US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA1326

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001326 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT. FOR WHA/PD; IIP/G/WHA DIPASQUALE; AND IIP/T/ES 
DEPT. FOR PM AND EB/TRA 
DEPT. FOR WHA/EPSC, WHA/PPC AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, PGOV, MASS, EAID, HO 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON G-8 DEBT FORGIVENESS, JUNE 21, 
2005 
 
 
1. On 6/21 the San Pedro Sula-based liberal daily "La 
Prensa" published an editorial entitled "Politicians and 
Debt Forgiveness."  "The debt forgiveness issue has already 
entered political campaigns." 
 
"The two candidates of the traditional parties have already 
talked about multilateral organizations and governments' 
decision on debt forgiveness. While the blue candidate 
[Nationalist] surprised us with a national broadcast in the 
electronic media, the red candidate [Liberal] affirmed that 
there was no such debt forgiveness so we shouldn't be glad." 
 
"Debt forgiveness, first by Paris Club and later by G-8, is 
a reality that should be understood in a fair dimension, 
because in finance and statistics transparency isn't 
abundant, on the contrary, professionals offer numbers in 
code that result to be half true." 
 
"There are four conditions according to Mauricio Diaz, the 
Social Forum director of Honduran External Debt, so the 
process of debt forgiveness reaches major efficiency. First, 
poverty reduction programs; second, the IMF monitoring 
fiscal goals; third, creditors' requirements for resource 
use; and finally, management transparency." 
 
"Getting in the middle of a debate flavored by rhetoric and 
demagoguery shows the level of those who which to govern us 
in difficult circumstances because of the lack of 
credibility by public organizations that weaken State's 
institutionality. We should value the accusations, attacks 
and candidates' promises as anecdotes and folklore, to 
dedicate our reasoning to government's proposal so they 
cannot keep conning us." 
 
2. The San Pedro Sula-based liberal daily "Tiempo" carried 
an op-ed by Omar Edgardo Rivera entitled "Debt forgiveness: 
erased and final chapter."  "We have received with enormous 
pleasure the G-8's 100% debt forgiveness to the 18 poorest 
countries on the planet; this agreement will be ratified by 
the presidents of the G-8 in the upcoming weeks." 
"The governments of the favored countries have had to 
execute a series of efforts for the Heavily Indebted Poor 
Countries that the IMF and World Bank promote; the G-8 took 
this as a reference to approve the debt forgiveness. When 
British Minister Gordon Brown announced G-8 debt forgiveness 
he had under his arm the IMF and World Bank reports." 
"In Honduras case, before Hurricane Mitch, the unsustainable 
debt situation was evident, after this natural phenomenon 
state's financial crisis in relation with liabilities 
intensified. We declared ourselves in default in front of 
the international finance organizations." 
"In the establishment of a satisfactory reform path and 
application of adequate programs of economic policies 
supported by IMF and World Bank there were many obstacles. 
The government didn't immediately accomplish the necessary 
grade and had to implement three economic and fiscal 
adjustments." 
"Honduras went down this path to get to this moment in which 
external debt substantially could be reduced; that's what 
three other countries also did: Bolivia, Guyana and 
Nicaragua, and fourteen African nations: Benin, Burkina 
Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, 
Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and 
Zambia." 
Palmer