State of the Union

Today is Thursday, and it is about 9:30 in the morning. Normally I would be working today, but the government has sent out a mandate cancelling all schools for the country because of the massive strike they are anticipating today. Before I go into all the details, let me explain sort of the state of the union and why the people are striking.

As all of you reading this may know, gas is expensive and seems to be rising daily. Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela and current threat for the United States, has been trying to ally Honduras with Venezuela, luring the country with lower gas prices by buying directly from Venezuelan refineries instead of buying from the U.S. . Since Honduras buys from the U.S. and imports the gas into the country, it is more expensive. Combine those gas prices and a poor country, and you have something combustible. Literally.

Honduras cannot, by any means, make enemies with the U.S. because we depend so highly on foreign aid, exports, and good international relations with the superpower to the north. However, gas is about $4 a gallon and would be even more expensive but the government subsidizes it and keeps the prices level so that people can survive. The thing is though, the people are not surviving. The overwhelming majority of the people don't even make the $4 a day to pay for one gallon of gas, so when Hugo Chavez came through Honduras offering his propaganda and promises for a better life if we side with him, the people's desperation spoke through and believed his empty promises. I was working the day Chavez came through, but Melvin listened to the radio broadcast and his resounding feeling was that a charismatic leader offering promises that can never be fulfilled to people desperate for an answer is recipe for economic instability and invitation for tyranny. This is the same formula that plagues many poor, undeveloped nations.

Because Honduras was talking to Chavez, the U.S. took action and put economic pressure on Honduras. The three biggest exports from Honduras (which, by the way, are almost exclusively bought by the U.S.) are canteloupe, tilapia and shrimp. Earlier this month, the U.S. declared that Honduran canteloupe were contaminated by salmonella and were not being accepted in the U.S.. Honduras rebutted, saying that they were completely safe to eat and the president Mel Zelaya went on CNN recently and made this public statement to the U.S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb7m4uu3TNU
Basic translation: Melon is a delicious fruit, and if the president of the country can eat it live on TVwithout fear, so can the U.S. people.

Not even one week after melongate, the U.S. stopped accepting Honduran exports altogether, and we figured it out that this had nothing to do with salmonella---this was the U.S. putting economic pressure on the country showing that without them, we have no money. While I believe siding with Venezuela would be devastating for the country, I cannot judge people for wanting a better life.

With that said, gas prices have increased dramatically, which means that everything has increased in price. The GNI since 2006 has dropped, making the average household income now below $2000 per year, but costs of living have increased. Basic foods such as eggs, flour, sugar, bananas, etc. are now unaffordable to people on their current wages, which brings us to today's strikes. For awhile the government tried to placate the people by saying something reminiscent of Marie Antoinette's "let them eat cake" sentiment when told that the people of France can no longer eat bread. Honduras told the people "let them eat tortillas," not knowing that within a few weeks of this statement that the people could no longer afford the flour and cornmeal to make their tortillas. Teachers, universaties, transportation, and the people of the "popular block" (which are those who are considered middle class and below.....by far the overwhelming majority of the country) are marching and protesting today for change. Many of the major roads of the country are being blocked by demonstrators and military, which is why school is cancelled.

I've been thinking a lot about this situation, and I cannot think of a good resolve. Should the government be more involved? Less involved? Do we ask for more help from the U.S.? Do we need to depend less on foreign aid? I just don't know. I'm by no means an expert on such matters, but sometimes its hard to understand the way things work down here and why the country works the way it does after living 22 years of my life in the U.S.. I never feared that the U.S. would bottom out economically, I never feared severe military state in Vero Beach, and I never have known U.S. citizens so economically desperate that any and all actions would be taken in order to meet basic survival needs, and be met with nothing. Even after Hurricane Katrina, which reduced U.S. citizens to lead lives with the same desperation that many of the world's countries function with daily, there was still our government offering free aid to help the people recover and doing what they could to rectify the situation. I know that not everything done was perfect, but it was still there.

I am currently reading a book that is a journal of Henri Nouwen's mission and ministry in Latin America called Gracias, and the book takes place mainly in Peru & Bolivia during the late 80's and early 90's, when these countries shared economic profiles that are very similar to the current state of Honduras. This is a passage written in this book by Gerry McCrane, who was a third world bishop and wrote this for missionaries entering into Latin America accustomed to Western philosophy and democracy:

Walk with Us in Our Search

Help us discover our own riches; don't judge us poor because we lack what you have.

Help us discover our chains; don't judge us slaves by the type of shackles you wear.

Be patient with us as a people; don't judge us backward simply because we don't follow your stride.

Be patient with our pace; don't judge us lazy simply because we can't follow your tempo.

Be patient with our symbols; don't judge us ignorant because we can't read your signs.

Be with us and proclaim the richness of your life which you can share with us,

Be with us and be open to what we can give.

Be with us as a companion who walks with us--neither behind nor in front--in our search for life and ultimately for God.

This seemed touching for me and a good sentiment for me to end on with the current state of affairs here. Please continue to pray. If I am feeling definite economic strain (i.e. I am currently running out of money every month and living paycheck to paycheck, even though I have really stripped myself of any extra luxuries over the past few months) I can start to begin imagining what mothers must feel like when they can't pay for groceries for their families. Christ himself was humbled so that he may have empathy for the world, and because of his empathy he lived a life of service, ultimately giving of himself in the greatest act of empathy and humility that the world has ever seen. May we strive to follow this example and live a life of service and empathy, emptying ourselves for the betterment of others.