Labor and Democracy under attack in Honduras

Labor and Democracy Under Seige in Honduras
Touring Secretary General of major Labor Federation in Honduras explains the crisis.

Since the June 28th coup d'etat deposing the democratically elected President of Honduras, union activists, community leaders, and human rights advocates are under attack. Hooded death squads roam neighborhoods looking for youth. Dissident media outlets have been shut down. Is this really 2010?

Though Barack Obama initially condemned the coup, his administration expressed no qualms with the human rights abuses denounced by the international community, and has recognized the elections farce that took place on November 29th amidst de facto military rule in Honduras.

The situation in Honduras is dire, but the resistance continues. The labor movement in Honduras has played a central role in the national movement against the coup, mobilizing millions of workers to protest the repression of the de facto regime and advocate for a constitutional assembly to initiate changes needed to support working families.

Mr. Baquedano, who is also co-founder and President of the Mental Health Workers Union in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, welcomes the opportunity to tour the West Coast and meet with the rank-and-file and union leaders of the US and to share with them a vision of resistance and hope.

Mr. Baquedano will be speaking in Portland on Thursday January 28, 2010 from 7-9pm at the SEIU Local 503 Hall (6401 SE Foster Rd.). There will also be a reception with food and refreshments from 6-7pm.