 
WHY A NEW CONSTITUTION?

By Carolina Bardales

Copyright 2015 Carolina Bardales

Smash Words Edition

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**Why a New Constitution is** a translation of the book

"Constituyente ¿Para Que?

Propuestas Recopiladas para la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente"

by Carolina Bardales and Ruben Dario Bardales

What others are saying about Why a New constitution?

"After completing the reading of this work I express my enthusiastic congratulations to the authors. The content is substantial and interesting, solidly supported either by reference or by the immediate policy's needs of the country. I would say you have in your hands a text of enormous value to the cause of democratic change in Honduras"

-Julio Escoto-

Honduran writer

<http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Escoto>

This book is dedicated to the people of Honduras.

Special thanks to Daniel Lynch, Erica Fulton, Linda Hausmann, and Tyrone Babione for their selfless help editing this book.

"There is no crueler tyranny than that

Which is perpetuated under the shield of

Law and in the name of justice"

-Charles de Montesquieu-

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: Preamble

Chapter 2: Proposals about Fundamental Rights

Chapter 3: Proposals about Duties and Responsabilities of the Citizens

Chapter 4: Proposals about Labor Rights and Social Security System

Chapter 5: Proposals about the Form of Government and its Structure

Chapter 6: Proposals about Citizen Participation

Chapter 7: Proposals about Transparency and Accountability

Chapter 8: Proposals about the Role of the State as Guarantor of the Development and Distribution of Wealth

Chapter 9: Proposals about Media

Chapter 10: Proposals about the Military and Police

Chapter 11: Proposals about Natural Resources

Chapter 12: Proposals about the Call for the Constitutional Convention and the Reform Process of the Constitution

Glosary

Bibliography

Endnotes

Call to Action

About the Author

Preface

Five years have passed since the need for a new constitution was first discussed. Five years have passed since a coup d'état silenced the people calling for a constituent assembly (constitutional convention).

In 2010, when the Spanish version of this book was first published, people were talking about the imminent need to draft a new constitution. At that time, virtually no specific, clear, and concise proposals were heard (except the broad goal of creating a participatory democracy) which left the new constitution hidden behind a veil of darkness. It was precisely this lack of specific content that provided the motivation for the authors of this book to collect and offer proposals that reflected the needs Honduras requires.

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Introduction

**Why a New Constitution?** is the question that many people ask themselves without finding a concrete answer. In order to provide an answer, the authors of this book evoke the fact that societies are constantly evolving, progressing, and reinventing themselves; therefore, the rules governing the State (i.e., Constitution of the Republic) must also adapt to these changes to avoid becoming an obstacle to progress. The authors also argue that the most notorious aspects of the constitution of 1982, alone explain why a new constitution is required.

**Why a New Constitution?** is an educational book which presents those topics to consider when drafting a new constitution and explains the necessity for a constitutional convention.

The intention of the authors is to draft proposals, proposals that reflect the idiosyncrasies of the people and that achieve a qualitative improvement in the quality of life of each individual. The main goal of the authors is to encourage citizen involvement in creating a new constitution. Readers are encouraged to formulate their own proposals and to discuss them with others. Only with the contribution of every citizen will it be possible to enact a constitution that benefits all Hondurans.

Basically, the book is structured in two parts namely; an introductory part that briefly speaks of the Honduras' constitutional history and the reasons why a constitutional convention should be called, and a propositive part, consisting of more than one hundred proposals. These proposals are expressed in simple language, explaining why certain new elements should be included in the constitution and why other elements should be modified and/ or removed.
CHAPTER 1

Preamble

A constituent assembly (sometimes also known as a constitutional convention or constitutional assembly) is a congregation of delegates elected from the Honduran people. Its mandate is to write the basic rules of social order of the state: a new constitution which represents the sovereign will of the people and comes into effect after being submitted to referendum and sanctioned by the Honduran people. This fundamental law sets up the rules for the construction of a new state.

Historically, the State of Honduras has had many constitutions. The first was the Cadiz Constitution of 1812, created when Honduras was part of the Spanish Empire. Some of the subsequent constitutions include:

-The Federal Constitution, adopted in Central America in 1824

-The first Constitution of the State of Honduras itself in 1825

-The Constitution of 1831

The most recent constitution was enacted in 1982. Altogether, there have been _eighteen constitutions in 203 years, equivalent to enacting a new constitution every eleven years._

Human beings and their societies evolve, progress, and reinvent themselves continuously; therefore, the rules governing the State (the Constitution) must adapt to these changes to avoid becoming an obstacle to the progress of the peoples. Laws cannot be immutable (as claimed by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1980-81) particularly if such laws do not represent the majority.

The 1982 Constitution contains a set of flawed and outdated legal standards that earned it the title of "eyesore" by the Constitutional lawyers around the world. Some of these flaws were passed down from the previous core standards. (It is worth mentioning that the previous Constitutions were not representative of the majority.)

The current Constitution was written during the military dictatorship in order to maintain the status quo, which favored the ruling classes. It was written during the time of the Cold War, when many Honduran citizens who thought differently from the prevailing clans were systematically persecuted, tortured, and made to disappear. Among the Constitution's most notorious flaws are:

a) It does not represent all citizens. Most citizens were not allowed to participate in its writing.

b) It grants privileges to certain sectors of society, mainly the powerful economic groups and the ruling class.

c) It does not address the protection of natural resources.

d) It failed to protect the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic rights of indigenous peoples of the Americas, bringing them almost to extinction.

e) It was imposed by the minority who held the economic, political, and military power; therefore, it never represented the interests and needs of the majority of the Honduran people.

f) The sovereign (the people) was not considered for its approval throughout a referendum.

g) It does not include full social and cultural rights. The few rights it includes are mentioned in a vague and superficial way, without establishing enforcement mechanisms.

h) It was written using ambiguous language, making it easy to interpret in a way that matches the wishes of powerful groups.

i) It maintains the status of the armed forces as an alternate state to the State of Honduras, allowing the military to act with virtually no accountability for their actions.

j) It spoils itself by claiming to be superior to the constituent power (the Constitutional Convention).

k) It forbids its repeal, ensuring that future generations must be forever governed by its rules. This feature contradicts the fact that change in societies is permanent and that the people are "the sovereign."

l) It contains a legal system designed to govern the life of a society that existed over a hundred years ago _(it is the same Constitution of 1906 with a few amendments)_ [1]

m) It excludes all forms of "different" thought, leading to great intolerance and exclusion of ideas.

n) It dismisses the historical past of the mestizo majority (people of Mediterranean-Native of the Americas origin), denying them access to their own origin by creating a historical mythology that ensured the hegemony of the ruling class.

The above-mentioned flaws should be reason enough to repeal the 1982 Constitution. However, when they are combined with the rupture of constitutional order caused by the coup d'état of June 28, 2009, there is an urgent need for the immediate convocation of a National Constitutional Convention. Such a convention is the only way to repair all the social and historical mistakes contained in a Constitution created by the ruling class with the intention to remain in power.

That atrocious violation of the fundamental law of the state (coup d'état) created a major breaking point in the relationship "rulers-ruled", because those who wield power and real control of the country (the factual powers) became visible [by their violent actions] to the majority of the population that even ignored its existence. On the other hand, a large sector of society refused to obey the government imposed by these powerful groups, while others lost the little confidence that they still had in the independence of the branches of government and the state's institutions such as the Supreme Court, National Congress, Attorney General's Office, ombudsman, Police, etc. This situation prevented the rulers from maintaining power easily, as they had done for decades, and led them to use violent repression against the governed.

To heal up the wounds of the civil-military coup d'état it is imperative to create a new social contract, an immediate rebirth of the state that allows all citizens to commit to the development of the nation. That new social agreement within the Honduran family may be achieved only by calling for a new National Constitutional Convention in which all sectors are represented.

In this new Constitution, the mistakes passed down from previous constitutions must be removed, ensuring that for the very first time the Constitution will be _"of the people, by the people and for the people",_ giving equal rights to all Hondurans and addressing the needs of citizens of all economic levels.

When the time of writing the new constitution arrives, the Honduran people must remember what has happened in the country's constitutional history to avoid what the Spanish poet and philosopher Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana prophesied: _"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."_

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CHAPTER 2

Proposals About Fundamental Rights

The new Constitution should not only invoke the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as have previous constitutions, but it should require strict compliance. All Western constitutions contain fundamental human rights, - also called self evident- namely civil and political rights. However, these rights by themselves are not enough to ensure a decent life for people. Our new Constitution has an obligation to amend the omissions of its predecessor, adding new constitutional guarantees such as the right to food, water, knowledge, and other human rights of second and third generation [ 2 ] to ensure the full development of and a dignified standard of living for the people.

Political Rights.

Reduce the age to exercise full political rights.

Traditionally, young people in Honduras have been deliberately excluded from public life, relegating them to the background as a mere workforce and as consumerist individuals. This exclusion has resulted in a strong degree of "apathy" in the youth toward the reality of the country, distancing and alienating them from the natural sense of belonging to society and the State.

Currently, the minimum age to qualify for the presidency of the Republic is thirty years. This constitutes a clear discrimination, since age does not make a person more able or less able to hold a public office. In any case, the determining factors for qualifying should be intelligence, academic readiness, previous experience, and emotional maturity (all of them combined), are factors that will determine the president's performance in the job.

It is proposed that at sixteen everybody be considered a citizen and be allowed to exercise suffrage at a municipal and community level. At eighteen, a person should be a participant in the election of national authorities (congressmen and the President), and Central America authorities (members to the Central American Parliament). At twenty-one a citizen would enjoy full political rights. That is, a person would be eligible for elected office without exception: mayor, congressman or President, and would elect officials at all levels, whether community, national, or Central American.

Residents have the right to elect officials at the community where they reside.

A person who lives in a city, town, village, hamlet, is affected by the decisions in his community. Therefore, an alien resident and a Central American citizen residing in the community has the right to participate in such decisions and choose their local authorities. It should also be clear that at no time should alien residents have the right to elect authorities in parliamentary or presidential elections, since they are not citizens of the country. However, Central American citizens who live in the state of Honduras, may exercise their legitimate right to elect Central America authorities (Members of the Central American Parliament).

Rights of Central American citizens.

The State of Honduras is a Central American state. This is a given. Integration of Central America must be one of the key aspects of the new Constitution. The Honduran citizens are thereby Central American citizens with rights and obligations. Those obligations include the right to travel and reside freely anywhere within Central America, and are bound by the obligations of Central American sovereignty.

It is proposed that under the new constitution that no Central American citizen should be considered a foreigner (this does not mean that he will be considered a Honduran citizen) and that after the three months period granted by the law to Central American Citizens to stay in the country expires, a citizen automatically becomes a legal resident in the community in which the citizen resides.

Social Rights.

The state would guarantee the right to food and access to water.

The current Constitution does not ensure access to water and food to citizens, so those should be included as constitutional guarantees and be recognized as fundamental rights of individuals. The new constitution of Honduras should include some articles that deal with such topics as shown in the following paragraphs:

a) Food is a human right. Everyone, regardless of his/her economic status, sex, age, religion, skin color, etc. has the permanent right to safe and healthy, sufficient and nutritious food.

b) The State shall create agricultural and poultry enterprises to provide food to those who do not have access to it.

c) The human right to water is fundamental. Water is a strategic national resource for public use, unalienable, indefeasible, and essential for life. This means that it cannot be sold illegally.

The state would guarantee private ownership of land while complying with its social-economic function.

People can have large land ownings only if they are using it (growingfruits or vegetables, producing energy, etc.), but if the land is empty it should revert to the control of the state and be assigned to someone who can use it. The new constitution should ban the private possession of unproductive land.

An Efficient and worthy public transportation system would be a civil right.

In many of the cities of Honduras there are hundreds of public carriers, owners of one or more means of public transportation. These carriers only have an economic motivation and do not operate their vehicles (buses, taxis, etc) if they do not find it profitable (despite its being a State responsibility). Additionally, users cannot complain about the poor service, because there is no competent authority to appeal to. As a result, the public transportation system is fully deregulated and disorganized.

It is proposed that the State, in partnership with local communities, the Social Security system, and private capital -when the latter is needed- run transportation companies to provide an efficient and worthy service. This would allow the State to receive some income while exercising real control over public transportation, including the hiring of talented employees trained specifically for this activity.

The state would be responsible for designing transportation routes in line with the demand and not as is done now, according only to the economic interest of carriers. This would allow hiring the best transportation engineers to redesign the routes, and/or determine the number of buses needed to meet peak demand and off-peak hours.

Municipalities, if desired by its citizens, through a referendum, may request the State to delegate the transportation system within its territorial jurisdiction.

Cultural Rights.

Natives from the Americas have special cultural and linguistic rights.

Indigenous peoples were slaughtered for centuries by the Spanish crown, relegated to servitude, forced to accept a foreign religion. They were also forced to abandon their languages, garments, ancient ways and traditions, which were systematically replaced by an alien culture: the European Hispanic culture from across the Atlantic.

Marriage between Iberians and Americans created a new ethnic group: the mestizo (a heterogeneous mixture of Mediterranean and Native American) that ended up becoming the ethnic majority in Central America. These mestizos were Hispanics and carriers of western European culture. They Grez up as Latin Americans, spoke Spanish, and practiced Christianity.

Despite what many people believe, cultural oppression did not cease when Central America became independent of the Spanish Empire (when the Spanish authorities were expelled). The fledgling United Central American States, now ruled by Latin-Americans, continued to pressure local cultures to quasi-extinction.

The reality is that the damage to the native peoples with the genocide sponsored by the Spanish Empire, coupled with cultural genocide imposed by new states (once they became independent) is irreparable. However, it is the responsibility of the people of our time to stop this from continuing, and to establish a precedent that one culture has no right to destroy another.

Vestiges of the rich culture of the indigenous peoples who have survived are a treasure for our future generations and we must protect these (as a sign of respect for our ancestors), by granting special linguistic and cultural rights to ensure their preservation.

The right to knowledge is undeniable.

A person trained in any specific activity has the proper tools to perform his job in the best way which prepares him to fully enjoy a better quality of life. That can only be achieved through a democratization of education which allows him to obtain a comprehensive education. Denying an education to a person constitutes a serious violation of basic human rights. The new Constitution should ensure that nobody is deprived of it.

Throughout history there have been several examples of democratization of education. One of the first cases occurred after the French Revolution, when ordinary citizens could learn to read and write in the first public schools.

Another case occurred in what was called "The Reformation" when ordinary people realized that biblical knowledge must be accessible to all, and not just to an educated elite. This democratization process permitted the reading of the Bible in their native language instead of only ancient Greek or Latin, languages that were understood only by a privileged few.

Though apparently in Honduras there is a democratization of education and "everybody" has access to it, we must recognize that this is an illusion. There are public schools, it is true, but the quality of education has deteriorated substantially in the last twenty years. To give one example, a current fifth grader can barely read or write, and at best can only add and subtract (those skills were acquired in the first grade with the previous educational model).

The state which the Honduran people will rebuild would be a humanist state, aware that knowledge is one of the foundations of human development. Consequently, the state would protect and promote it through the creation of a quality educational system.

Fundamental education is an obligation first of the parents, then of the community, and then, ultimately, the state.

The current Constitution of Honduras makes the State solely responsible for the education of children. This is a reasoning error, although it is true, the State must also ensure that there are elementary and high schools, and universities. The parents are and must be responsible for the initial training of the children, teaching them good manners, proper hygiene, as well as respect for others, and for instilling good morals.

As such, parents should be entitled to monitor the proper performance of teachers who work in institutions where their children study and advocate for their dismissal in the event of failure or poor performance.

Formal education is Mandatory.

Education up to the high school level should be compulsory and it should include vocational-technical training (getting into collage / university would be optional). In addition, this education should be comprehensive, so that it develops every aspect of the each person's potential.

Vocational education is essential and compulsory as part of formal education.

The fact that many people - even the graduates of high school - do not have technical skills limits their options in qualifying for good jobs and forces them to accept degrading working conditions and wages below the legal minimum to provide food for their families.

To avoid these "outrages", curricula at the elementary and high school level should be reformed to include not only core subjects (reading, writing, mathematics, history, etc.), but also such fundamental skills as carpentry, masonry, welding, plumbing, mechanics, sewing, cooking, languages, computers, etc. so that the graduate can function independently in life. This professional technical training would be a requirement for getting a high school certificate.

To consider crimes against culture as crimes against humanity.

In the sixteenth century, Diego de Landa, a Spanish priest who came to Central America with the idea of converting the natives, burned all the written antient knowledge in astronomy, physics, mathematics, architecture, medicine, etc. accumulated by the Maya culture in the codices.

This religious fanatic, thought that the Codices were works of the devil and for that reason he hit upon the "great idea" of burning them, _denying forever and ever to future generations any possibility of taking advantage of the extensive knowledge accumulated over thousands of years by the Mayans in various fields_. This is a clear example of a crime against human culture.

Anyone who would destroy world heritage, such as "knowledge", commits an abominable crime against human culture and should be tried by a competent court. These crimes should be considered imprescriptible in the same way as crimes against humanity, treason, and crimes committed by public servants who violate the economic and cultural heritage of the State.

Rights of Nature.

Nature has the right to exist, the State and all humans are bound to protect it.

Nature and its ecosystems should be protected and respected. As such, it is the duty of the State to encourage communities and individuals and corporations to protect and respect nature. The State should establish restrictive measures for activities that could lead to the extinction of species, ecosystems, or permanent alteration of natural cycles.

In cases of severe environmental impact, including those linked to the exploitation of nonrenewable natural resources, the State should establish more effective mechanisms to achieve the restoration of non-renewable natural resources and take appropriate measures to eliminate or mitigate the harmful environmental consequences.

Transit through nature must be free, even though the plots are private.

Everyone should have the right to free movement through nature, since it is a common heritage. In this sense, private property does not preclude the possibility for others and the community to move freely and enjoy nature.

This right applies to everyone as long as the person does not harm or destroy nature. If a person damages nature he will be prosecuted. This new right would be based on the principle that everyone has the right to freely enjoy nature but not to destroy it.

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CHAPTER 3

Proposals about Duties and Responsabilities of the Citizens

The various constitutions which have governed the political life of Hondurans assigned rights to citizens, but not responsibilities. Often unaware of the responsibilities intrinsic to the nature of citizenship, Hondurans have produced a deficit of socially responsible action because of this omission. The New constitution should clearly explain the responsibilities incumbent upon every citizen. By doing so, citizens will not only enforce their rights, but also reflect on the fact that there are responsibilities to be fulfilled.

Among the topics related to duties and responsibilities of citizens which should be extensively socialized prior to calling the Constitutional convention include:

Holding a Public Office is a Citizen's Duty and an Honor to Perform.

The new Civil Service Act to be issued should encourage positions of public administration be filled by the most capable individuals. Citizens who possess the qualities, skills, and experience suitable to hold public office should not refuse to accept it as it is their duty as citizens to give their best to build a better country. Public office is equivalent to being called to join the national soccer team. No one thinks that an athlete plays for mere economic gain. It is an honor to be selected to represent the country and it is for this reason that everyone tries their best.

Immediate reparation of the harm caused to the victims.

When an offense occurs that causes harm to certain people, usually the responsible party promises to repair it. However, in real life, this promise is rarely enforced and the victim is never compensated, even in those cases in which the responsible one has the means to do so.

This is unfair so we believe that the new constitution should specify that the responsible party must immediately repair the harm caused to his/her victim. This reparation may begin by apologizing, making amends, and agreeing to financial restitution. Only in exceptional cases [demonstrated in court] in which the responsible party does not have the means to do it, the victim could accept, through negotiation, the promise of repair. As per the law the offender would be sent to perform personal or community service work to repair the damage caused. He or she would receive basic subsistence (whether free or in prison, according to the sentence imposed by the court).

All Honduran citizens and / or residents have the duty to pay taxes.

Existing laws support the use of instruments such as waivers for the purpose of exempting a privileged group like congressmen and other public officials from paying certain taxes on imports of vehicles. These instruments are another privilege among the many granted by those who have ruled this country.

All Hondurans are equal before the law. We all have the same rights and duties. Therefore, paying taxes should apply to all (including residents), without favoring anyone. The new Constitution should expressly prohibit all forms of tax exemption. Never again should a Honduran Constitution contain items that give the impression or affirm that there are preferences for certain sectors of the population.

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CHAPTER 4

Proposals about Labor Rights and Social Security System

Social Security is a topic of great relevance to all Hondurans considering the 1982 constitution contains very few elements concerning this topic. As a result, there are numerous missing provisions to be incorporated in an eventual new constitution such as: retirement income (pension plan), unemployment benefits (unemployment insurance), creation of public childcare, and a quality system of public transportation.

We encourage the reader to formulate his own proposals and discuss them with others. Remember that only with the hard work of every Honduran is it possible to build a homeland where social justice prevails and, rights and responsibilities are equal for all. Creating a humanitarian and inclusive constitution is the responsibility of every citizen.

Social Security would be a fundamental right guaranteed by the State.

In most of the countries in the Americas, unlike those in Europe, welfare of the population has been manipulated as a political issue which provides politicians leverage to influence votes. This means that the welfare of the population has been considered optional by the various governments of the Republic of Honduras. This has to change as soon as possible because Social Security is an issue that has a major role in the lives of all the citizens of a nation.

Security in this sense does not mean having thousands and thousands of police and soldiers hunting criminals (or seeing the opposite happen which is often the case where the authorities become the criminals). Social Security instead guarantees that at the end of the day everyone will have something to eat; that if someone gets sick, healthcare will be available, that in the case of losing your job there will be assistance to provide the basics until new employment is found. Social Security is to know that you can gain new skills in order to get a better job, that you can live your life without discrimination and on an equal footing with your fellow citizens; it is to know that after a lifetime of working hard your old age is guaranteed. These issues, so fundamental to human development, cannot and should never be politicized; they are non-negotiable and inalienable rights issues.

Consequently, it is necessary the Social Security System (SSS) administer and improve the quality of life of each Honduran without politically motivated influence. This state agency would have the mission of providing the most basic care to the population in a non-partisan and independent way..

Among the elements that make up Social Security would include:

• Quality medical care

• Food security

• Guaranteed income retirement income (pension plan)

• Disability benefits (disability pension)

• Unemployment benefits (Unemployment Insurance)

• Get training to qualify for a new or better job (while unemployed)

• Childcare and care to the families with children.

• Other social services.

This Social Security system (S.S.S) would be possible through joint contributions from employer and employees in proportion to their income. It would also derive contributions from independent workers and farmers The immediate goal would be that all citizens, according to their income could choose from basic quality social services to high quality services (for people with high income).

Every worker is entitled to receive a pension.

The Social Security System would be responsible for providing retirement income (a pension plan) to every worker regardless of the professional association to which they belonged and whether the work was performed for an employer or it was self-employment. Employees would have the option of hiring retirement income (pension plans), unemployment benefits (unemployment insurance), medical care, and services of other nature with any private company (according to their preference). The cost of such services would be deducted from their contribution to the S.S.S. In any case, workers might not forgo the most basic and emergency services

Everyone is entitled to unemployment benefits and training in order to qualify for a new job.

Everyone would provide a contribution to the Social Security system while employed (whether by an employer or self-employed). Part of this contribution would serve to fund unemployment benefits (unemployment insurance) which could eventually be used by anyone who is temporarily without a source of income allowing him to survive while he searches for a new job.

Additionally, all unemployed would receive free training (if they wish). Such training would be preferably done by the Honduran Institute of Vocational Training. As a result, every unemployed person could improve his skills and knowledge putting him in a better position to apply for a new job.

The Social Security System is responsible for providing infant daycare.

The S.S.S would also be responsible for establishing daycare facilities to allow all citizens (during working hours) to leave their infants in the hands of trained people who can provide the required care.

Let us remember that infant care is the responsibility of the employers, because the parents of these children are working for them. Consequently, the Social Security System would charge this cost to the employers which do not provide this service in their facilities.

Social Security would include job training.

The Social Security System would have a role in the administration of the Honduran Institute of Vocational Training. This is to ensure that workers receive continued training which will allow them to strengthen their labor skills required in their current job and / or acquire new skills which enable them to qualify for a new job (in the event of becoming unemployed temporarily).

The social security system would be a partner in the administration of public transportation.

As mentioned previously, the state must be the guarantor of efficient and quality public transportation. Additionally, it is the responsibility of employers to cover the costs of transportation of their employees to and from their facilities. The justification for this is simple: if you would not have to go to work, then you would not have to spend money on transportation to the facilities of a company.

The Social Security System would automatically charge the cost of transportation of their employees to the employer (in places where the S.S.S provides transportation service). Therefore, employees could use public transportation to go to the company where they work just by showing their social security card.

Public-private partnership between transportation companies, communities, and the Social Security System would lead to a more efficient public transportation system since it would not be governed solely by the profit motive of carriers, but by the actual transportation needs of the population. This would provide shuttle service until late at night and transport people to where they are needed in a timely manner.

Such a new system would also prevent traffic jams due to the concentration of too many, and sometimes unnecessary number of buses, taxis, and private vehicles. This would gradually lead to a decrease in the emission of toxic substances that destroy the common environment.

Once the state gets real control over the transportation system, it would advocate for hiring trained staff members not only to drive the vehicles, but also in public relations and customer service. This would significantly reduce the abuse against the users of public transportation service.

A second benefit of creating a more efficient, comfortable, and safe public transportation system is to encourage widespread use (like in Europe), including people with certain economic solvency. This, in turn, would also allow those people concerned with the environmental impact caused by vehicle emissions the option of using public transportation.

Every worker is entitled to earn a wage which will allow him a decent quality of life.

The new constitution must ensure that people get a fair income which allows them to attain a decent standard of living. This could be possible by creating a permanent minimum wage commission, formed by economists and participants of the economy (employees and employers). This commission would be required to make adjustments to the minimum wage based on the cost of living. Unlike the current system where workers and employers (or the President of the Republic as arbitrator) negotiate wage adjustments based on their own economic interests turns the minimum wage into a political issue rather than a technical one

Establishing a minimum wage based on the cost of living, along with Social Security guarantees, would substantially improve the quality of life of the population during their working lives and later retirement.

Employment discrimination based on age, sex, race or religion should be classified as a crime.

Everyday there are newspaper ads or fliers in which many companies advertise that they have openings. In such ads employers explicitly require that candidates be younger than thirty years old, a specific gender, and provide their religious affiliation. All of these and other requirements (whenever they do not affect job performance) are blatant examples of discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, skin color, religious affiliation, etc. happening right before the eyes of the authorities of the Ministry of Work.

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CHAPTER 5

Proposals about the Form of Government and its Structure

This chapter consists of four main sections grouped under the categories of general topics, form of government, government structure, and Central America´s integration. General topics emphasize the difference between the words government and state, two totally different concepts that politicians make look alike for their own convenience. This section also talks about the introduction of mechanisms to prevent excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the presidents of the three powers of Government.[3]

The most outstanding proposals relating to the government structure include creating a permanent electoral council to ask people´s opinion about national interest topics and creating a constitutional court and a court of environmental crimes, and also creating an environment police. This chapter also suggests the annual election of the judges to the Supreme Court conducted via popular vote.

GENERAL TOPICS.

The Government is Just a Temporary Administrator of the Governmental Institutions.

Those who have ruled the Honduran nation have ensured that citizens believe that they have the maximum power of sovereignty in this country, ignoring the fact that the sovereign power resides on the people as a whole. The new Constitution should make the huge difference between the concepts of state and government very clear, which is the government is temporary and the sovereign (the people) delegates some tasks to it. The State, however, is an entity that endures over time and is composed of the population, the territory, the laws and the government. _The government is therefore a component of the state and not the state itself._

Although in the view of some people, talking about the difference between both concepts seems to be trivial, but in fact, it is very important, because this is one of the small details that our government has used to take so many decisions against the highest authority of our country: the People. _For years we have been led to believe that state and government is the same thing, when the government is in fact just a tiny part of the state._

Prohibition of Preserving The State at the Expense of Human Rights' Violation.

Human rights (HR) are based on the Universal Declaration of 1948, which is not an international treaty, but only a joint statement among many states within the United Nations Organization (UN), so compliance is not mandatory. However, the spirit of this statement is found in many compacts between states [or international treaties] as: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, the Convention Against Torture 1984 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural, among many others. The new Constitution should clearly and explicitly prohibit various governments from performing actions that violate human rights in the name of preserving the state, the form of government or any other purpose.

The International Covenants on Human Rights should be constituted as internal law, and in case of conflict with the Constitution of the State of Honduras, the international treaties should prevail.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

The Form of Government of the New State of Honduras Should be a Participatory and Direct Democracy.

_The form of government of this new State that the Hondurans people will create would be a participatory and representative democracy_. _Participatory democracy would be exercised through referendum, the councils, prior consultation and citizen legislative initiative._ Representative democracy would be exercised through direct and secret universal suffrage to elect representatives to parliament (National Congress), mayors, president and vice president of the republic, members to the Central American Parliament, judges to the Supreme Court, police chiefs and other government agencies to be created, for example, the judges to the Constitutional and Environmental Courts (we will refer to these topics later in this book).

The law should always be the expression of the will of the majority and not of small groups of people. Do not forget that the people are the constituent power (constituting authority) that will create some new democratic institutions which will be the new base of the state.

The Breach of the Secularism of The State is a Crime Against the Form of Government.

Honduras, by tradition, is one of the oldest democratic states of the world and founding member of a host of democratic international organizations such as the United Nations Organization (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Central American Court of Justice. It is a state that has always been known for being theoretically secular (without any official religious affiliation). However, it has never been able to fulfill, in a real way, the necessary separation between church and state.

To remedy this fatal error, Hondurans must demand that public officials do not perform religious rites on behalf of the State, because it constitutes a flagrant violation of one of the pillars of democracy: _the secular state_. Consequently, the aforementioned should be penalized as an offense against the form of government and, as such, should result in the loss of some civil and political rights for a certain amount of time (i.e eight years) by the public official who commits this violation, who must also cease immediately in his duties.

For years we have been witness as the Armed Forces have recklessly appointed the "Virgin of Suyapa" as their patron (protector). This action is an spectacle that is only observed in societies trapped in religious obscurantism, as in the Middle Ages or in some Asian nations with violent religious dictatorships. This does not mean that public officials cannot attend religious services.They can do it as ordinary citizens; they have the right to do it, as there is freedom of worship. What it should not be allowed to do, for any reason, is attend as public officials representing the State.

Prohibition of the Tyranny of the Majorities.

The tyranny of the majority occurs when they use their power to oppress minorities. While it is true that democracy is the power of the people, sometimes this power overreaches. A historical example of this situation was seen in Iran in the late twentieth century, when the country was a secular republic (officially neutral in matters of religion) like most of today's western societies in the Americas and Europe.

Iran experienced an Islamic Revolution and the state adopted Islam as its official religion. In this sense, saying something about the doctrines of Islam is a serious crime in that country.

The fact that the majority agrees with that decision does not mean that Iran is a democratic state, because the freedoms of opinion, religion, movement, assembly, and association are suppressed or severely limited. If majorities believe that they must eliminate all the people who do not think like them, it does not constitute a true democracy. This is a serious error in reasoning.

Even though the right of nations to self-determination exists, the entire civilization must be the custodian to avoid reaching these anti-democratic practices. Consequently, we propose that the inter-American system and/or the whole civilization should have veto power to prevent tyrannical decisions and anti-democratic governments or constitutions in any country.

The People Should Be the Guardian (Protector) of The Constitution.

Since the new Constitution will be a covenant that all the Honduran family should honor, the people itself would be the ones who protect it from any attempt to violate it. Hondurans should never forget that the people represent the supreme power in the state (it is the sovereign), which is superior to the current three powers of the government (executive, legislative and judicial). Therefore, the supreme task of defending the Constitution must belong to the sovereign.

With the people lies the responsibility -through secret and direct ballot- of electing the president, members of Congress, mayors and other elected offices. Consequently, the people must also be in charge of protecting and safeguarding the rule of law and the Constitution.

The current Constitution assigns that task -in an irresponsible way- to the Armed Forces, an organization that in the twentieth century carried out three coups d'état and repeatedly destroyed our democracy. The first coup occurred on October 21, 1956, when Colonel Armando Velasquez overthrew the democratically elected president Julio Lozano Diaz. _As a reward to the army, October 21th was declared as the Day of the Armed Forces_ [4] _._ The second one took place on October 3, 1963 _(Day of the Soldier)_ , when the Brigadier General Oswaldo López Arellano overthrew Ramon Villeda Morales. The third coup occurred on December 4, 1972, when the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, deposed the Constitutional President of the Republic, Attorney Ramon Ernesto Cruz.

From that moment, the military chiefs overthrew one to the other with the intention of becoming the head of state. Thus, on April 22th, 1975 General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro overthrew General Oswaldo López Arellano and on August 7th, 1978 Melgar Castro was overthrown by General Policarpo Paz Garcia.

Thirty-one years later, _when we all thought that "coups d'état" were a matter of the past_ , our "glorious Armed Forces" offered to the world the most unbelievable spectacle of the XXI century: an ill-fated coup d'état, expatriating the Constitutional President of the Republic Manuel Zelaya Rosales. This atrocity was executed by the army under Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, on June 28th, 2009.

How is it possible to appoint an organization famous for the coups d'état as guarantor of the Constitution? That question should be asked to the illustrious delegates to the constitutional Convention of 1980-81.

The Presidents of the Powers of the Government Should Give Up Their Political Party.

The duty of the President of the Republic and the President of Parliament is to govern and legislate for all citizens without any political sectarianism. For this reason, once elected in office, the officials should renounce to the political party. This would be a symbolic formality to show the people that they accept their position with responsibility towards the whole nation, and not just with their political party.

GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE.

NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL.

Creating a Permanent National Electoral Council.

The creation of a permanent electoral council would result in a quantum leap in the lives of the citizens of Honduras as it would give them the voice they never had.

It should never be forgotten that the supreme power of the state rests on the sovereign [the people]. The Sovereign through a Constitutional Convention (constituent assembly) creates democratic institutions and then assigns them some special duties. The new Constitutional Convention should create a permanent Electoral Council to be the voice through which citizens express themselves. This new democratic institution would regulate querying and elections at all electoral levels, the national political parties, propaganda and electoral budgets to assure a fair competition, and also protect the political rights of citizens in public life.

The elections should be held on different dates for each electoral level. For example, in one year municipal authorities (mayors) should be elected, the next year the members of the Honduran and Central American parliament, and a year later, presidential elections would be held.

The maximum allowed time for political campaigns should not be more than a couple of weeks for the Municipality authorities, and up to a month for the presidential election. These restrictions would ensure that political propaganda does not interfere in the country's productivity. Currently, political propaganda begins where the previous one ends, which often means it is a four-year cycle.

Under the traditional approach in which elections for mayors, parliament, and the president are carried out the same day, the counting of votes takes too much time and sometimes the Electoral Council takes up to a month to declare X or Y candidate as the winner.

Creating Electoral Districts and Accountability.

During electoral campaigns, Hondurans have witnessed how candidates to members of the National Congress travel to all municipalities, towns, villages and hamlets in the respective department or province they are running for office. Usually these candidates promise the citizens things that simply cannot be fulfilled. They do it in order to get their vote. Once these candidates become congressmen, they easily forget their promises, due to the absence of a mechanism that forces accountability. A similar case occurs in municipal governments.

Let´s take the hypothetical case of a group of people in a remote village in the municipality of Marale, department (province) of Francisco Morazán, who require the development of a drinking water project in their community and decide to rely on those congressmen for whom they voted. Certainly, none of the 46 congressmen from the department of Francisco Morazán will help them, because most likely none of them lives or was born in that remote town and; therefore, none of them will feel responsible towards the people of that community.

The current scheme, which is devoid of accountability, allows that no congressmen be forced to work in favor of the people who elected him. The most affected people by this absence of accountability are the inhabitants of the poorest and the farthest municipalities. Therefore, it is necessary that the new Constitution to be enacted divide the national territory in electoral districts. Thus, each electoral district would elect its own representative to the National Congress. In this way, each member of the Congress would be truly committed to accountability and be responsible to legislate in favor of the people he or she represent. Similarly, it is indispensable that municipalities be also divided into municipal districts. The inhabitants of each district should elect a regidor (a Spanish word to refer to a council member of the municipal government) in order to represent them in the Municipal Government. This public official would be accountable to the residents of the neighborhoods that constitute the electoral district.

EXECUTIVE POWER.

Create the Office of Vice President of The Republic.

According to the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1980-81, the office of vice-president does not exist formally.This role, in theory, is performed by three presidential appointees. In fact only one of these three public officials take the president's role (the one the president chooses), while the other two do not have any formal task assigned. The vice president should be the first person in the presidential line of succession and would ascend to the presidency upon the death, resignation, permanent disability, or long stays abroad of the president.

Assign Responsibilities to The Vice President (once the Office is Created)

Provided that meanwhile the presidency fulfills its functions, the vice president has no responsibility assigned, and considering that it is unfair that someone keeps on accruing a salary without doing any job, we propose that the vice president assumes the office of minister of foreign affairs or, failing that, any other ministry office.

The President of the Executive Power is Just the Head of Government.

The president of the executive power is not a monarch elected by popular vote; it is not the sovereign, but rather, a public official like any other, with similar rights, but with some special duties. Therefore, their actions should not go beyond what the Constitution commands. Unfortunately, many people believe that the power of the president is almost unlimited. _The new Constitution should clearly state the limits of the scope and power of the citizens who serves as the presidents of the executive, legislative, judicial, and electoral branches to avoid falling into absolutism._

LEGISLATIVE POWER.

There Should Be Neither an Excessive Number of Members of Parliament nor Substitute Members.

Saying that in the twentieth century a small group of people took the assignment to govern the country through its economic, political, and military power is not revealing any secret or mystery. This happened gradually, until it came to a point in which the majority accepted this de facto ruling of that small group.

As expected, _these elite powers were the ones who named the delegates to the Constitutional convention_ in charge of drafting the not so glamorous Constitution of 1982, which has earned the title of "eyesore" by constitutional lawyers around the world. That Constitutional Convention, which was called to form a new Constitutional framework to heal the deep wounds left by the military dictatorship did nothing but perpetuate the control of these de facto powers.

The primary goal of that constitutional Convention must had been to build a true democracy in Honduras.However, the huge abuses committed by those who participated in it are unforgivable. Some of those abuses include approving a series of _privileges for themselves, their families, friends, and the groups which they represented_. Among those privileges are immunity and waivers for the member of Congress and other public officials. This immunity allows these officials not to be prosecuted while they are in office and the waivers allow them to be exempt of paying some taxes or levies.

That deliberately abusive behavior allowed them to create a bureaucracy such that gives some people the opportunity of living at expenses of the state. A tiny example of this is reflected in the disproportionate number of members of the National Congress (NC): 256 in total, 128 owners and 128 substitutes who receive a salary whether they legislate or not. Interestingly, Honduras is the third poorest country in Latin America [5], with 8,308, 650 inhabitants [6], yet one in every 32, 455 is appointed as a member of Congress.

Analyzing the membership ratio of the parliament per inhabitant in some countries of Latin America and Europe selected randomly, we conclude that Chile has one congressman per every 138.622 inhabitants, Spain, one per each 134.456, Mexico, one per 234.820, France, one per 113.790, and Germany, one per 134.447 inhabitants. [7]

Using some arithmetic, we find that on average, in these countries, there is a congressman per 151.227 inhabitants. If the population of our country is divided by this average, the ideal number of congressmen in our parliament should not exceed 55.

In the constitutions of _European countries_ , some of the richest ones with the most developed democracy of the world _, the office of substitute member of the parliament does not exist._ However it does in one of the poorest countries of the world where the wages of these public officials represent a big portion of the annual budget. Article 27 of the French Constitution provides that the vote of each member of the parliament is personal, therefore is his duty to attend all meetings, except in exceptional cases, in which they are allowed to delegate their vote to an ordinary citizen.

Consequently, it is proposed that in the new constitution the office of substitute congressman be removed and the number of congressmen be reduced to 55. These combined actions would represent savings of almost 200 million lempiras per year [8] to state coffers in wages. This money could be invested in improving the health and education of children in the country.

The President of the Legislative Power Would Have no more Special Powers than Presiding over the Sessions of Parliament and Moderate the Participation of its Members.

The current Constitution does not include a mechanism to regulate the operation of the parliament. Unfortunately, in time, this omission allowed the creation of anti-democratic regulations that led to excessive accumulation of power in the hands of the board of the National Congress, allowing the latter to handle it at will.

The new constitution should clearly stipulate that the President of Parliament is a Congressman with the same rights and some additional duties as the others. It should also outline the inner working of parliament (the way in which the members participate, propose and second a motion, vote, etc.), enabling a democratic participation. The new constitution should also establish mechanisms for the approval of new laws.

JUDICIAL POWER.

The Judges to The Supreme Court Would Be Chosen by [a Mechanism that Includes] Universal Suffrage.

The current Constitution states that the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ for its initials in Spanish) is an independent body, which is subordinate neither to the executive, nor to the legislative. Paradoxically, the same Constitution leaves the appointment of nine judges and seven substitute judges to the Supreme Court and its president in the hands of the Congress. The logical result of the above is that election of the judges gets political tinges and the "elected judges" will later judge in favor of those who named them as judges in order to express their gratitude.

The office of judge should be filled by lawyers (or failing that, by individuals with broad knowledge in the field of law), with an impeccable record of honesty, acting always in accordance with the law, and not by unscrupulous politicians.

In a true participatory democracy, the election of judges to the Supreme Court should be done through universal suffrage. The list of nominees to the office could come from joint proposals of the National Lawyers Association, workers, students, farmers, employers, etc.--in general terms from the society as a whole. That nominee list should include the most capable people in the law field. The list of candidates should be sent to the National Electoral Council to proceed with the organization of the electoral process. The choice would be based on the merits of each candidate. Therefore, the electoral body would be responsible of broadcasting the qualifications and experience of all candidates among the citizens. Electoral campaigns would be prohibited and the person who violates this provision would be disqualified as a candidate and disabled to qualify in the future for the office of judge.

The mandate of each judge may also be revoked by the people, in case he does not fulfill the expectations of the office, for misconduct or neglect his duties, and in cases of serious illness. If a judge wishes to resign, he must do it before the people who elected him.

The election of other officers of government agencies such as transparency and accountability, electoral body, the Attorney General's Office, the Director of the National Registry of People and the National Human Right Commission, should also be carried out by judging the personal merits of the candidates. The election procedure should similar to the one suggested in the case of the Supreme Court and not on the current basis of political cronyism.

Reducing the Number of Judges to the Supreme Court and Removing the Office of Substitutes Judges.

Using similar reasoning to that employed for Members of the National Congress, it is propose that the number of judges to the Supreme Court be reduced to seven. The substitute judges are only figureheads who do not perform any duties. They only represent expenses in the national budget. The new constitution must avoid bureaucracy.

Annual Election of Judges to The Supreme Court.

It is proposed that the term of office of each judge to the Supreme Court end in different dates. Each year a new judge would be chosen among the potential candidates (which would replace the outgoing judge). This policy would allow a strict and systematic control in the selection of new judges avoiding political inherence as traditionally has happened in our country.

If the court were composed of seven judges each one elected for a seven years term, a complete renovation in the Supreme Court would be observed every seven years. Obviously, after the promulgation of the new Constitution, elections for choosing judges to the Supreme Court would be held. This would be the exceptional case in which the seven judges would be elected together at once in the same election. For this special case, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention must devise mechanisms to annually replace one of the judges (six of the seven judges would be replaced before completing the seven years term).

A Constitutional Court Should Be in Charge of Constitutional Matters.

The overthrow of Manuel Zelaya Rosales as Constitutional President of the Republic of Honduras, perpetrated on June 28th, 2009, was considered worldwideas a coup d'état by the most distinguished jurists. The Supreme Court of Honduras, a body of lawyers with political affiliations, co-authors of the coup, named the event a "constitutional succession" concept that does not even exist in the Constitution.

According to the current Constitution, the primary function of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law. _However, what the judges really do is "interpret it to favor those who appointed them in office"._ The interpretation of the Constitution is a function pertaining to a _Constitutional Court_ and not to the Supreme Court. Therefore, its creation is imperative. The Constitutional Court should consist of constitutional lawyers or failing that by renowned individuals of impeccable reputation, without affiliation or connection to political parties and with vast knowledge in the field of law.

Creating an Environmental Court and an Environmental Police.

Every citizen has the right to live in a healthy environment. Natural resources should be managed and used in a wise way in order to enable the current and future generation, and other living things to develop normally. To this end, an Environmental Court responsible for applying and interpreting the rights of nature should be created. In that court, any person or community may demand the respect of nature's rights and also his rights as citizen to live in a healthy environment. Meanwhile, the Environmental Police would be responsible for apprehending those who are accused or found red-handed of committing crimes against nature.

All these issues related to nature and the exploitation of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources should be included in the new constitution, as they are vital issues that were not considered by the delegates to the constitutional convention of 1980-1981.

CENTRAL AMERICAN INTEGRATION.

Central American Integration as one of the Fundamental Pillars of the Honduran State.

After the political emancipation from the Spanish Empire and later from Mexico, the people of Central America formed the United Provinces of Central America, a state that existed from July 1823 to November 1824 and later was named Central American Federation, body which ceased to exist in 1839.

One Hundred and seventy six (176) years have passed since the former countries of the Federation separated. While efforts to again unify these nations with history, culture, language and common idiosyncrasy has intensified, especially since the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, there are still many tasks which need to be completed.

Among the immediate benefits that such integration would bring to the Central American countries are:

In the Political Field:

a) Increased bargaining power with larger states: a Central America united is stronger than each country alone

b) A united defense of sovereignty

c) Elimination of internal borders

In the Economic Field:

d) The creation of a powerful Central American market

e) Better employment opportunities on a wider geographical area

f) The opportunity of competing in better conditions in a globalized market

In the Social Field:

g) Free movement of people

h) Expansion of labor market, creating new job opportunities

i) Expansion of the territory, international waters and natural resources

j) Larger cultural diversity

For the aforementioned reasons, the Central American integration is imperative to bring development to its member countries. Therefore, _the new constitution of Honduras should advocate for that longed Central American Integration as a cornerstone for development._

In this regard, the Central American Parliament has an important role to accelerate the necessary agreements that will lead to achieving the integration of the Central American nations. The Central American Parliament is the body in which lies the hopes and dreams of the people of Central America: sister nations which must move forward together into the future. Honduras itself is a "dwarf" country in the international arena.Without the other Central American countries, Honduras has very little to contribute or tell the international community.

Election of Members to The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

According to the Organic Law of the PARLACEN -by its acronym in Spanish- its members should be elected directly by universal suffrage by the citizens of each member state for a period of five years [9].

The State of Honduras has violated this provision. Honduras´ members of the Central American Parliament have always been appointed without being elected by universal suffrage by the citizens of the country. The new Constitution should clearly state the date on which elections for members of this organization will be held and what the requirements to be met by participants are.

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CHAPTER 6

Proposals about Citizen Participation

At first glance, it seems that the form of government in Honduras is democratic. However, in reality, power is not exercised by the people, but by a small elite belonging to an economic class that has appointed itself the "ruling class". The absence of elements such as popular initiatives, plebiscites, referendums, or recalls, prevent power from resting with the people, as the concept of democracy implies.

The issue of citizen participation is a crucial one. The scope of this topic must be publicized and discussed widely prior to the convening of the Constitutional Convention. This ensures for the very first time the inclusion of elements in the new constitution which allow the exercise of true democracy in the etymological sense of the word: _"The people´s power"._

Legislative Initiative Belongs to the People, the Presidents of the Electoral Council, the Executive and Legislative Powers.

In an ideal new constitution, any common citizen can propose a bill by gathering a minimum number of citizen signatures supporting the idea, let's say 30,000 signatures. The procedure to follow in case of a bill proposed by the citizens would require that after collecting signatures, the National Congress would discuss the project and the necessary amendments. In order to approve the bill an absolute majority of the votes would be required. Once the law has been enacted by parliament, it would be forwarded to the Chairman of the Executive who would approve or disapprove it.

Passing a bill in the National Congress and / or by the President of the Republic, would not imply that it immediately becomes law. Citizens would still have a _"veto period"_ (say, 40 days) after the approval of the law by the President of the Executive.

The President and other Officers Elected by Popular Vote May Be Removed by the People through a Recall Referendum.

The new Constitution should include mechanisms for assessment and accountability of all officials holding elected office at the national, departmental and municipal levels. For example, if the President of the Republic is elected for a period of 4 or 5 years, the people, through a referendum, could take the decision to remove him from his duties, at any time, after his first year in office if his level of performance has not been as expected. The procedure for the recall referendum would be similar to that of any other referendum. Any common citizen could present a petition to the electoral Council (endorsed by 20,000 signatures, for instance).

Upon receiving the request, the electoral Council would convene a referendum, and if the majority of the population (let´s say at least 65%) agree, the official would be removed from office.

On the other hand, if the level of performance of the President of the Executive, legislative or judicial power has exceeded expectations, the people could reward him by enabling him to run again for office in the next election as an independent candidate. Let us remember that the presidents of the powers of the Government would give up their political affiliation at the time of taking oath of office. This would be regulated by the new electoral law issued after enacting the new constitution.

The new constitution should note that any official elected by popular vote, could be removed from office if that official abandons office in an unjustified way for three consecutive days. Unjustified cases would include: criminal judgment, serious illness, or permanent disability _. In case an official wishes to resign, he must get the approval from the people (those who elected him)_. This rule would apply to the President of the Republic, members of National and Central American Parliaments, judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, members of the Electoral Council, mayors, municipal councilors, and other elected officials.

Citizens of an Electoral District Should Have Veto Power over the Decisions of his Congressman and / or Regidores (Municipal Councilors).

To ensure that a congressman´s motions within the National Congress and his vote represent the sovereign will of the people of his district, the law should provide appropriate mechanisms. For example, _the district residents could have veto power over the vote emitted by their congressman_ \- if deemed appropriate. This approach could be used when a congressman has voted for or against a motion that, according to residents of the district, is contrary to their interests and needs. This power of veto would be exercised via a referendum. Residents of the district who are against the vote emitted by his congressman would request that the Electoral Council carry out a referendum. The request for a referendum, together with a document which shows that a minimal number of people within the district support it, would be handed to the electoral organ. This request should be handed within a time limit stipulated by a law created for that purpose. This provision would be applied similarly in municipal districts, where _the inhabitants of the different neighborhoods that compose each district, would be empowered to veto decisions of the municipal councilor._

The citizens of the Nation Should Have Veto Power over the Decisions of Parliament and other Branches of Government: the People are the Sovereign.

After the expiration of a local veto for a particular electoral district, the citizens of the country would be entitled to veto laws, decrees and resolutions of Parliament through mechanisms such as the National Referendum. The foregoing would allow a true inclusion of citizens in political life.

_In the new constitution, the people would also be empowered to veto decisions made by any of the powers of government._ This veto power would be exercised when the citizens believe that decisions taken by the government have overreached or whenever they believe it is necessary. The immediate result: to make true the universal precept of "popular sovereignty".

The People Reserve the Veto Power in the Signing of International Treaties.

According to Articles 16 and 20 of the 1982 Constitution, international treaties signed by the Executive power must be approved by the National Congress before ratification.

It is true that the executive and legislative powers of government indirectly represent the people. However, the lack of consultation mechanisms such as: plebiscites, referendums, and open cabildos (municipal meetings where everybody can participate), prevent officials from knowing the real opinion of the people and truly exercising their will.

Here there are some examples of how the above mechanisms could be implemented to ensure the exercise of democracy and the will of the majority:

a) Accession of Switzerland to the European Union [10]

In May 1992, the Federal Council of Switzerland (which plays the role of Head of State) signed the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty gave birth to the European Union (EU). The majority of the Swiss citizens disagreed with the signing of this treaty and they called for a referendum. The referendum was held on December 6th, 1992 and the Swiss people rejected the decision taken by the Federal Council. Consequently, the Swiss government had no choice, but to immediately suspend negotiations for inclusion in the EU.

b) Treaty to Establish Military Bases from the United States in Colombia.

In late 2009, Alvaro Uribe, former President of Colombia, agreed with the U.S. government to install seven military bases on Colombian territory [ 11 ]. Most of the people disagreed with this covenant. Colombians consider such agreement as a violation to the Colombian sovereignty and the Constitution. Articles 173 and 237 of the Colombian Constitution deny any possibility of establishing foreign military troops in Colombia. If Colombia were truly a democratic country, Mr. Uribe would have consulted the people through a referendum rather than proclaim himself as their spokesman.

c) Honduras Accession to NAFTA and the ALBA [ 12 ]

In both cases, the mistake was the same: Not consulting the citizens before signing the agreement. In a true democracy, only after an extensive discussion and publicizing of the subject (when the majority of citizens expressed: "I agree") the executive could ratify the treaty in question.

_Under the new Constitution, when neither the executive, nor the legislature asks the people's opinion before signing an international treaty, the latter may request a referendum._ The procedure for requesting this referendum could be by collecting the signatures of 10% of the voters who support the motion: in other words, a statistically representative sample of the population. By this referendum the people would have the power to veto decisions made by the various powers of government.

According to the new law regarding this topic, the application together with the supporting signatures would be presented to the National Electoral Council. The electoral organ would be responsible for calling the referendum. Thus, the results of the referendum would represent the people's decision whether the agreement is ratified or not. That is true democracy.

Absolute Majority is Required to Win an Election

Another deterrent to democracy, permitted by the current laws and the Constitution proclaims the winner of the election the one who obtains a simple majority of votes, without considering the rate of abstention. This means that, in the hypothetical case where only one person votes, that unique vote would be enough to appoint a new President, violating the sovereign will of the majority.

The new Constitution and / or electoral law should specify that before declaring a candidate the winner, he or she must obtain an absolute majority of the votes from the electoral population. _This means that the valid votes received should not only be more than the ones obtained by the other candidates, but also be more than the combination of invalid votes and abstentions_. This requirement would ensure that the candidate really has true popular support.

When there is an absolute majority of voters in the election, but no candidate obtains an absolute majority, then a second round (a runoff) would be held between the two candidates who received the most votes. When there is not a majority participation of voters in the election, the process should be declared null and a new election called.

This should also apply to municipal elections, elections for members of the National and Central American Parliament, elections for the judges of the Superior Court of Auditors and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office, the Director of the National Register of People, the National Commissioner of Human Rights, and other elected officials to be established in the new Constitution and the laws derived from it.

Citizens Have the Right to a Transparent and Real Political Participation.

Electoral processes should not be a display of economic or media power. The state should regulate such powers so that it is not the amount of economic resources which decides the outcome of an election. To this purpose, the state could finance a portion of the budgets of political parties, ensuring that all voices can be heard. In addition, the Electoral Council should limit the maximum budget to be handled by the political parties, thus disabling disloyal competition.

_Theory supposes that all people have equal political participation rights, but in the real world it is obvious that anyone who does not have sufficient financial resources and access to media, cannot fully exercise his political rights_. A clear example of this is an independent candidate, or a candidate belonging to a minor party. These people do not have enough financial resources to broadcast propaganda in mass media; therefore, they cannot compete on equal terms. In extreme cases these candidates are completely invisible to the people which constitutes a flagrant unfair competition by the major parties (which is encouraged by the 1982 Constitution).

Candidates Running for Office Should Be Nominated by the Community and not Imposed by Leaders of Political Parties.

Currently, candidates are imposed by leaders of political parties. The people have no choice, but to accept candidates that are "imposed" and vote for the "least worst candidate". The current process is flawed and far from being truly democratic. This has resulted for decades in those who have the economic and political power persuading citizens into believing that by holding elections every four years, Honduras is a democratic country.

The next enacted Constitution and the electoral laws derived from it should _promote democratization of political parties._ This can be achieved by encouraging each neighborhood, district, village or hamlet to propose a pre-candidate(s) for popular election. In that way those who receive the most votes would be declared official candidates of a particular party.

For example, if in the city of La Esperanza there are thirty neighborhoods, then there will be thirty candidates for mayor within the Morazanista party (this is a name of a non-existing party, used for purposes of exemplification). Among those thirty pre-candidates a pre-election would be held and whoever gets a majority of votes would be declared as the official candidate for mayor for that political party in that particular city. Similar procedures could be applied by the other political parties such as: PINU, DC, UD, Liberal, LIBRE, PAC, and National.

This proposed system should precedence, unless political parties devise a regulation which explains how they will choose their official candidates for governmental offices [to ensure it is a truly democratic selection process]. This regulation should be approved by the National Electoral Council and be finally endorsed by the community. This would ensure that candidates for office emerge from the bowels of the communities.

Democratization of the Right of Creating New Political Parties to Participate in the Election of Authorities at the Community-Level.

Traditional political parties have manipulated the electoral law at their will. One way of doing this has been by imposing extensive and unnecessary requirements on emerging political forces. As a result it is almost impossible for New Parties to enroll in elections for governmental offices.

One of those requirements demands that new political parties have representatives in all municipalities nationwide. But, there is no reason why a political party must necessarily be a national political party. _This fosters the hegemony of traditional political parties_ , excluding other ways of thinking, _and violates the right of many people to express themselves and participate in the political life of the country_. This is a clear case of discrimination. Regional political forces have the right to exist and participate because they bring together people from the same community with their own political vision. Why can't a group of citizens of a municipality or a community create their own party to participate in elections for municipal and / or community levels?

Businesses and Corporations Are Not People; Therefore, They Are Not Entitled to Have Political Affiliations or Sponsoring or Promoting Candidates for Elective Offices.

Sovereign power belongs to the people; not to groups of individuals or corporations. Corporations have enormous economic power but no citizens' rights; therefore, they have no political rights - which belong exclusively to the citizens of a country-. Businesses' exist to generate profits in exchange for providing products or services to their customers. Consequently, under the new constitution, corporations are prohibited from sponsoring political campaigns or candidates for elected office.

Establishing the Cabildos (Public Meetings) as Mandatory for Public officials.

The new Constitution and / or laws derived from it should establish mechanisms to promote regular meetings between the citizens from an Electoral district and their representative in the National Congress (congressman).The purpose of such meetings should be to discuss the problems which the population face and find mutually acceptable solutions. Accordingly, every citizen would have the right to file a bill, and after getting consensus among the residents, the congressman would be in charge of presenting the motion in a plenary session at the National Congress.

These meetings between the people of the electoral district and their congressman should be conducted ordinarily every three or four months or before each session of the Parliament, and extraordinarily whenever the people of the electoral district so require.

Mayors and Regidores (councilors) have the same commitment to the inhabitants of the municipality and their respective districts; Auxiliary Mayors, with the inhabitants of the neighborhoods, villages, or hamlets; and the police with the people to whom they serve (It sounds trivial, but it worth clarifying that police duty is to the State, which is permanent, and not to the government, which is temporary.

In general, government officials should get off their respective pedestals where they think they are, and assume their responsibilities as employees, and fulfill the duties entrusted to them. They have to serve the people and not serve themselves at expenses of the state.

The Inhabitants of a Municipality Have the Right to Choose the Appropriate Form of Government for Their Community.

The form of government for municipalities will be the one the Constitution mandates, unless the people of that municipality approve by referendum [conducted by the National Electoral Council] a local law that sets the way they elect their authorities.

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CHAPTER 7

Proposals about Transparency and Accountability

Currently, holding public office is the dream of every person who wants to get rich overnight. Unfortunately, current laws and the constitution, grant unlimited powers to public officials which empower them to squander state funds without accountability. To ensure a transparent public administration, it is proposed that:

a) Corruption issues be cataloged as crimes of treason

b) Public officials have their immunity removed

c) Lifetime wages for former public officers be removed

d) Public offices which do not fulfill any function be eliminated

e) Persons may not hold more than one public office or earning more than one salary at a time and

f) A ceiling be set on wages (maximum wage) in the governmental sector.

On the next few pages of this chapter, these and other proposals are explained in detail.

Corruption Should Be Considered a Crime of Treason.

Corruption is one of the most serious structural problems that the state of Honduras has suffered for centuries. All constitutions adopted have promoted it by omission, a "out of sight, out of mind" approach. But, the people have felt firsthand the effects of this corruption. This type of corruption produces abject misery.

_Stealing from the State is equivalent to stealing from every person living in a country_ , is equivalent to taking away the daily bread of those most in need, is self-stealing. Therefore, it should be considered as the criminal offense of treason in the new Constitution. New laws that are drafted should also establish that corrupt officers have to immediately repair the harm committed against their victims. In the cases where repaying the damage is not possible, the guilty would be obliged to undertake correctional social work under the supervision of jurisdictional authorities. While undertaking social work, they would receive only the most basic supplies to survive. Such work could be done at the detention center (jail) where the person stays, if that is the case.

Under the new Constitution, the _fight against corruption would be considered constitutional_ and the State through the anticorruption ministry (body to be created) would monitor the state apparatus and also the private sector for corruption. This new body would monitor public officials and corporate members to ensure proper performance of their duties. Moreover, corruption should be considered as a crime of treason and would result in loss of citizen rights for anyone committing it, plus a prison sentence adjusted to the seriousness of the crime or how the jurisdictional authority deems it appropriate.

Prohibition of Immunity for Public Officials.

Among the privileges that the drafters of the 1982 Constitution reserved to themselves and their friends was immunity (from prosecution). Article 200, repealed in 2003, gave to members and also to candidates to the parliament "parliamentary immunity". This immunity was granted "from the day they were appointed by their political party" and prevented them from being arrested, charged, or judged. This same article also stated that the members of parliament were not responsible at no time either for opinions expressed during the performance of his duties, or for bills proposed by him. It is not right for such privileges to exist in a democratic state; therefore, never again should a constitution of the Republic include such elements.

Prohibition of Earning more than One Salary by Holding Several Public Offices Simultaneously.

Articles 203 and 311 of the 1982 Constitution allow teachers elected as congressmen, or judges, and for judges of the Supreme Court to hold two public offices simultaneously. Consequently, they may earn a double salary, which is incorrect from all points of view.

It's true that every citizen has the right to hold public office and receive a salary that allows him to live with dignity. Now, consider the case of a physician, educator, or lawyer, etc. who already works for the State of Honduras prior to his election. These citizens may be allowed to occupy both functions provided that 1) the exercise of one of these functions does not hamper the performance of the other 2) that the citizen waives one of the wages of this public office. In case a person needs to leave his current role to assume the position for which he was elected, his return to his previous job after culminating his service as a public official would be ensured.

It is Prohibited to Legislators and other Elected Officers Hold Two Public Offices Simultaneously.

Another of the privileges granted by the 1982 Constitution, specifically article number 203, is to allow congressmen to be appointed to positions such as Secretary or sub-secretary of State, president or manager of decentralized entities of the state, head of diplomatic missions, or hold ad-hoc diplomatic missions. This implies duplication of wages, when the public officer is not even fulfilling the mandate assigned by the people.

It should be clear that the Legislative function is incompatible with any other public office or exercise of profession. Therefore, the new constitution should ban, explicitly, a congressman's or other official elected by popular vote to assume two or more public offices. The penalty for breaking this disposition should be automatic removal from both offices and disqualification for life from holding any public office.

When a congressman is appointed to hold another office, the law should require that this person resign immediately from his seat in the National Congress. His seat should be assumed by the next most voted candidate for Congress in his electoral district. The resignation should be submitted to the people living within his electoral district (those who elected him).

There Should Be no Public Official who Earns Wages Without Fulfilling any Function

The Constitution adopted in 1982 (promoter of bureaucracy), gave the nod to the existence of public offices such as Political Governor, presidential substitutes and many others which have no reason for being. The Political Governor is a figurehead devoid of duties and responsibilities, earning a hefty monthly salary. He is another burden for the state and to make matters worse, he is appointed at the whim of the executive power.

Currently there are three presidential appointee; if necessary, one of them assumes the duties of President when the latter is absent. The other two earn big salaries for four years without having any duty or responsibility in the office. In the next Constitution the Political Governor office, the presidential Appointees, and any other office devoid of duties should be eliminated.

Grounds for Disqualification to Hold Public Office.

Any person involved directly or indirectly [by act or omission] in crimes against humanity, treason (such as the rupture of constitutional order), corruption, linked to terrorist organizations or similar actions would be disqualified for life from holding public offices, being part of the security forces, and securing contracts, or doing business with the state and/or the government.

The above means that any person found guilty in any of the previous charges cannot become a congressman, or mayor, or hold public office, or be part of the army or police. In general this person cannot work for the government under any circumstance. This prohibition would prevent people with these backgrounds from again being invested as public officials and committing these atrocities again.

Abolish Lifetime Wages.

It is logical that any working person receive a salary in return for performing his job, but is it correct that a person who has ceased to hold office should continue earning a salary ?. Under current law _, every citizen who has held the office of President_ of the Republic has the "right" to receive a _lifetime salary_. A lifetime salary is a privilege that should be eliminated in the next Constitution, because it constitutes an unnecessary budgetary burden for the poor state of Honduras.

Set a Maximum Wage for Civil Servants.

Currently, holding an important office in the government is equivalent to winning the lottery. The reason behind this comparison is the high wages earned by those on the management level at various government bodies. Some of these offices include: the Revenue Office, Honduran Telecommunications Company, the National Electric Power Company, the National Registry of Persons, the Preseident of Central Bank of Honduras, the Attorney General's Office, the General Comptroller of the Republic, and other centralized and decentralized entities, where monthly wages range around 100,000 Lempiras ($5,000).

The salary of the President of the Republic, congressmen, judges of the Supreme Court, and the heads of the Departments of State, is two to three times higher than what is offered in the private sector.

It is proposed that the salary earned by those officials in key governmental positions be governed by the free market, that is, at the same level offered in the private sector for a similar work. Another option is to link this salary to the minimum wage; let us say for example that the salary of key governmental officials should not exceed ten times the minimum wage.

Judgments Condemning the State to Repair Damages, Should Be Applied to Public Servants Responsible for Them.

Because of the serious human rights violations committed during and after the coup d'etat of June 2009, by Roberto Micheletti, Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, members of the Supreme Court, and his henchmen, the State of Honduras will be punished by human rights organizations and international courts of justice.

It is necessary to include an article in the new constitution that stipulates that when the State is condemned by an international court to repair the damage caused from willful or gross misconduct by one of its agents, the State will interpose a legal recovery action against officials responsible for the act or omission that caused the harm. The intention of such law is to allow the state to recover the value of the money paid to the victims.

It should be also clear that when the police, the military, or any arm force ruled by the government endanger the personal security of the helpless population, the direct perpetrators of such acts would be considered responsible. _Never again should it be considered as a valid excuse for a violator of human rights to say that they were just "following superior orders"_

The State Should not Be Considered as an Employment Agency Serving Political Parties.

It is public knowledge that the current system allows the sale of elected positions as in the case of the congressmen, mayors, and municipal councilors, among others. The ones responsible for these acts are the factual powers (the elites). They decide who will be the candidates for public offices. Consequently, those who will occupy these positions are required to _pay back their sponsors with political favors_. Among the most common favors are: to favor companies owned by those who contributed to the political campaign of "X" to congressman, mayor or president, and enact laws that exempt companies from taxes.

Another anomaly observed is the "assignment of public offices" to those who worked in the political campaign, instead of appointing the most capable. This abhorrent practice occurs in every election. This system, of appointing political activists in key governmental offices retards the development of the country given that the appointees do not care about properly performing their duties. The only thing that motivates them is the opportunity to get lots of money by stealing from the state.

The correct action would be _to appoint the most capable to hold these public offices:_ professionals trained in different fields who meet the appropriate requirements. All these undemocratic practices would be strictly prohibited under the new Constitution and the people would be responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance.

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CHAPTER 8

Proposals about the role of the State as Guarantor of the Development and Distribution of Wealth

The state should invest in those areas that accelerate and ensure the development of a more equitable distribution of wealth. Investment in research and development, promotion and creation of alternative energy sources, food security, culture, higher education, and the use of science and technology for the benefit of the majority would lead to development for this country.

As reiterated several times throughout this book, we urge the reader to develop proposals and discuss them with others so that when the writing of the new constitution is undertaken, the elements needed to enact a quality constitution will already be in the public domain.

Different forms of energy are a strategic resource for development.

The new constitution should provide that the different forms of energy and their sources are a strategic resource for holistic and social development. The state should give priority to those forms of generating clean, renewable, and low-impact energy, such as wind, solar, and hydro, without jeopardizing food sovereignty, ecological balance of ecosystems, or the right to water.

The state as a precursor of wealth for the good of society.

Clearly, for anyone who knows some economics, labor and enterprise create wealth through capital investment. But who is richer and has more capital to invest than society itself? And, if that capital is available why not invest it in order to produce more common wealth?

Consequently, it is proposed that the State invest in companies with public capital. This would not mean that such companies are state enterprises and their employees public servants. These companies, although they would have public and/or public-private capital, would operate like any private business and would generate wealth for the whole society, making possible the existence of a welfare state able to meet the most basic needs of its citizens.

Making such a capital investment would allow the state to be less dependent on taxation and generate profits which could be invested in better health services, comprehensive education, as well as technical, and scientific training. In short, making possible a welfare state for all citizens; that is a generator of wealth and not just a re-distributor of it.

The state should invest in companies that ensure food security for the population.

Before all else, we should keep in mind that a country which does not produce its own food is bound to be dependent on the vagaries of the market and its suppliers. Hunger is a basic necessity that needs to be satisfied.

The new constitution should establish the legal framework for the State to invest (in partnership with communities and private capital -if the latter is necessary-) in agricultural, beef, and poultry companies in order to ensure an adequate food supply for the people at the domestic level and possibly the Central American level. The idea is that the State achieves the goal of promoting healthy competition thus preventing speculation in the markets of basic foodstuffs.

The production obtained by such companies -if it is possible- should be sold at a lower price than at the domestic market. On the other hand, the surplus could be sold preferably to other Central American States or, alternatively, exported to international markets.

In the event that the State fails to produce appropriate reserves for feeding the whole population or in emergency situations, the farmer's crops would be bought directly by the state.

To ensure that commodity's reserves and food stored by the state are continuously circulated, they would be sold after one year in Banasupros (grocery stores owned by the State) and, ultimately, to private grocery stores.

We must always keep in mind that 80% of the territory of Honduras is forest and that only a small part of the land is suitable for agriculture. Consequently, it is vital that all the land suitable for agriculture fulfills its social function and be able to meet the food needs of the population.

Big companies should have responsibilities towards the society.

Decisions taken by large companies have a direct impact on the economy of society. Therefore, the State should invest as a shareholder in these companies to ensure that they do not take decisions against the common good. The bankruptcy of a small grocery store or a farmers market, for instance, does not create macro-economic problems that force large sections of the population to live in poverty. However, this is exactly what happens when a large enterprise -like a national bank-goes bankrupt.For this reason, it is absolutely necessary that those big companies be continuously monitored and respond to the welfare of the majority.

It is proposed that by law the State becomes a member of such behemoths. This would prevent decisions taken within them from going against the safety of the people. In general, the management of such companies would remain in the hands of entrepreneurs who created them to ensure that the employee productivity is maintained at levels that allow these businesses to remain economically viable.

The degree of state's influence in the final decisions taken in such companies -like any other society- would depend on the percentage of shares held by the State. The intent of such law would be to allow the national wealth be distributed equally among the population and not concentrated in few hands, as is the case today.

The vast accumulation of wealth and private capital should not go against the interests of the majority.

Previously it was mentioned that there are areas and sectors which are considered as strategic for the development of the country. Such extremely valuable resources need to be protected at the constitutional level and also by secondary laws. As a consequence, the new Constitution should establish limits on the amount of wealth that can be accumulated by private parties in such areas. Keeping it in mind, it is mandatory that some mechanisms for measuring wealth are created. One proposal for that purpose is measuring it in terms of a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Why is a mechanism for measuring wealth needed? Let us Suppose that a gigantic corporation has a contribution of 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country. The owners of this company will try to manipulate the State to make only those decisions that positively affect their economic interests. We need only mention the experience of "Banana Republics" where fruit companies came to completely control the States and made only those decisions that positively affect their interests, even to the extent of removing governments for their convenience.

The logic behind this proposal is that a business, corporation or other type of monopoly or oligopoly must not grow to a level that is larger than the State itself, because it would then control the State to the detriment of the interests and needs of the majority.

How this model would work?

Let us consider the case of a company or corporation that controls a large sector of a huge market, for instance 5% of the radioeléctric spectrum - a fundamental area of the common good. In this case, the state would become a shareholder of, let us say 10%, of such a company or corporation. This would ensure that the rights of the majority are respected and would encourage free competition, thus avoiding the disproportionate growth of a company at the expense of the welfare of the people.

Usage of advances in science and technology for the benefit of the community.

In the 21th century, science and technology constitute economic pillars that the State must protect. It is worth noting that the advances and discoveries in such fields must be for the benefit of all the inhabitants of a country so as to enhance their quality of life and reach their full development as human beings.

Ownership of real estate and material goods entails obligations.

In addition to ensuring private property, the new constitution should also encourage entrepreneurship. Furthermore, every owner has obvious obligations towards his or her community and to the State itself. These obligations are a logical consequence of the fact private property must also serve the common good and meet its natural social function.

This reasoning leads us to the conclusion that people who possess more material goods have the inescapable duty to contribute more to national development of the country. The big accumulation of real estate and material goods must never go against the welfare of a community.

The State should promote and protect research and development (R&D).

Investment in R&D is invaluable for a prosperous future. New discoveries improve the quality of life of people, solve problems of food and water supply, and find cures for new diseases; in short, create new things to improve the quality of life of people. The most prosperous countries in the world maintain their current status through continuous investment in research and development by the private sector and by the State. Honduran companies, universities, and the State itself, have failed in this regard by not recognizing the importance of such activities in the development of the nation.

To encourage this, an article of the new Constitution and / or a law should establish that the State subsidize and provide grants to any individual and / or entity that promotes R&D.

A minimum percentage of GDP should be devoted to research and development.

Only through a continuous investment in R&D and democratization of knowledge, is it possible to achieve personal fulfillment for our citizens and sustain development for our country. These two very basic aspects will push us to a prosperous future. In this sense, the entity with the major responsibility for achieving this goal is the Honduran State itself. One simple way in which the State may contribute to this development is by ensuring that at least one percent of its gross domestic product be invested in research and development.

Different forms of energy are a strategic resource for development.

The new constitution should provide that the different forms of energy and their sources are a strategic resource for holistic and social development. The state should give priority to those forms of generating clean, renewable, and low-impact energy, such as wind, solar, and hydro, without jeopardizing food sovereignty, ecological balance of ecosystems, or the right to water.

Promoting culture is an obligation of the State.

Similarly, the new social pact should consider the promotion of culture as a fundamental principle of the State. Therefore, the preservation and promotion of the arts such as painting, sculpture, music, theater, singing, literature, television, radio, film, and other cultural assets, would be the responsibility of the different levels of government; that is, from the executive to the communities.

One advantage of promoting of culture as a formal law, is that the creation of houses of culture, the organization of cultural activities, and queries related to heritage and cultural assets become an obligation of the current government rather than political winds.

Creation of National Culture System.

The bloody events of the coup d'etat of June 28th, 2009, hosted a fundamental change in the collective consciousness of Honduran citizens. This change was reflected in the flourishing of an unprecedented cultural productions at all levels: essays, articles, poetry, research, documentaries, films, paintings, cartoons, graffiti, stories, songs, books, etc. In summary, the coup d' tat enhanced the creativity of most of the population, traditionally apathetic to the arts. These events changed the perception of reality and raised the level of consciousness of many citizens. The new social covenant must be the "endorsement" that not only formalizes the emergence of a new State, but also the rebirth of a new attitude towards cultural events of all kinds.

This National Culture System would be an entity formed by different bodies and councils that would allow decentralized management of culture which belongs to everyone. Under this model, municipalities and communities have cultural competencies. As a result, culture would be a national policy and not of government (that is, understanding that the term nation means all the citizens of the country).

Beginning with the spirit of the new constitution, secondary cultural laws will be triggered. Such derived laws establish the forms of cultural management.As a result, communities would be empowered to take ownership of their cultural heritage and carry out ventures which enable them to improve their quality of life.

The new Constitution should also ratify international treaties in cultural matters and enforce them via domestic law. As an example, see the Protocol of Florence, which is an international agreement to promote the free flow of books, publications and objects that present an educational, scientific, or cultural nature. In order to promote the consistent production of knowledge, the spirit of the Protocol of Florence must become in a domestic cultural law.

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CHAPTER 9

Proposals about Media

The reason for the existence of the media is to report truthfully and objectively to the population. Unfortunately, in Honduras, the media manipulates information at the convenience of the elites. Besides being misleading, it should be noted that these traditional media offer extremely poor and unvaried programming (mostly soap operas and cartoons). Obviously, such programs do not provide anything of substance for the formation of youth and their cultural enrichment.

Proposals relating to this subject, advocate for enacting a new telecommunications law in which the media and journalists be obliged to report truthfully and impartially, democratize the radio spectrum -allowing the opening of community radio and television stations-, and the introduction of educational programs with quality content.

The radio spectrum belongs to the people.

A new constitution should emphasize that the radio spectrum belongs to all the citizens of the country and must fulfill a social function for the welfare of all the inhabitants. The State is entitled to lease part of this radio spectrum to third parties for a limited time, reserving to itself the right to renew or not such concessions.

At least 25% of the radio spectrum should be community-owned.

Given the strategic role of communications, and in order to avoid polarization of information carried out by large consortia of telecoms (which currently have monopolized all of the radio spectrum), the State would retain part of this spectrum for its own use (through public media) andfor the exclusive use of communities.

Within the new framework of telecommunications law, should be listed an article requiring that at least 25% of the radio spectrum be assigned to small community radio stations. The percentage allocated for community media would not be subject to competitive bidding, allowing communities to have media that responds directly to local needs.

Entrepreneurs dedicated to the telecommunications field would only be entitled to exploit this field.

The vast influence mass media exerts on the people they address to, is chiefly used to sell advertising, disseminate political ideas and / or brand positioning. Those who have the power to handle the media exerts a greater influence on the consumption decisions of people. Thus, the owners of the media are in a position to influence the consumers to purchase the goods, products, and services sold by the companies they own. This goes against market rules because it creates unfair competition.

Another important phenomenon observed, is the relationship between politics and the media. The dissemination of political ideas usually follows very specific economic interests (greed). The owners of media, according to their particular interests, use the media to create sectarianism or favoritism for current political affair topics. Let us remind that prior to the coup d'etat of June 28th, 2009, the media (owned by three businessmen) mounted a campaign to manipulate public opinion and discredit the government of Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

To avoid these anomalies mentioned in preceding paragraphs, the new constitution must make it clear that every entrepreneur who owns radio and/or television stations would not be allowed to run firms in other fields. Additionally, owners of media could neither participate as candidates for elected office nor participate actively in political life.

The media as an educational entity.

One of the most important duties of mass media is to contribute to the promotion of ethical, moral, and civic values of the citizenry through the production and dissemination of educational programs. Therefore, it should be required by law that at least 15% of the programming on radio and television stations be educational and cultural content.

Limits on press freedom.

The information and opinions issued through the media should respect the principles of truthfulness and responsibility. Therefore, distortion of news should be punished with the temporary or permanent disqualification of the journalist who commits it. In order to impose these and other penalties, an ethics committee formed jointly by the association of journalists and the public should be created.

Journalists as research professionals.

Journalists have the duty to provide objective information to citizens and thus fulfill a social role of research. If journalist are considered as researchers, they would be entitled like any other researcher to receive state subsidies (see section The State should promote and protect research and development (R&D), Chapter 8).

The idea is to promote an ethical and independent journalism to inform the nation. Journalists who receive state subsidies will release their work into the public domain, so it can be used by people to form their own opinion, instead of merely relying on the often manipulated news provided by traditional media.

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CHAPTER 10

Proposals about the Military and Police

This is a very controversial subject that has both its supporters and detractors. Above all, we must understand the reasons for the existence of military and the police, without falling into fanaticism or fallacies. The military forces are composed of the army, navy, and air force.Their purpose is the defense of the country from external threats. There are chiefly two kinds of armies: standing and non standing ones.A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers usually gathered within a military base(s). This army is trained and ready to fight at any time. In contrast, the non standing armies are chiefly composed of civilians who voluntarily join when a country is attacked. These civilian armies are less expensive than a regular, standing army.On the other hand, the fundamental aim of the police is to maintain internal order and enforce the laws.

Abolition or democratization of the military?

Throughout their history, Central American States have faced only civil wars. These wars were cruel and fratricidal. Alter the signing of the Esquipulas peace agreements in Central America, (which sought to secure a lasting peace in the region) the need to maintain standing armies (permanent professional armies) is absolutely irrational, since this is one of the few regions in the world which have never suffered from external (i.e., foreign) invasions. For this reason, it is proposed that the state of Honduras not bear a standing army, but rather a non standing one. This would result and require a national defense college whose mission would be to train civilians to defend their land, their families, and their country from external threats.

The current armed forces have (and have had) the power to impose by force of arms their particular decisions becoming in anti-democratic institutions. For this reason, many people advocate the army's abolition. The dire constitutional, institutional, and human rights violations perpetrated by the armed forces throughout its history, have left the public with an desire to abolish the institution of an army. The army has traditionally existed as an alternate State. Their leaders have considered themselves as superior to the State. They have used the power in their hands to depose governments, torture and disappear thousands of citizens.

Now more than ever, a deep restructuring process of the army is required. Such restructuring would prevent a military caste from transforming the army into a repressive apparatus. One simple way to achieve this goal is making the army responsive to civilian control.

The army would be made up of all the citizens.

It is the responsibility of every citizen when threatened with an invasion of the country, to defend their families and their land. Consequently, it is the duty of every Honduran citizen to have military training. Military training for civilians would have a minimum duration of one year. This period of time should not necessarily be completed all at once, but it could be acquired in cumulative periods of four weeks per year. The decision of when to take this 4 weeks training would be in the hands of each citizen based on their time and resources.

Citizens who are attending some kind of educational institution such as a university, high school, or elementary school could receive their military training during their holidays. Those who work would have a four-week-paid annual leave without jeopardizing job stability.

Honduras is a pacifist State which refuses aggression as a solution to any kind of conflict. However, it reserves the right to defend itself in case of an invasion. The new non-standing Honduran army would be exclusively dedicated and trained to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic [in case of foreign invasion or war] and would consist of all of its eligible citizens.

A Defense College would be responsible for providing military training.

Latin America, unlike Europe and Asia, is a region characterized by the absence of real warfare. Paradoxically, in recent years an increase in the budget for the armed forces in the countries of this region has been observed. In Honduras the same trend has been noticed. Increments for both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Security were observed in the last few years [13]. Obviously such increment are at the expense of the education and health services for the Honduran people. It makes no sense for Honduras to continue squandering its scarce resources on salaries of soldiers who remain entrenched in their barracks. A standing army is a completely unnecessary budgetary burden in peacetime.

Considering the information above, is proposed that the state of Honduras choose a non-standing army for its defense needs. In this context, the only one permanent entity of the army would be a National Defense College. This would be the entity responsible for providing military training to citizens.

The National Defense College would bring together a number of very capable instructors who would instruct the people in the matters of handling military weapons, self-defense, survival, military strategy, and so on. The main goal of this training would be to enable citizens to defend themselves and their families from an invasion that threatens national sovereignty.

Ban foreign military bases.

Presence of a foreign military is a violation of national sovereignty and poses an imminent danger to that sovereignty. Consequently, the new Constitution should expressly prohibit the installation of foreign military bases in the country.

Police should be democratized and become part of the community.

The current police presence has failed in its duty to protect our citizens. The transition from a military police force to a civilian police force did not fulfill its primary intention to democratize the police and much less erase the dark past of its ancestors, who acted with total impunity. Additionally, during and after the coup d'état perpetrated on June 28th, 2009 the current police did not hesitate to collude and act in unison with the very groups which supposedly they had split from. Sadly, the national police became complicit with the military and civilian forces who violated constitutional order.

Continually we hear about cases of policemen involved in gangs trafficking stolen vehicles, kidnapping, killings, drug trafficking, and other criminal actions. This happens because the police are not required to account for their actions (with few exceptions). Moreover, the high command of the police force is chiefly composed of retired military and most of the lower-ranking members of the police force have strong ties to the military.

To avoid having the police continue in these and other crimes, community oversight must be created. This body should be subject to the municipalities and made up of civilian elements. The idea is assign to each squadron a specific territory: a district of a city, a neighborhood, community, village or hamlet. Preferably, individuals to be trained as police elements should be chosen among those already residing in a specific community. In the absence of candidates within the community, whoever is appointed to serve and protect that community would be forced by law to move into that place. In this way the police elements would be accountable to the people they serve. Each municipality would appoint its own police manager, who would oversee the work done by each police member. The appointment and removal of a police officer would be in the hands of the community he or she serves.

The cornerstone of this new police presence would be the contact police officers who are in continuous contact with the inhabitants of the community they are assigned to. This is one of the main reasons why these officers have to reside within the community. They would be directly responsible for maintaining law and order in the specific territory to which they belong. There will also be other members of this police force who will not be assigned to a particular territory but in charge of protecting the city as a whole.

The community police will coexist alongside the Tourist Police, the Traffic Police, the Environmental Police, the Immigration Police, the National Police, and the Internal Affairs police. Each of these police authorities would be completely autonomous, with no hierarchy among them. The National Police will serve only as a supplement to the Community Police in each city or town of the country. They will work nationwide and will be in charge of fighting crime and criminal actions such as kidnappings, drug trafficking, and vehicle traffic violations. One change for the Traffic Police is that it would report directly to the General Director of Transportation. Finally, the Environmental Police would be linked to the Environment Court.

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CHAPTER 11

Proposals about Natural Resources

As mentioned in the introduction of this book, one of the many vices of the constitution of 1982 is its negligence towards natural resources. This has allowed foreign companies to exploit them under the support of the ruling class.

Natural resources are goods which belong to all the inhabitants of the country. It is an inescapable duty of every good Honduran to ensure its protection and wise use. During the remainder of this chapter we discuss some of the proposals regarding this extremely relevant topic to the national interest.

Renewable resources should be used rationally and sustainably for the good of all the people.

Among the greatest renewable resources possessed by Honduras include: abundant water flows and aquifers, its seas, its diverse ecosystems, the beauty of nature as a tourist attraction, and its tropical virgin forests.

The new constitution should mandate that renewable resources may be developed only in a rational manner, for the sole purpose of benefitting the whole population. Furthermore, these resources will not be subject to privatization or exploitation by private entities and the administration of these renewable resources will be the sole responsibility of the state.

Water resources belong to the state.

Water resources include rivers, lakes, aquifers, underground rivers, and seas. They are public goods and the new constitution should give them special protection to avoid a reduction in their flow and the damage of the ecosystems they harbor. Its administration should be the exclusive domain to the State, delegated to communities. Water resources would not be subject to privatization or concession.

Metallic and nonmetallic minerals, hydrocarbons and all resources found in the soil and subsoil belong to the State

The new constitution should include some sections and articles which indicate that the minerals and hydrocarbons in whatever form they are found are the exclusive property of the Honduran state. Additionally, it should affirm that the state is the sole authorized entity for extraction and marketing of these resources.

The beaches of water bodies like rivers, lakes, and seas are spaces for public use and enjoyment.

Currently, almost all of the beaches of Honduras are in private hands, and particularly in those of foreign investors. It is really outrageous that the public cannot access and enjoy them without having to pay money to these "owners of beaches."

Even though our country has secondary laws such as the General Water Law and the Law of Municipalities which mandate that a portion of the shore be designated public access, it is necessary to raise these laws to a constitutional status.

The above mentioned laws dictate that the length of public access shoreline be 82 feet. They also establish that there must be free pathways to the beaches every 328 feet in urban areas and 1,312 feet in rural areas.

No Infrastructure Projects that Pose a Threat to the Preservation of Biodiversity, River Basin, and Forests Should be Built.

Hondurans should demand of the temporary manager of the state (government) the implementation of sustainable development policies in the planning of infrastructure projects such as roads or dams. That is, these projects must not compromise non-renewable natural resources to meet current needs. In this sense, the ecological impact of these projects must be assessed objectively before carrying them out.

Right to use land should be temporary

Human beings are temporal beings: we are born, grow, and one day we will die; therefore, we should not have perpetual possessions. Paradoxically, land tenure is based on the assumption that human beings live forever. There are other titles which grant the possession of something, but in a temporal manner. For instance, intellectual property gives people the right to exploit their creations through patents which expire after a certain amount of years. Owners of patents can renew this right as many times as they can every twenty or thirty years. When these patents expire they become part of the public domain, which means they can be used by any person or entity for the benefit of all mankind.

Likewise, in the agricultural case, the deed that grants the right to exploit the land should expire every thirty years, for instance. This would give the owner the ability to renew the title for another thirty years if desired. Let's take the hypothetical example of a person who decides to sell his property ten years after the renewal of his title of property. In this case, what he would transfer to the new owner would actually be the right to exploit the land until the expiration of the title: twenty years.

This could be a way to democratize land ownership, ensure equal access to land rights for all citizens, and avoid the eternal large estates owned by a small amount of people. The renewal of the land ownership title would be allowed whenever the owner complies with the social function of the land and does not involve harm to the community or nature. When speaking of the social function of property, it means that property rights must be limited and regulated by the state, so that the owners have rights as well a responsibility to society. One example of such responsibility would be to put the property to use in the production of providing society with the goods and services they consider useful.

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CAPÍTULO 12

Proposals about the Call for the Constitutional Convention and the Reform Process to the Constitution

Although the road for building a new Honduras appears to be slow and endless, it is very comforting to know that every day more and more Hondurans are aware that the enactment of a new social pact is inescapable. It's time that Honduran society asks for laws in service of all citizens. Laws aiming to expand their individual and collective rights, improve their quality of life, and create an environment of peace that must come from social justice.

Enacting a progressive new constitution is the peak of a process of emancipation of political consciousness of Honduran citizens, which will allow us to decide for ourselves our own future. It's time for Hondurans to decide how we want to live, because our history shows that, unfortunately, we have always lived like others (foreigners' governments want us to live).

A new social contract has the duty to secure each individual with equal rights (since all Hondurans are equal before the law) without privileges for any group of people in particular, or any kind of discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, marital status, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or political ideologies. This new constitution must also respect the dignity of individuals and communities, individual rights and freedoms, without forgetting the social component (human beings must be the supreme goal of every society). Likewise it should promote nature conservation and wise use of resources, encourage technical innovation, culture, Central American integration, and additionally repair the serious historical errors committed in previous constitutional conventions which led us the current state of things. All these elements constitute the pillars on which the new State of Honduras must be built. In the remainder of this chapter, we explain in detail some of the proposals about this topic.

The process of amending the Constitution.

As emphasized at the beginning of this study, human beings are temporal beings; therefore, laws which govern us must also adapt to this constant change within societies. From that perspective, it is not morally correct to force the next generations to be governed by a constitution and laws made of stone (It cannot be amended or abrogated). Consequently, the Constitution should be revised or rewritten whenever the citizens of a country feel it is necessary to do so.

A new constitution should provide for partial amendment by popular initiative. Thus, a bill for a constitutional amendment could start by collecting the signatures of at least 20% of the electorate. This process should be carried on by the National Electoral Council. After this, the bill will be submitted to the National Parliament.

In the exceptional case where the petition for a constitutional amendment is signed by the majority of the population, the bill would become law without going through the approval of the legislative and executive functions. Additionally, amendments to the constitution could also be done through the National Congress when two thirds of Congress approve a constitutional amendment.

Whichever method is used, any constitutional reform would have to be approved in a referendum by an absolute majority of the electorate (at least 65%); except in cases when the amendment is proposed by popular initiative and reaches an absolute majority.

Loss of the Constitution's validity.

The members of the constitutional assembly who drafted the Constitution of 1982 wanted to create an eternal Constitution. In order to assure this, they wrote some _"stone articles"_ which prohibit amendments and/or abrogation of the constitution.

We know that societies are changing and nothing lasts forever. Considering that fact, any person with some common sense will come to the conclusion that a constitution should lose its validity the day the people of a country freely choose to adopt a new one.

Call for the Constitutional Convention and abrogation of the Constitution.

A constitution is a covenant of unity and freedom among the whole citizens of a country (the people). Every constitution drafted under the spirit that the rules governing society must evolve with the latter and must provide mechanisms to repeal and enact a new constitution. Such a mechanism could be an article of the constitution stating that the Constitutional Convention may only be called through a referendum. This referendum might be requested by the President, by two-thirds of Congress, or 20% of the citizens registered on the electoral register.

Another article in the new constitution should also state that in order for a new Constitution to take effect, it is required that it be approved via referendum by at least 65% of the vote.

Procedure for electing the delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

Regarding this topic, it is proposed that each large community [consisting of a population greater than four thousand inhabitants] or alternatively groups made up of small and medium-sized communities, has their own delegate to the Constitutional Convention. As a result the national territory would be partitioned in approximately one thousand Constitutional Districts and each one of them would have its own delegate to the constitutional convention. This would ensure that each community, neighborhood, or group of them would be represented in the drafting of the new Constitution.

Moreover, the creation of a pre-constitutional convention comisión is also suggested. This Hill be an entity with the role of running local elections for the selection of delegates to the constitutional convention. This commission will be in charge of creating the constitutional districts described in the previous paragraphs. Each district would propose their own candidates for delegates and carry out an election supervised by the pre-constitutional-commission. The candidate who receives a majority of votes in the local election would be the representative to the constitutional convention of his respective district.

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention should be Legally counseled by Constitutional Law Lawyers.

Honduras' previous constitutions contain drafting errors like articles which contradict each other, or paragraphs drafted (intentionally or not) in an ambiguous way or which express a completely different meaning than the one the delegates to the constitutional convention of 1980-1981 wanted. In order to prevent such disasters from happening again it is imperative to appoint legal advisers for the constitutional convention.

It is proposed to appoint one constitutional law lawyer for every twenty five delegates to the constitutional convention. The idea behind this is to provide the delegates with expert legal advice. In this way, the delegates will be well equipped to fulfill the mandate that the people have entrusted them with: the drafting of a new constitution to be submitted for referendum.

Disseminating the new Constitution.

The final draft of the new constitution, once approved by the Constitutional Convention, must be published in all national newspapers in order to be read and discussed by the people prior to going to referendum. Thus, by the very first time the people of Honduras will grant themselves a constitution.

Following approval, a copy of the new Constitution would be delivered to every citizen of The new Honduras _sovereign state_ through the _elected officials._

# # #

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Call to action

Thank you so much for reading. If you found the content of this e-book substancial and interesting, please pass along the download link to others. The author's sole ambition is to popularize these ideas about citizen involvement in creating a new constitution in every country of the world, not monetize this work for personal gain

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About the Autor

Carolina is a Honduran professional with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from the Central American Technological University. Her published works include: "Constituyente ¿Para Que? (co-author) and the English version of this book called "Why a New Constitution?". She is also the author of "Sintesis de las Principales Violaciones a la Constitucion", has also written opinion articles for local newspapers and served as a professor for several years.

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Glosary

_Sovereign:_ The Sovereign is he who has the power of decision. In the case of a republic that power lies with the people. In other words, the sovereign is the people itself.

_Sovereignty:_ Sovereignty is the exercise of sovereign authority which resides in the people and is exercised by the government according to the will of the people.

_Constitution_ : The Constitution is the fundamental law of a sovereign state, accepted by its citizens to govern it. This fundamental law sets limits and defines the relationships among the branches of the government and with its citizens. Thus, the constitution creates and organize the institutions in which such powers will rest. The Constitution seeks to ensure the people their rights and freedoms.

_Constituent assembly (_ **sometimes also called Constitutional Convention or Constitucional Assembly** _):_ Is a gathering of delegates elected from the people itself to whom is assigned the specific mandate to draft the basic rules of social order of the State: a new constitution representative of the sovereign will of the people which come into effect after being submitted to referendum and passed by the Honduran people.

_Constituent Power:_ The constituent power can be understood as the power that the sovereign (the people) delegates on its representatives to the Constitutional convention to stamp (express) in the new Constitution the will of the people.

_Constituted Powers:_ The constituted powers, sometimes called constituted authorities, are the institutions that the constituent power creates and in which specific tasks are delegated. Such tasks include: the creation of laws (Legislative Branch), the administration of justice (Judicial Branch), the organization of elections, referendum and popular queries (National Electoral Council Branch) and the State's Administration (Executive Branch).

_The State:_ The classic political definition of the term"The state" refers to a geographical area within defined territorial boundaries and with a distinct set of political institutions, and laws ruled by a government.

_Government:_ The Government is the temporary administrator of the State's institutions, elected by the people every certain amount of time. In this book we use the terms Elected officials or current authorities as synonyms of government.

**Note:** There are dramatic differences between the concepts of government and state, so they ought not be confused. The government is just a simple temporary administrator of state's institutions. The government is temporary. The State, however, is an entity that endures over time and consists of: population, territory, laws, and government. The government, then, is a part of the state and not the state itself.

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Bibliography

Constitution of Argentina

Constitution of Austria

Constitution of Belgium

Constitution of Bolivia

Constitution of Brasil

Constitution of Chile

Constitution of Colombia

Constitution of Costa Rica

Constitution of Denmark

Constitution of Ecuador

Constitution of El Salvador

Constitution of Finland

Constitution of France

Constitution of Germany

Constitution of Greece

Constitution of Guatemala

Constitution of Iran

Constitution of Italy

Constitution of Mexico

Constitution of the Netherlands

Constitución of Norway

Constitution of Paraguay

Constitution of Peru

Constitution of Portugal

Constitution of Rusia

Constitution of Spain

Constitution of Sweden

Constitution of Swizerland

Constitution of Uruguay

Constitution of the United States of America

Constitution of Venezuela

Spanish Constitutions (1812 - 1876)

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Endnotes

[ 1 ] Efrain Moncada Silva, published in Journal La Tribuna on September 12, 2009.

[ 2 ] "Three Generations of Human Rights", Consulted fromWikipedia the free encyclopedia at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_generations_of_human_rights>

[ 3 ] In the Spirit of law, Montesquieu suggested that the government consist of three types of power: the executive, legislative and judicial. Even though in some countries like The United Status people refer to them as branches of government, in this book the authors prefer to use the original terms: executive power, legislative power, and judicial power.

 http://www.preservearticles.com/201104235909/notes-on-the-montesquieu-theory-of-separation-of-powers.html

 http://law.onecle.com/constitution/article-3/07-judicial-power.html

<http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/executive_power>

<http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Legislative+power>

 4 ] Published in journal El Proceso Digital on October 21, 2007, online at [ http://www.proceso.hn/2007/10/21/Nacionales/Fuerzas.Armadas.exhiben/1736.html

 5 ] Accessed from ElRánkin "The richest and poorest countries in Latin America" published on digital journal El Economista on may 7, 2013. Online at [ http://www.eleconomistaamerica.com/economia-eAm/noticias/4806137/05/13/Ranking-Los-paises-mas-ricos-y-pobres-de-America-Latina.html

[ 6 ] Projections from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for 2014. online at:

 http://www.ine.gob.hn/index.php/component/content/article?id=97

[ 7 ] To obtain these values, the population of each of these countries was divided by the number of representatives to the lower house or Congress, as established by their respective domestic laws (120 in Chile, 350 in Spain, 500 in Mexico, 577 in France, and 598 in Germany). Population data was accessed on May 24, 2013 at Wikipedia, available online at: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population>

 8 ] According to an article published in the newspaper La Prensa on August 15, 2013, the salary of a Member of Congress is around 70,000 Lempiras per month (around $3,500) , online at: [ http://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/tegucigalpa/336591-98/congreso-decide-no-bajar-el-salario-de-diputados

Additionally, Members of the congress receive a plus of 12,000 Lempiras per month (around $600) for fuel.Consulted on Diario La Tribuna on its edition of March 18, 2010 . online at <http://www.latribuna.hn/web2.0/?p=110404>

[ 9 ] Consulted fromWikipedia the free encyclopedia at: <http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parlamento_Centroamericano>

 10 ] ConsultedfromWikipedia the free encyclopedia, online at: [ http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaciones_entre_Suiza_y_la_Uni%C3%B3n_Europea

[ 11 ] Consulted from Wikipedia, online at:

 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acuerdo_militar_entre_Colombia_y_Estados_Unidos_de_2009

[ 12 ] Consulted from Wikipedia, online at:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALBA>

[ 13 ] According to official data from of the Ministry of Finance, the budget allocated in 2013 to the National Defense Ministry is 3.646 million of Lempiras ($182.3 millions), while the Security Department was allocated a budget of 4, 137 million ($ 207 millions). In Percentage, the joint budget allocated to the army and the police represents a 70% of the one allocated to health, 37% of the one allocated to education, and 9% of total budget. This data can be viewed online at the website of the Ministry of Finance:

http://www.sefin.gob.hn/

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