Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Cuarta Urna

Allan and his 17 month old daughter are apparently safely back in Honduras although his house was ransacked and all his art materials were burned along with his cartoons.

Allan had drawn a few cartoons recently in support of the cuarta urna, or fourth ballot, in which the Honduran citizens have the right to vote for a constitutional convention. It was not a vote to change the constitition as much of the press has reported but merely to reinstate the right to do so. The ruling elite know that a constitutional convention might open a Pandora's box of popular demands in the face of extreme poverty in Honduras and took the drastic measure of arresting the president in his pajamas and flying him out of the country to install a more "favorable" leader who will maintain the status quo. They have also shut down all the non-government controlled media outlets across the country and arrested several journalists including Eduardo Maldonado (who I once shared a taxi with) and Esdras Amado Lopez.

There is a bunch of "tribute" cartoons on the Rebellion site. Also, there's an article in English here.


1 comment:

J. Lemon said...

If these events bother you as much as they do me, please call the U.S. government and ask for the immediate reinstatement of Honduran President Mel Zelaya. The numbers to call are: State Department: 202-647-4000 or 1-800-877-8339 White House: Comments: 202-456-1111, Switchboard: 202-456-14144.