promote the benefits and opportunities 
of trade liberalization and curbing of monopolistic behavior 
through the International Visitors Program, U.S. speakers, 
outreach by the Information Resource Center, updates of the 
Mission Internet home page, speeches, and op-eds. 
 
Goal 4.  Close Ties with Allies and Friends.  The Political 
Section and U.S. Military Group work with the government and 
military of Honduras to achieve productive relations with 
Honduras' Central American neighbors so that it can 
contribute to the international effort against terrorism, 
increase regional economic cooperation, and reach amicable 
settlement of border issues.  PAS provides assistance on 
military and counterterrorism issues through support for 
speeches or press briefings by the Ambassador or other 
officials, through the IV program, and by providing outreach 
of relevant materials. 
 
Goal 5. Assistance for U.S. Citizens Abroad.  The Consular 
Section provides support and information to U.S. citizens 
and works with government officials on anti-illegal 
immigration/anti-terrorism measures.  PAS supports Consular 
efforts to keep the Mission Web page and Consular 
Information Sheets updated.  We also support outreach 
efforts, directed to U.S. citizens and Honduran visa 
applicants, including interviews, AETN/DVC programs, op-eds, 
and by editing and placing a monthly Consular Corner article 
in a national newspaper. 
 
Goal 6.  Mutual Understanding.  PAS uses international 
exchanges to increase mutual understanding and build trust 
between Americans and Hondurans, promote understanding of 
domestic political and social realities that underpin 
American policy decision-making on issues such as 
immigration, CAFTA, homeland security, and drug 
interdiction, and encourage good governance and 
transparency.  We provide U.S. speakers on shared social and 
political issues that impact Hondurans and promote public 
discussion of the importance of civil society and media 
participation in public policy on education, HIV/AIDS, youth- 
at-risk, public health and security issues.  We support 
educational development through programs with libraries and 
museums and through cultural exchanges and grants and are 
working to establish a pilot program of teaching American 
History and American political topics to graduate students. 
We support the English language program as a means to 
economic and political development and promote educational 
exchanges throughout the country.  We have also begun to 
direct PAS programs such as speakers and book donations to 
the most ignored and isolated population groups.  In 
addition, we have been directing greater efforts to finding 
IV grantees and Fulbright students from more remote areas 
and marginalized groups such as the Garifunas and other 
indigenous and ethnic groups.  We have worked with drug 
prevention and youth-at-risk programs implemented by both 
NGOs and governmental institutions.  We will also continue 
to work closely with USAID to promote their programs that 
seek to build a democratic culture and to alleviate the 
rural poverty plaguing Honduras through good governance, 
health, education, agricultural development and 
environmental programs.  The Embassy, through PAS, can 
highlight these needs and bring attention to the more 
successful projects of the government and NGOs in this area. 
On the press side, we support the Ambassador in his 
speeches, visits, briefings, interviews, place op-eds, and 
distribute materials through our press and IRC sections.  We 
provide reporting on media trends and opinion.  We are 
working with small media organizations to offer interviews 
and programs to these outlets whenever possible.  The small 
TV stations in particular are interested in getting material 
and will run items of interest to their audiences in its 
entirety. 
 
Palmer 
 
_______________________________ 
1  I've never seen this phrase before.  What is the source 
of it?