[Text/Observer Network columnist Xu Shicheng]
After Honduran President Castro publicly expressed his willingness to establish diplomatic relations with China, the US and Taiwan authorities really could not sit still.
On March 15, Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina said on Channel 5 of Honduran TV that in accordance with the relevant directives of President Xiomara Castro de Celaya on March 14, he had communicated with Tang Heng, the Chinese ambassador to Costa Rica, on the 14th to start negotiations on the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, according to the Honduran newspaper La Press.
President Xiomara Castro of Honduras said via Twitter on Tuesday (March 14) local time that he had instructed Honduran Foreign Minister Eduardo Reina to deal with the formal establishment of diplomatic relations with China. Picture from foreign media
Reina said the president's decision to establish diplomatic relations with China was courageous and that Honduras is currently in financial and debt trouble, a move that can look for more investment and trade. China is an undeniable trading power, and it is a reality that we must approach, considering the interests and needs of the Honduran people, and we need to do so. ”
The Honduran Foreign Minister said that after the decision to establish diplomatic relations with Chinese mainland, Honduras will continue to maintain frank and friendly relations with the United States, not only in terms of trade cooperation, but also in terms of defense, security and immigration issues. The Foreign Minister claimed that the Honduran Government recognizes the one-China principle, that Taiwan is a part of China, and that the Honduran Government is ready to sever so-called "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan region.
Previously, Honduras had asked Taiwan to increase its previously promised $50 million in aid to Hong over four years to $100 million, and asked the Taiwan authorities to reschedule the $600 million debt problem, but the Taiwan authorities did not agree.
It is worth noting that according to the Honduran "News" reported on March 6, US Republican Senator Bill Cassidy (Bill Cassidy) and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Barratt, etc. have tweeted to express concern and condemnation of the Honduran government's readiness to establish diplomatic relations with China.
Honduran President Castro said the Central American country would instead seek ties with China as part of a trend driven by China's economic influence (Reuters)
Why Honduras has delayed the establishment of diplomatic relations
As a presidential candidate for the left-wing Honduran party Freedom and Reconstruction Party (LIBRE), Castro said as early as September 2021 when she ran for president in September 2021 that if she wins the election, she will "immediately open diplomatic and commercial relations with Chinese mainland." ”
In the general election on November 28, 2021, she was elected president with 51.12% of the vote, defeating the candidate of the right-wing ruling National Party Nasri Asfra, and became president on January 27, 2022, becoming the first female president in the history of Honduras. Why did she decide to establish diplomatic relations with China after more than a year as president?
According to the author's analysis, there are three main reasons, one of which is the pressure of the United States. One of the purposes of the United States sending Vice President Kamala Harris to lead a large delegation to Xi Castro's inauguration was to consolidate the relationship between the United States and the "backyard" of Honduras and prevent the flood from approaching China. Later, Harris and Castro announced the launch of a strategic dialogue between the two countries.
Last April, the two countries held their first strategic dialogue in Washington, D.C. In January this year, the United States sent a high-level United States delegation led by Uzra Zea, Undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights, and Laura Richardson, commander of the Southern Command, to visit Honduras and meet with President Castro.
The second reason is the wooing of the Taiwan authorities. Taiwanese deputy leader Lai Qingde attended Castro's inauguration ceremony and pledged $50 million in aid to Honduras over four years.
The third reason is that within the Honduran government and Congress, there are some "pro-Taiwan" elements who oppose the establishment of diplomatic relations between the government and Chinese mainland.
The political situation in Honduras has been unstable for more than a decade. President Castro's husband, Manuel Zelaya, was President of Honduras (2006-2009) and maintained good relations with left-wing countries such as Cuba and Venezuela, and Honduras formally joined the left-wing Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, created by Cuba and Venezuela, in August 2008.
On 28 June 2009, former President Zelaya was overthrown by a coup d'état by the military and transferred to Costa Rica. In 2010, the provisional government of Honduras, established after the coup, announced that Honduras would withdraw from the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. In 2011 , Zelaya and Castro left the Liberal Party and created the Freedom Reconstruction Party , with Celaya as its chairman.
In addition, Honduras, located in Central America, is rich in bananas, and after the First World War, its banana exports ranked first in the world, so it is known as the "country of bananas". For a long time, the United Fruit Company of the United States has dominated large areas of banana plantations and railroads and other infrastructure in Honduras and other Central American countries, and even equipped the plantations with its own armed forces, administrative system, and independent judiciary.
The United States controlled Honduras and Latin American countries at will through the United Fruit Company, and repeatedly planned coups to overthrow governments that did not obey American orders, resulting in political turmoil in these countries.
I remember that in 1961, the Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House translated and published a novel entitled "Green Prison" by Honduran progressive writer Ramón Amaya Amador, which described how the United Fruit Company of the United States arbitrarily exploited and oppressed local people in banana plantations in Honduras and Central American countries, turning the plantations into "green prisons" and local "countries within a state".
Castro advocated "democratic socialism" in his political philosophy, and his government was considered a moderate left-wing government. in terms of economic development, opposition to free-market capitalism and the neoliberal economic model; In terms of social policy, it pursues a welfare social policy, opposes corruption, fights poverty, combats drug smuggling and violent crime, and maintains social stability; In terms of diplomatic philosophy, it adheres to pluralistic diplomacy, advocates peaceful coexistence among all countries, and respects each other's territorial sovereignty; promoting democracy and defending human rights; While maintaining relations with the United States, we will focus on improving relations with Latin American countries and strengthening Latin American integration and solidarity, developing cooperation with international and regional multilateral organizations, and supporting international counter-terrorism cooperation.
After Castro came to power, he restored relations with the Maduro government in Venezuela and no longer recognized Venezuelan opposition Guaido as the "legitimate president."
In June last year, because the Biden administration of the United States did not invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to participate in the 9th Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, President Castro also refused to participate in the summit together with Mexican President López and others.
Castro is under pressure to govern
After Castro came to power, he encountered many difficulties in governing the country. At the beginning of her term in office in January 2022, she faced the difficulty of determining the speaker of the parliament. Some members of the ruling party, the Freedom and Reconstruction Party, turned to opposition parliamentarians because they disagreed with the president's nomination of Luis Redondo, a member of the Save Honduras party, as speaker.
In the end, the ruling party had to expel 18 dissidents from the ruling party parliamentarians and forcibly appointed Redondo as speaker. The 48 seats of parliamentarians of the ruling party and the 10 seats of its coalition party for the salvation of Honduras are 58 seats, which does not constitute a majority of the 128 seats in parliament, so the contradiction between the government and the house is prominent.
In addition, the conflict between President Xi Castro and Salvador Nasralla, the first vice president of the Honduran saving party, has become increasingly apparent, with Nasraya openly opposing the president's decision to establish diplomatic relations with China.
Some opposition figures have complained about the cronyism of the female President naming her husband Zelaya as Special Adviser to the President, her two sons as Adviser to the President, one of whom was also appointed as Private Secretary to the President, her nephew as Minister of Defence and her brother-in-law as Secretary of Congress.
In more than a year since Castro was in power, the Honduran economy has made a certain improvement, with economic growth of 4.1% in 2022 on the basis of -9% in 2020 and 9.6% in 2021, inflation of 8.93% and unemployment of 8.6%.
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Central America, with nearly 75% of the population living in poverty. According to official statistics, at the beginning of 2022, Honduras' external debt reached US$8.607 billion, domestic debt of US$6.054 billion, and total debt of US$14.661 billion.
With a GDP of $29,657 million in 2022 (ranked 106th in the world and 32nd in Latin America and the Caribbean, slightly higher than Haiti), GDP per capita is only $2,831. Two-thirds of the country's population is poor.
Honduran migration flows. Infographic
Due to poverty, over the years, a large number of residents of Honduras have emigrated abroad, mainly to the United States. According to statistics, there are currently more than 1 million Honduran immigrants in the United States, and remittances have become the main source of foreign exchange income for Dongduras.
In recent years, some 100,000 Hondurans have migrated to the United States each year through various legal and illegal means. Moreover, homicide rates, violence and drug smuggling in Honduras have not improved significantly for more than a year.
In recent years, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Nicaragua have established diplomatic relations with China in Central America. The rapid development of bilateral relations between these countries and China, especially economic and trade relations, has provided tangible help and benefits from China, which has undoubtedly played an exemplary role for Honduras.
The Honduran government is eager to develop economic and trade relations with China and obtain Chinese loans and investments by establishing diplomatic relations with China, so as to develop its economy and improve people's livelihood.
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