Wednesday March 3, 2021
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » A Think Tank to Combat Violence and Poverty in Honduras

A Think Tank to Combat Violence and Poverty in Honduras

Mabel Velástegui by Mabel Velástegui
September 26, 2013

0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp

EspañolEléutera is its name: a new think tank for Honduras, the nation with the highest homicide rate in Central America and the most poverty in all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Faced with this challenging reality, Eléutera’s purpose is to spread and defend the principles of liberty, in both the social and economic realms.

eleutera

RelatedArticles

Sandinistas United States, Nicaragua Socialist regimen

Sandinistas Kill Protesters in Nicaragua and Now “Protest” in United States

June 11, 2020
Economic Consequences, Coronavirus Lockdown

Will the Economic Consequences of the Coronavirus Lockdown More Deaths?

April 2, 2020

In so doing, the organization shall seek to reverse Honduras’s tendency for fragile and overreaching institutions. That means offering alternative institutional answers that respond to the needs of constituents — primarily to enable them to foster their own potential and individual creativity.

Panting
Deepak Lal and Guillermo Peña — Mont Pelerin Society
Buenos Aires (2011)

Guillermo Peña, Eléutera’s executive director, notes that unfortunately Hondurans have failed to achieve any substantial improvement in their general standard of living in recent years.

“The quality of education and public health has declined, or at best remained stagnant,” he says. “Honduras is also among the most corrupt and violent in the Americas. There is just so much to work on; we have to awaken from our slumber.”

While the foundation opened its doors just three weeks ago, the idea to start a think tank came to Peña seven years earlier.

“I knew the importance of a tool that was independent and apolitical, one with clear and targeted ideas for a nation like Honduras.” He remembers the biggest challenge was gathering a group of people committed to the ideas of liberty but without political debts or feuds.

While their offices are in San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras, their activities will extend to other cities such as Tegucigalpa.

“Our goal is to span the whole country,” he explains — “and with patience and perseverance we will achieve that. The battle of ideas is not caught up in the near term, as happens with an election cycle.”

To disseminate Eléutera’s ideas, Peña plans to produce and host workshops, speaking engagements, policy research, and opinion articles. Beyond that, though, he wants to get creative and target Hondurans under 35 years old, since they constitute 65 percent of the population.

He plans to work with and recruit the experience of classical liberal or free market think tanks in other countries — along with trade or business associations, universities, independent scholars, and even government agencies when necessary. On the international stage, Eléutera will be active with members of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation’s network and the Economic Freedom of the World Network.

One of the greatest challenges for the new think tank will be its leadership as an observatory of the new and potentially revolutionary ZEDE regions (zonas de empleo y desarrollo económico). With all legislation passed, these special development regions (also known as startup cities) are nearing the final stages and will have greater administrative and legal autonomy, to attract investment and allow for swift development. Eléutera will gather a group of academics and policy specialists to engage in dialogue about how to harness the benefits of the ZEDEs while avoiding potential harms that could result from the new venture.

He is confident that the ZEDEs will generate employment and serve as a model for the rest of the country.

“We believe that with a parcel of land less than 0.1 percent of the national territory, we can experiment with better systems of law so that Hondurans don’t have to abandon their homes and country for a better life elsewhere.”

In fact, a higher quality of life for people in Honduras is precisely the goal of the new think tank. With that in mind, the executive director affirms, “it is imperative that we demonstrate how our ideas will lead to a future that is more prosperous, safe, and, above all, peaceful.”

Translated by Fergus Hodgson.

Previous Post

Free Speech Battles Belong on Campus, Not in the Courts

Next Post

Puerto Rico: el delito y sus soluciones

Mabel Velástegui

Mabel Velástegui

Reporter for the PanAm Post, based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Follow her on Twitter @mabelvelastegui.

Related Posts

Donations That Compromise Joe Biden to Big Tech
Nicaragua

Daniel Ortega: Nicaragua’s Executioner Aims for 20 Years in Power

January 12, 2021
It’s Official: For Argentines, Vice President Cristina Kirchner Calls the Shots
Nicaragua

New Law in Nicaragua Guarantees Ortega Elections Without Opponents

December 22, 2020
Daniel Ortega Tries to Shield Electoral Fraud with Punitive Laws in Nicaragua
Elections

Daniel Ortega Tries to Shield Electoral Fraud with Punitive Laws in Nicaragua

October 7, 2020
IMF Latin America, Worst Economic Crisis
Central America

IMF: Latin America Will Suffer Worst Economic Crisis in Its History

July 6, 2020
Sandinistas United States, Nicaragua Socialist regimen
Nicaragua

Sandinistas Kill Protesters in Nicaragua and Now “Protest” in United States

June 11, 2020
Economic Consequences, Coronavirus Lockdown
Economics

Will the Economic Consequences of the Coronavirus Lockdown More Deaths?

April 2, 2020
Next Post

Puerto Rico: el delito y sus soluciones

Discussion about this post

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.