"Indignation Must be Cultivated": Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle

Another blog today published an English translation of the latest editorial by Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle, Honduran historian and legitimate Minister of Culture. This saved me completing the task of translating the original myself.

Pastor Fasquelle argues that President Zelaya's attempts to directly address the "structural contradictions" of Honduran society, that he traces back fifty years

revealed the fault lines between the segments of the population who have benefited and been alienated by such a process (the various shades of the bourgeoisie) and, on the other hand, the increasingly frustrated marginalized majority, along with socially and ethically committed professionals and organized workers who are able to envision a more just order of things.

This is a critical point: support for the moves toward social justice comes not just from the poor, or the less-educated; it is also the hallmark of a wide group of well educated professionals, who are now suffering repression.

Pastor Fasquelle reflects on the danger that the real struggle, being papered over in Honduran media and misrepresented in the US in particular, will lose momentum, noting that it must continue:

The impotence, the frustration and the confusion must be recognized, but not for the sake of giving up. Indignation must be cultivated and above all, organized, in order to be turned into an effective instrument of the struggle. The demonstrations in the street remain urgent and will continue for many more days, although they need to be better organized. And the banner of the struggle remains; the immediate restitution of the legitimate government. Congress can give amnesty to whomever it likes. Mel must return however, from wherever, to do whatever.

On a day when the news about the Honduran crisis features a firm reiteration by Oscar Arias that only the restitution of President Zelaya will be acceptable, even in the face of new and equally unacceptable proposals from the authoritarian regime, Pastor Fasquelle's final point is of equal significance:

There’s nothing personal about it, but Mel personifies this longing. No-one but he can restore the conditions under which we can return to being a civilized country, debating our differences without the prefabricated foolishness of ideology and fundamentalism; turning to the polls rather than weapons, to resolve contradictions.

Translation: Machetera, with editing by Manuel Talens

Machetera and Manuel Talens are members of Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity. This translation may be reprinted as long as the content remains unaltered, and the source, author, translator and editor are cited.