Want to limit migration? We can start by supporting democracy in Honduras.
Kendra McSweeney and in the The Washington Post.
The news out of Honduras has taken dizzying turns since the Nov. 26 presidential election — some predictably sickening, but some so exceptional as to startle even veteran analysts of this Central American country. A partial recount of disputed ballots now puts the incumbent, Juan Orlando Hernandez, ahead by a whisker – after inexplicable halts and delays in the counting.
That Hernandez should seek to doctor the numbers is no surprise. What is remarkable — and what deserves the support of democracies everywhere — is the civic patriotism of everyday Hondurans, who braved the odds to vote massively against a power grab Hernandez has been engineering for years.
Hernandez’s tenure has been marred by egregious corruption, the hijacking of government institutions and brazen assassinations of environmental activists, who have exposed the systemic character of that corruption. Despite this track record, Washington — the Obama and Trump administrations alike — has bolstered Hernandez, applauding him as a trusted ally. He has proved deft at securing material and moral support in exchange for a degree of cooperation on two U.S. obsessions: narcotics trafficking and immigrant flows.
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If you want to take action, Tell Trump and Congress: Don’t Recognize Honduran Election Results.
