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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000789 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD HO KDEM KPAO PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: HONDURAS SIGNS ON TO "BOLIVARIAN ALTERNATIVE" 
DESPITE WIDE OPPOSITION 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000789  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya signed on to 
Hugo Chavez' Bolivarian Alternative for America (ALBA) on 
August 25 at a lavish event attended by VIPs from other ALBA 
countries and a paid crowd of approximately 40,000 people. 
The day of speeches failed to shed much new light on what 
Zelaya was signing; the text has not been made public. 
Despite the fanfare, almost all sectors of Honduran society 
continue to oppose ALBA.  Meanwhile, the Minister for Women's 
Affairs resigned her position and women's rights groups 
demonstrated in opposition to Nicaraguan President Daniel 
Ortega's presence.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The presidents of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia, 
along with the Vice President of Cuba, cabinet ministers from 
Ecuador and Dominica, as well as the ambassadors from 
Uruguay, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic joined Zelaya 
and a beaming Paty Rodas on the dais.  Approximately 40 
thousand people were in the crowd, according to preliminary 
estimates, but the crowd appeared largely indifferent to 
events on the dais, and the number had dwindled significantly 
by the end of the event.  (Note: One group of approximately 
500 people from the indigenous-environmental organization 
COPINH made their way to the rally by way of the US Embassy, 
chanting demands for the release of the "Cuban Five," jailed 
in the United States. End Note) 
 
¶3. (U) The Zelaya administration spared no expense to 
showcase the ALBA signing ceremony.  Newspapers estimated the 
overall cost of the event to be from USD 1 million to 3 
million, an enormous sum in this struggling economy.  Liberal 
Party President Patricia "Paty" Rodas had openly stated they 
would pay people the equivalent of USD 25 and up (Note: for 
the average Honduran, this amounts to more than a week's 
wage), plus a free lunch to attend the rally at the 
Presidential Palace.  Emboffs observed convoys of buses 
streaming into the capital from the countryside. 
 
 
¶4. (U) The event featured a series of speeches from the VIP 
guests, including 45 minutes of socialist rhetoric and 
anti-U.S. invective from Venezuelan president Chavez, in 
which he repeated his claim that President Bush was 
intoxicated at the Olympic Games, and dubbed President Zelaya 
"Commander Cowboy" (Comandante Vaquero).  On ALBA, Chavez 
stated "it does not oblige, it liberates," and spoke of the 
development of "grand national" enterprises of a unified 
Latin America, in contrast to the trans-national corporations 
of the capitalist model of "The Empire."  President Zelaya 
followed with another 45 minute speech, in which he said one 
of the benefits of ALBA would be the capitalization of 
BANADESA, the Honduran agricultural development bank.  No one 
provided any details about the terms of the agreement Zelaya 
signed. 
 
¶5. (U) Private sector groups, the media, and politicians 
across the political spectrum have expressed their opposition 
to ALBA.  A coalition of Honduran expatriates put out 
television and newspaper ads characterizing ALBA as an 
anti-U.S. military alliance that would jeopardize relations 
with the United States and much-needed remittances.  The 
Honduran press, whose attitude beforehand had been skeptical 
at best, turned openly hostile in response to Chavez' 
comments upon arrival.  At the airport, Chavez insulted the 
Honduran press when a reporter tried to get past Chavez' own 
press entourage.  In his comments later, Chavez stated that 
the Honduran media were in the hands of the "piti-yankis," a 
derogatory term he used in his speech at the ceremony to 
describe all the sectors of Honduran society which oppose 
ALBA.  The Honduran press pounced on this, demanding he and 
his press corps show more respect and noting he was no longer 
in Venezuela, but rather in a country with a free press. 
 
¶6. (U) While counter-demonstrations were generally small, the 
press paid a significant amount of attention before the 
ceremony to the protests by women's rights groups against the 
presence of Nicaraguan President Ortega.  Many Sunday 
newspapers ran long background stories of the sexual abuse 
claims made by Ortega's step-daughter, and Selma Estrada, 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000789  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Minister of the Institution for Women's Issues, resigned to 
protest his visit. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  All indications are that ALBA is widely 
unpopular in Honduras.  Monday's events were a wake-up call 
for the Honduran press; we have yet to see if the more 
cautious political leadership will react as strongly.  While 
current indications are that the Honduran congress will not 
ratify ALBA, the political environment is too fluid to make a 
firm prediction.  The signing event did little to build 
popular support, and instead alienated more Hondurans, many 
of whom expressed shock at the language of the speeches and 
that such an event could take place in their country at all. 
 End comment. 
HENSHAW