Responses to the Coup d'etat in Honduras on Sunday June 28, with special emphasis on producing English-language versions of commentaries by Honduran scholars and editorial writers and addressing the confusion encouraged by lack of basic knowledge about Honduras.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Honduras Culture and Politics: An ending and a beginning

With the inauguration of Porfirio Lobo Sosa, boz suggests, the Honduran coup has ended.

Certainly, it is this inauguration that has led to the end of the direct domination of Honduran governance by Roberto Micheletti.

We have already noted that any expectation that this transition will reconcile polarized parties in Honduras, will end the quest by a variety of interested groups for constitutional reform, or erase from historical memory the events of the past months, is unrealistic.

But we agree that it is no longer the same situation, and thus, Honduras Coup 2009 has reached an end. But one that also marks a new beginning for us.

Like boz and Greg Weeks at Two Weeks Notice, we think that Honduras is entering a critical period when it would be well if the world continued to pay attention. And like the author of IKN, we are half-expecting the world to turn its collective back and ignore Honduras once more.

And that means that our mission remains: to address "the confusion encouraged by lack of basic knowledge about Honduras" and to continue to call attention to the writing of Honduran writers and scholars who are best positioned to place the struggle to come into broader context.

So we invite you to join us at our new blog, Honduras Culture and Politics. There we intend to continue to foreground the intersection of culture in all its forms with events that involve differentials of power.

We know that many readers of this blog will want to be kept up to date on what happens to the major players who dominated the last seven months, and we will cover developments there. We intend to keep track of stories we have been following-- the devastation of the economy, the distortion of the legal system, the recognition or lack thereof of human rights violations, and the politicization of cultural policy.

But we also hope that people who originally began paying attention to Honduras this last year solely due to a breakdown in constitutional order may have gained an interest in the country that will make it worth a few moments a day to see what we find interesting and worth presenting to you with context, analysis, and yes, opinion.

And if not: thank you for being part of this project. We will continue to support our friends and colleagues in Honduras in every way possible. We will continue to prize the new colleagues we have come to know throughout the world who are dedicated to progressive agendas and not disheartened by the struggle. This has been a transformative year for us and for many of our close colleagues and friends, and we appreciate those readers who were not willing to settle for the simplifications and misrepresentations of mainstream media.

10 comments:

boz said...

You two did great work with this blog and it was a service to many of us who were following the news about Honduras and trying to decipher everything that was occurring. Thank you.

John (Juancito) Donaghy said...

Thank you for your reporting, analysis, and - most of all - solidarity with Honduras. (Please know that you are always welcome here if you are in Honduras.)

Andrew said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to maintain this blog throughout the coup. I have read it every day and will continue to follow your new one.

Thanks again!

Ossama said...

Dear RAJ
I think your blog and all efforts put into it are very important. The blog is a gate to a forgotten realm. In my opinion Honduras is an important example of the coming age .
Things are changing in the whole world. I implore you to continue your great work.
All the best
Ossama

Anonymous said...

Please maintain this blog as a resource and aid to memory. It has been oasis and inspiration.

--Charles

RNS said...

Charles, We will leave the blog and its content in place as a resource, a memory, and a witness of what has taken place over the last 7 months in Honduras.

Manos L. Symeonakis said...

Thank you for all the information. Great work.

I think you should print it too, it's a unique resource.

RAJ said...

Manos, be assured: we do plan to pursue more traditional publication related to the coup. Indeed, as a conventional academic author of seven books, that was my first thought. But there is no market for books about current events as they happen, so we have had to set a timeline that includes the ability to look back with at least a little distance. We will be on sabbatical all next year, and one thing we will be working on is plotting about print publication.

Boehmaya said...

Your work has been infinitely valuable to all of us Hondurans, from documenting the actions of the coup regime to countering the misinformation spread through the mass media. I still use your blog(and most probably will continue doing so) as a source of arguments against coup apologists.
There are few genuinely caring people out there, but you're definitely a couple of them.
Thank you very much RAJ and RNS.

Manos L. Symeonakis said...

A good advice for retrospectives is to get now all the fotos you can get your hands on (yeah...unfortunately...$$...) cause when you'll get the distance, you'll have much lesser choices at much bigger cost.

}: ) cheers

P.S.: looking at the pictures of the inaguaration i got a creepy feeling from seeing Vasquez always and everywhere present.