Post by garifunaprincess on Dec 16, 2005 19:42:21 GMT -5
Garifunas Make History During Honduran Elections
Garifunas Make History During Honduran Elections
By Jose Francisco Avila
New York - Hidden in all the political controversy over who would be the next president of Honduras as results of the general elections held on Sunday, November 27th, 2005 were being questioned was a history making event, the election of three Garífunas to the Honduran Congress for the 2006- 2010 term. They are Dr. Rubén Francisco Garcia Martinez for the department of Cortes, Punta Rock Artist Aurelio Martinez for the department of Atlantida and Dayana Gissell Martinez Burke for the department of Francisco Morazan.Up to now, there have been no African descendants in the 128-seat Honduran legislature and according to Celeo Alvarez Casildo, president of ODECO
"Garifunas have had no congressional representation since the 1930s when Catarino Castro Serrano was elected."
The New Legislators
Ruben Garcia Martinez - Was born in the city of Trujillo and is a cardiologist in Honduras' second largest city, San Pedro Sula. His previous political involvement was as Public Health Minister during the presidency of Roberto Suazo Cordoba. During an interview with Diario La Prensa, Dr. Garcia stated the following "I will work to improve the life conditions of the marginalized groups, among them the garífunas. I come from a Garífuna
community and I have a moral commitment to raise the socioeconomic condition of our people and when I say this I am not talking solely about the black communities of Honduras, but all Hondurans, because the law applies equally to all". He believes that a law that could favor all would be that which contributes to local or community development." We must look for laws that favor local development, because many law decrees have been passed but are not implemented. We are going to take those laws that benefit those marginalized groups, out of the drawers", said Dr. Garcia. One of the main
problems faced by the Garifuna communities is the legal ownership of their lands. According to the well known doctor from San Pedro Sula, the land must be in the hands of its true owners, that is to say those who have lived in them for many years.
Dayana Gissell Martínez Burke is 34 years old and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages from the Autonomous University of Honduras and is fluent in six languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Spanish. She lost her sight at the age of 15 due to a case a medical malpractice. She has been an activist for the rights of the disabled and is the founder of the Disabled Hondurans Association, as well as president of the National Federation of Disabled Honduran Organizations. She is familiar with the problems faced by Hondurans like her and the barriers and discrimination they must overcome everyday in school, among family members, the community, places of employments and now in public life. She has participated in various international forums and is currently assisting the United Nations in preparation for the Disabled People
International Convention.
Aurelio Martinez - Most people have come to know Aurelio as the great Punta musician that he is, however, for the past four years, Aurelio has served as a City Councilman in Honduras' third largest city, La Ceiba in the department of Atlantida. Among his accomplishments, was the creation of the Ethnic Municipal Services Department, which is staffed by Garifunas, to assit the Garifuna communities of Corozal, Sambo Creek and La Ceiba. During the recent elections, Aurelio was a candidate for the Honduran Senate as
member of the Liberal Party and he was elected as one the eight legislative representatives for Atlantida that will make up the 128 seat Honduran Legislature for the 2006 - 2010 period. Born in 1976 into a family possessing a long and distinguished musical tradition in the small Garifuna community of Plaplaya in Honduras, he was already playing drums at social gatherings at the age of six and picking up his father's guitar as soon as he was big enough to hold it. Inspired by his grandmother and his father, Aurelio gathered a vast repertoire, which later enabled him to develop his playing and his own style.
An original member of the Garifuna All Star Band, Aurelio has taken his Paranda music to stages in France, Japan, USA, Mexico and neighboring Central American countries. Among his most recent accomplishments, Aurelio, will be the subject of a TV documentary on his life and Garifuna music, being produced by the Spain's Television Network, which will be broadcast globally. The documentary will also include scenes in Belize, where Aurelio is considered a true idol.
Increased African Descendants Participation According to the document 2005 Honduran Elections published by ODECO, there were a total of 43 people of African descent, as candidates for positions ranging from city councilmen to legislators; among them 16 city
major candidates, 16 Legislative candidates, 5 city council candidates and 6 Major
Pro-Tem candidates. Furthermore, the Christian Democratic Party presidential candidate Juan Ramon Martinez in a Honduras This Week article presented himself as the only person of African descent to seek the Honduras presidency. Bernard Martinez the first person of African descent ever to be elected president of a political party, the PINU, the Innovation and National Unity Party in Honduras, did not get enough votes t be elected to the Honduran legislature. Political Situation Honduras has enjoyed uninterrupted civilian democratic rule since the military relinquished power in 1982 after free and fair elections.
In the November 27th 2005 presidential elections, Liberal Party candidate Manuel Zelaya Rosales defeated his National Party rival Porfirio Lobo Sosa, although neither of the two major parties gained a majority in the128-member unicameral Congress. For most of this century, the Liberal and National parties have been the two dominant political parties. Both are considered center-right parties, and there appear to be few major ideological differences between the two. The Honduras National Congress Honduras is a constitutional democracy, with a president and a unicameral congress elected by separate ballot for 4-year terms. The multiparty political system is dominated by two traditional parties, the Nationalists and the Liberals. The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. Its members are 128 deputies (diputados), who are elected on a proportional
representation basis, by department, to serve four-year terms. Prior to 1997, deputies were
elected indirectly, with congressional party strengths determined by the proportion of votes cast for the corresponding candidates in the concurrent presidential election. Since that date, however, separate elections have been held for the legislature and for national and local executives, and the country's deputies have been elected directly. There's no question that people of African descent are making a difference in the Honduran political scene and after waiting for seventy five years, the Garifuna community of Honduras will finally have representation in the Honduran Congress.
Sources: Diario La Prensa, Diario El Tiempo, Diario El Heraldo, 2005
Honduran Election - ODECO, Honduras: Political and Economic
Situation and U.S. Relations José Francisco Avila
Garifunas Make History During Honduran Elections
By Jose Francisco Avila
New York - Hidden in all the political controversy over who would be the next president of Honduras as results of the general elections held on Sunday, November 27th, 2005 were being questioned was a history making event, the election of three Garífunas to the Honduran Congress for the 2006- 2010 term. They are Dr. Rubén Francisco Garcia Martinez for the department of Cortes, Punta Rock Artist Aurelio Martinez for the department of Atlantida and Dayana Gissell Martinez Burke for the department of Francisco Morazan.Up to now, there have been no African descendants in the 128-seat Honduran legislature and according to Celeo Alvarez Casildo, president of ODECO
"Garifunas have had no congressional representation since the 1930s when Catarino Castro Serrano was elected."
The New Legislators
Ruben Garcia Martinez - Was born in the city of Trujillo and is a cardiologist in Honduras' second largest city, San Pedro Sula. His previous political involvement was as Public Health Minister during the presidency of Roberto Suazo Cordoba. During an interview with Diario La Prensa, Dr. Garcia stated the following "I will work to improve the life conditions of the marginalized groups, among them the garífunas. I come from a Garífuna
community and I have a moral commitment to raise the socioeconomic condition of our people and when I say this I am not talking solely about the black communities of Honduras, but all Hondurans, because the law applies equally to all". He believes that a law that could favor all would be that which contributes to local or community development." We must look for laws that favor local development, because many law decrees have been passed but are not implemented. We are going to take those laws that benefit those marginalized groups, out of the drawers", said Dr. Garcia. One of the main
problems faced by the Garifuna communities is the legal ownership of their lands. According to the well known doctor from San Pedro Sula, the land must be in the hands of its true owners, that is to say those who have lived in them for many years.
Dayana Gissell Martínez Burke is 34 years old and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages from the Autonomous University of Honduras and is fluent in six languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Spanish. She lost her sight at the age of 15 due to a case a medical malpractice. She has been an activist for the rights of the disabled and is the founder of the Disabled Hondurans Association, as well as president of the National Federation of Disabled Honduran Organizations. She is familiar with the problems faced by Hondurans like her and the barriers and discrimination they must overcome everyday in school, among family members, the community, places of employments and now in public life. She has participated in various international forums and is currently assisting the United Nations in preparation for the Disabled People
International Convention.
Aurelio Martinez - Most people have come to know Aurelio as the great Punta musician that he is, however, for the past four years, Aurelio has served as a City Councilman in Honduras' third largest city, La Ceiba in the department of Atlantida. Among his accomplishments, was the creation of the Ethnic Municipal Services Department, which is staffed by Garifunas, to assit the Garifuna communities of Corozal, Sambo Creek and La Ceiba. During the recent elections, Aurelio was a candidate for the Honduran Senate as
member of the Liberal Party and he was elected as one the eight legislative representatives for Atlantida that will make up the 128 seat Honduran Legislature for the 2006 - 2010 period. Born in 1976 into a family possessing a long and distinguished musical tradition in the small Garifuna community of Plaplaya in Honduras, he was already playing drums at social gatherings at the age of six and picking up his father's guitar as soon as he was big enough to hold it. Inspired by his grandmother and his father, Aurelio gathered a vast repertoire, which later enabled him to develop his playing and his own style.
An original member of the Garifuna All Star Band, Aurelio has taken his Paranda music to stages in France, Japan, USA, Mexico and neighboring Central American countries. Among his most recent accomplishments, Aurelio, will be the subject of a TV documentary on his life and Garifuna music, being produced by the Spain's Television Network, which will be broadcast globally. The documentary will also include scenes in Belize, where Aurelio is considered a true idol.
Increased African Descendants Participation According to the document 2005 Honduran Elections published by ODECO, there were a total of 43 people of African descent, as candidates for positions ranging from city councilmen to legislators; among them 16 city
major candidates, 16 Legislative candidates, 5 city council candidates and 6 Major
Pro-Tem candidates. Furthermore, the Christian Democratic Party presidential candidate Juan Ramon Martinez in a Honduras This Week article presented himself as the only person of African descent to seek the Honduras presidency. Bernard Martinez the first person of African descent ever to be elected president of a political party, the PINU, the Innovation and National Unity Party in Honduras, did not get enough votes t be elected to the Honduran legislature. Political Situation Honduras has enjoyed uninterrupted civilian democratic rule since the military relinquished power in 1982 after free and fair elections.
In the November 27th 2005 presidential elections, Liberal Party candidate Manuel Zelaya Rosales defeated his National Party rival Porfirio Lobo Sosa, although neither of the two major parties gained a majority in the128-member unicameral Congress. For most of this century, the Liberal and National parties have been the two dominant political parties. Both are considered center-right parties, and there appear to be few major ideological differences between the two. The Honduras National Congress Honduras is a constitutional democracy, with a president and a unicameral congress elected by separate ballot for 4-year terms. The multiparty political system is dominated by two traditional parties, the Nationalists and the Liberals. The Honduran Congress is a unicameral legislature. Its members are 128 deputies (diputados), who are elected on a proportional
representation basis, by department, to serve four-year terms. Prior to 1997, deputies were
elected indirectly, with congressional party strengths determined by the proportion of votes cast for the corresponding candidates in the concurrent presidential election. Since that date, however, separate elections have been held for the legislature and for national and local executives, and the country's deputies have been elected directly. There's no question that people of African descent are making a difference in the Honduran political scene and after waiting for seventy five years, the Garifuna community of Honduras will finally have representation in the Honduran Congress.
Sources: Diario La Prensa, Diario El Tiempo, Diario El Heraldo, 2005
Honduran Election - ODECO, Honduras: Political and Economic
Situation and U.S. Relations José Francisco Avila