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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 001302 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL HO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT-ELECT'S GOVERNMENT PLAN 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: President-elect Lobo's plan for his 
government aims to achieve sustainable development that will 
improve the lives of his fellow citizens.  His plan is based 
on three pillars: creating jobs and reducing poverty, 
expanding the reach and quality of education, and ensuring 
security.  Lobo's foreign policy will be focused on the 
return of Honduras to the international community and will 
emphasize the country's development.  Lobo will seek to 
decentralize government and improve access to quality 
education.  Lobo intends to introduce a new health care 
system based on universal coverage that will include the most 
vulnerable members of society who are currently excluded from 
health services.  Lobo pledges to fight crime while 
guaranteeing respect for the constitution and international 
standards regarding human rights.  Lobo proposes to 
strengthen the capacity of the police and support measures to 
improve the efficiency of the judicial system.  Lobo plans to 
adopt a policy for youth to increase their employment and 
educational opportunities.  He also proposes to promote 
initiatives to keep the elderly in productive activities and 
promote legislation to protect emigrants.  Economic aspects 
of Lobo's plan will be reported septel.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) President-elect Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo gave the 
Ambassador a copy of his plan for government.  Its objective 
is to bring dignity to all persons by achieving sustainable 
and integral development to bring about an improved quality 
of life.  The plan states that the Lobo government will 
promote dialogue to achieve a consensus on the country's 
priorities.  The plan is based on three pillars: 1) improving 
families' standard of living by creating jobs and reducing 
poverty, 2) expanding the reach and quality of education and 
health care, and 3) ensuring security so that citizens can 
live in peace and harmony. 
 
Foreign Affairs 
--------------- 
 
¶3. (U) According to the plan, Lobo believes that 
international relations should be framed by respect for 
people's self-determination, human rights, mutual 
cooperation, the fostering of peace, and international 
security.  Lobo aims to reestablish the confidence of the 
international community in Honduras and will promote the 
image of Honduras abroad. His government's foreign policy 
will emphasize the country's development, particularly the 
fight against poverty, and aim to successfully insert 
Honduras into the international economy.   His administration 
plans to cooperate with international security objectives by 
signing cooperation agreements on security, terrorism, and 
combating narco-trafficking.  It plans to work for the 
protection of Hondurans abroad and will create a consular 
corps within the diplomatic corps for this purpose.  It also 
intends to strengthen its diplomatic missions to 
international organizations.  Lobo will support Central 
American integration, especially a customs union and regional 
projects aimed at improving regional infrastructure and 
competition. 
 
 
Decentralization 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The plan provides for strengthening coordination 
between central government institutions and the Association 
of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON) to strengthen 
governance through the promotion of decentralization.  The 
decentralization policy will be based on: strengthening local 
capacity, gradual fiscal decentralization, efficiency in the 
use of resources and provision of public services, 
transparency, and strengthening citizen participation. 
Financial incentives will be provided to local governments 
that show commitment to sustainable use of natural resources. 
 
 
Education 
--------- 
 
¶5. (U) Lobo and his team believe that schools should be the 
axis for change and that the values upheld in schools should 
be: transparency, honesty, responsibility, pluralism, equity, 
solidarity, and continual transformation.  Education will 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00001302  002 OF 004 
 
 
become bilingual (with English) nationwide, but with 
particular focus on areas of the country catering to tourism. 
The plan states that schools need to have the capacity to 
prepare students to adapt and contribute to the country's 
economic and social development.  When Lobo takes office, his 
administration plans to work so that schools will teach 
skills that the modern world needs and will utilize new 
information and communication technologies. 
 
¶6. (U) Lobo's education policy will be based on: 1) 
participation by society in decisions regarding transparency 
and administration, 2) equity in access to education services 
so all enjoy equality of opportunity, 3) improved efficiency 
in the use of financial resources, and 4) provision of 
quality education so students achieve high academic results. 
Educational standards will be set up that are linked to 
teachers' evaluations. Lobo's government will guarantee that 
all children with special needs have access to educational 
services whether through formal or special programs.  Lobo's 
program pledges that by 2013, 85 percent of 5-year olds will 
have access to kindergarten and 93 percent of children 
between six and nine years of age will be at a grade 
appropriate for their age. 
 
¶7. (U)  Lobo plans to provide 10,000 lempiras (USD 500) a 
year to female-headed households if their children enroll and 
stay in school.  His government plans to donate personal 
computers to one million school-aged children.   His 
government also proposes to work through local governments to 
set up a national nursery program for all children up to 4 
years of age to allow mothers to join the work force.  It 
also intends to set up educational centers to facilitate the 
reintegration into the school system of children and 
adolescents who interrupted their education.  In addition, 
the Lobo program provides that 90 percent of the work force 
will be literate by 2013 and his government will strive to 
reduce overall illiteracy to at least ten percent by using 
local structures and the services of retired teachers. 
 
Health 
------ 
 
¶8. (U) Lobo plans to introduce a new health care system based 
on universal coverage, reorganization of the health sector, 
and strengthening of the health services provided by the 
government.  Lobo proposes to change the country's public 
health system to a health insurance system that will 
gradually and progressively and in priority order incorporate 
the groups currently excluded from health services: the poor 
and vulnerable, the elderly, ethnic groups, and rural 
residents.  The new health system will consist of subsidized 
financing and free health services provided by the Ministry 
of Health for those who cannot pay.  There will be shared 
financing through the Honduran Social Security Institute 
(IHSS) for workers in the country's largest municipalities. 
In addition, the new administration plans to  promote IHSS 
coverage to the entire working population. 
 
¶9. (U) The Lobo administration plans to promote a "Medicine 
for All" program to ensure the supply of medicines to public 
hospitals and health centers.  It plans to modernize and 
professionalize the purchase, warehouse, and distribution 
procedures for medicine for hospitals and ambulatory services 
to guarantee their availability and quality.  It plans to 
decentralize and render hospital administration more 
efficient through creation of administrative boards with 
community participation. 
 
Law and Order 
------------- 
 
¶10. (U)  The Lobo plan says that the state has the obligation 
to create the necessary conditions for a safe environment for 
all its citizens.  Lobo states in his plan that he wants to 
make Honduras a secure country where all rights and liberties 
are guaranteed, where citizens live in peace, and where there 
is a climate favorable to investment and job creation.  Lobo 
pledges to fight crime, guaranteeing respect for 
international human rights standards in order to have a 
society that lives in peace and harmony. Lobo's security 
policy is based on three principles: social peace and order, 
application of the law, and accountability. 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00001302  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) In order to achieve these goals, the Lobo 
administration plans to put in place appropriate salaries and 
benefits for the police, begin the process of technological 
modernization of the police, and enhance police supervision. 
 The Lobo administration intends to ensure the provision and 
modernization of equipment and laboratories needed for 
adequate police investigation.  It proposes to strengthen the 
capability of the police to manage crime scenes to create in 
the medium term an Institute of Forensics and Criminal 
Science.  It plans to implement strict control and 
regulations on possession and use of firearms.  It intends to 
promote the reforms needed to ensure criminals complete their 
sentences, especially felonies and crimes against women.  It 
also plans to promote the rehabilitation of the jail 
population and separate it into three categories based on the 
crime committed.  Lobo and his team plan to set up a program 
to facilitate the social reintegration of youth involved in 
crime and gangs, including those deported back to Honduras 
for this reason.  It plans to promote regional initiatives to 
increase police and judicial cooperation against 
narco-trafficking and international terrorism. 
 
¶12. (U) The Lobo government plans to support measures 
introduced to improve the efficiency of the judicial system. 
According to the plan, it intends to support making the 
selection of judges competitive to ensure that their 
selection is based on merit and ethical behavior.  In 
addition, the newly elected government plans to support the 
approval of a law regarding the judicial career to promote a 
Supreme Court dedicated exclusively to its juridical function 
by transferring its administrative tasks to a different body. 
 In order to advance transparency and fight corruption, 
Lobo's administration plans to push for reform of the 
government contracting law.  It plans to create a specialized 
contracting center for large governmental purchases so that 
contracts can be analyzed, planned and carried out in 
accordance with technical recommendations and the law. 
 
Youth, the Elderly, and Migrants 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Lobo plans to adopt a policy for youth that will 
support structural initiatives to increase opportunities for 
the employment of youth and will expand their opportunities 
to pursue formal, informal, and vocational education.  Lobo 
proposes to seek to develop a civic-democratic culture to 
promote participation by youth in public affairs.  Lobo and 
his team intend to guarantee an integral approach to the 
principal health problems affecting youth such as sexually 
transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy.  His 
administration also plans to promote the rehabilitation and 
social inclusion of youth with disabilities.  Fifty 
academically gifted youth with limited financial resources 
will annually receive international scholarships to enable 
them to pursue their studies at the world's best 
universities. 
 
¶14. (U) Lobo plans to promote initiatives to keep the elderly 
in productive activities, especially in the areas of tourism, 
child care, and traditional cuisine.  His administration 
plans to utilize international aid to set up a center for the 
elderly in each of the country's departments.  Lobo wants to 
create a Ministry for the Family with an Under Secretary with 
responsibility for children, the family, and the elderly. 
This office would permanently design, promulgate, approve, 
execute, and monitor a state policy on children and the 
family. 
 
¶15. (U) Lobo plans to promote the Law on Protection of the 
Emigrant proposed by the National Party in the Congress so 
that it is implemented.  Under that law, he would create a 
National Council on Emigration that will formulate proposals 
and recommendations on this subject and will ensure 
compliance with the law.  The Lobo government proposes to 
create an office of returned Honduras to assist them with 
reintegration into Honduran society.  In addition, the Lobo 
administration will try to promote use of remittances into 
productive activities that will ensure the recipients a 
better future. 
 
16, (SBU) Comment: The Lobo plan addresses the country's 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00001302  004 OF 004 
 
 
major social ills: poverty, lack of education,  and lack of 
health care.  With his National Party having garnered a 
majority of seats in the legislature, congressional support 
for this ambitious agenda is likely.  One challenge will be 
paying for it, especially as Lobo takes office with 
international donors having suspended or terminated their 
assistance to Honduras in the wake of the June 28 coup 
d'etat.  Another challenge will be the Lobo administration's 
capacity to implement such a wide range of challenging goals. 
 
 
LLORENS