Honduran Labor Resistance to the Coup

On June 28, 2009, the democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown by the Honduran military and removed from the country, precipitating violence, diplomatic isolation, and the persecution of human rights defenders, indigenous leaders, journalists, and trade unionists. On January 27, 2010, Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo became President of the de facto coup government following widely boycotted and denounced fraudulent elections.

Honduran trade unions have taken a central role as leaders in the resistance and requested international solidarity. This includes denouncing on-going human rights violations, changing U.S. policy towards Honduras, and remembering the coup and the Honduran labor movement.

After June 2009, USLEAP took an active role in supporting the Honduran labor movement opposition to the coup by sending out action alerts about the coup and subsequent human rights violations, writing extensively about current events, organizing letters of support from U.S. trade unions, lobbying the House of Representatives on Dear Colleague letters in support of democracy in Honduras, and more.  [USLEAP also supports Honduran workers organizing in the banana, apparel, and other sectors.]  USLEAP also supports a March 2012 CAFTA labor complaint filed by the AFL-CIO and two dozen Honduarn unions.

For current information about the continuing resistance to the 2009 coup in Honduras, see the website of the Honduran Solidarity Network and other resources listed below.

     Click here to read our April 2011 Honduras Labor Rights Monthly Update.

     Click here to read our March 2011 Honduras Labor Rights Monthly Update.

     Click here to read our February 2011 Honduras Labor Rights Monthly Update.

Check out a December 2010  Human Rights Watch report on post-coup Honduras.  USLEAP Board member Dana Frank is a leading analyst on post-coup Honduras, with periodic articles (Wikileaks Links US to Brutal Businessman, Open Season on Teachers, Hondurans' Great Awakening) in The Nation, among other publications.

News articles USLEAP has published about Honduras:

• Congress Sets Conditions on Some Aid to Honduras (January 2012)
• Violence and Intimidation Continues in the Aguán Valley, Honduras (August 2011)
• Congressional Opposition to U.S. Policy in Honduras Increases; Zelaya Returns (June 2011)
• Thirty Representatives Denounce Human Rights Violations in Honduras; Repression Continues
• Action Alert: Strengthen Congressional Opposition to U.S. Policy in Honduras
• One-Year Anniversary of Coup in Honduras
• May Day 2010: US Unions Stand in Solidarity with the Labor Movement in Honduras
• Honduras: The Resistance Marches On Despite Targeted Violence
• Honduras: International Response to the Elections and Human Rights Violations
• Obama Administration Isolated on Sunday’s Fraudulent Honduran Elections
• State Department Reverses and Honduran Agreement Falls Apart; Resistance Plans to Boycott Elections
• Repression and Resistance Mount; Honduran Trade Unionists Call for Support; US Groups Respond
• U.S. Trade Unions Urge Congress to Take Stance Against Coup in Honduras
• Gap, Nike, Adidas Issue Statement on Coup in Honduras
• Coup in Honduras: Unions Fight Back; Action Needed by US Congress
• International Trade Union Movement Condemns Coup in Honduras; NGOs and Faith-Based Groups Issue Statement

To learn more about struggles in the Honduran resistance, see the following websites:

• Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
• Frente Nacional de Resistencia Popular (FNRP)
• Friendship Office of the Americas (FOA)
• Honduras Accompaniment Project (HAP)
• Honduras Resists Blogspot (La Voz de Abajo)
• Human Rights Watch, Honduras (HWR)
• International Union of Food Workers (UITA)
• Latin American Working Group (LAWG)
• Rights Action
• Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)