This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DS/OP/WHA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2014 
TAGS: PGOV ASEC ELAB PHUM SOCI PREL HO
SUBJECT: MULTIPLE PROTESTS CONVERGE, MADURO'S REACTION IS 
SKITTISH 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 1439 
 
     ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 1434 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Palmieri; 
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: On June 29 Honduran President Ricardo Maduro 
went on national television to explain the Government of 
Honduras' (GOH) position after teachers' unions rejected the 
latest government offer.  Protests continue (refs A and B) 
and both sides are at loggerheads. Also, the March for Life 
(Marcha por la Vida) culminated in Tegucigalpa on June 30, as 
marchers/protesters arrived from four points from across the 
country to draw attention to the GOH's inability to protect 
Honduras' environment.  To date, all protests have been 
peaceful and there are no reported confrontations between 
police and protesters.  On July 1, anti-globalization 
protesters will march in conjunction with the second largest 
labor federation in a separate protest. The Maduro 
government's skittish reaction to this convergence of popular 
protests has not helped to reassure the public, which 
increasingly disapproves of the President's job performance. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On June 29 Honduran president Ricardo Maduro, with 
some 200 prominent political and business supporters behind 
him, went on national television to explain the GOH's 
position after teachers' unions rejected the latest 
government offer to end their five-week long strike.  The GOH 
offered the teachers a USD 11.5 million settlement package. 
Because of its agreement with the IMF, the GOH will not meet 
the teachers' core demand to restore wage increases under the 
previous compensation law.  When that was rejected, the GOH 
offered to enter into arbitration with the teachers' unions, 
an alternative which was also rebuffed.  Both sides are now 
at loggerheads and it is unclear how the standoff will end. 
On June 29, some 3,000 teachers marched peacefully on the 
Casa Presidencial. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The GOH also remains nervous about the March for 
Life (Marcha por la Vida) which commenced June 24 and 
culminated in Tegucigalpa today (refs A and B).  The March's 
organizer, Father Andres Tamayo, a Salvadoran Catholic priest 
who resides in Olancho and heads the Olancho Environmentalist 
Movement (MAO), estimated that eventually ten thousand people 
would participate in the march, although the actual figure 
was between 500 and 1500.  As of 1500 local time, these 
marchers were joined by approximately 2,500 supporters in 
Tegucigalpa.  The marchers have gathered peacefully in front 
of the National Congress and are seeking an audience with GOH 
officials to present their list of grievances.  The march was 
organized to draw attention to the GOH's inability to protect 
Honduras' environment.  Previous rumors that the marchers 
might demand President Ricardo Maduro's resignation have thus 
far not panned out.  As an example of the government's 
skittishness, the Casa Presidencial was evacuated as a 
precautionary measure late in the afternoon.  A number of 
prominent U.S. VIPs are participating in the march, including 
Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) in an unofficial 
capacity. 
 
¶4. (U) The General Federation of Workers (CGT), the second 
largest labor federation in Honduras, and Popular Block 
(BP-Bloque Popular) are planning additional demonstrations 
against the Honduran government for July 1 and 2.  Their 
agenda is aimed to support their more traditional political 
demands.  They plan to protest against globalization, 
privatization of government services, the CAFTA, foreign 
debt, and the IMF and World Bank.  The CGT chose July 1 for 
its protest because it is 60 days after its May Day (May 1) 
march where they presented their original declaration.  The 
July 1 protest is scheduled for Tegucigalpa, while on July 2 
they hope to expand the protest to other cities in Honduras, 
such as San Pedro Sula.  CGT President, Daniel Duron, told 
PolCouns that the march would be peaceful but is designed to 
keep pressure on the government.  The CGT has 20,000 teachers 
in its federation and also represents other public sector 
unions.  Duron said that the IMF agreement is a serious 
problem for all public sector unions because of the stringent 
caps it places on the public sector wage bill.  Duron claimed 
that if the government keeps to those caps, the unions would 
not see significant wage increases for some years into the 
future.  He indicated that the CGT plans to keep the pressure 
on the government to force greater salary concessions for all 
its members, not just the teachers. 
 
¶5. (C)  Of some additional concern is the decision by the BP 
to move up a separate protest scheduled for next week to join 
the CGT marches this week.  The leftist BP, which most likely 
receives funding from international sources such as Cuba, has 
been historically more willing to employ confrontational 
tactics.  Duron acknowledged there was a greater risk of 
violence with the BP,s participation, but said that the 
CGT,s agenda was peaceful and that it would not seek to 
provoke the government. 
 
¶6. (C)  Comment:  President Maduro and his government remain 
very concerned about the situation, hence his national 
television address on June 29 flanked by the nation's 
governmental, political and economic elites.  They are 
particularly skittish about the plurality of &popular8 
protests and the possibility that these forces could come 
together in a meaningful way to threaten the government's 
stability.  To date, these groups do not appear to be 
effectively coordinating their activities, according to labor 
and NGO sources.  However, these groups do appear to be 
gaining confidence from each others' events.  Finally, 
independent political analysts and a pollster concur that the 
President's popular support is extremely week ) less than 
20% of the population approve of his job performance.  His 
political capital is low, with some of his own party 
unwilling to support him publicly.  Given his private 
reaction and his administration's concerns about this modest 
but increasing level of popular discontent, we are also 
beginning to wonder about the President's resolve to manage 
this situation to a successful conclusion. End Comment. 
Palmer