Fact Sheet: Why Hondurans Are Forced to Flee
/Summary:
This fact sheet was compiled to provide a statistical context to the urgent crisis in Honduras that is forcing Hondurans to flee as refugees to neighbouring countries and to the U.S. border. It attempts to show the increasingly high cost of living that affect the daily lives and economic situations of millions of Honduran families. It provides a summary of the minimum wage and underemployment in the country for the small group of Hondurans that are able to find work but that suffer horrendous working conditions when their employers and the Honduran government do not abide by or enforce the labor code. This fact sheet also provides a few statistics related to the security situation in the country by looking at the homicide rate, the impunity rate, and the number of massacres that have occurred in the last few years. There is also a section about corruption and drug trafficking with details on involvement of government officials and Congressional representatives in corruption cases and drug trafficking. The final section includes statistics related to human rights issues and targeted populations such as students, Afro-indigenous Garifuna people, journalists, lawyers, and more.
Living Expenses in Honduras
Brief Context: Many Honduras will cite expensive living, unemployment, and other economic reasons for why they flee the country and why they cannot sustain their families in Honduras. Economic hardship is one of many complex reasons why Hondurans decide to pack up their belongings and flee in search of better living conditions.
Energy Prices: These continue to increase since the privatization of the National Electrical Energy Company (ENEE) in 2014. Honduran households began seeing the impact of the privatization in their energy bills in 2016 and since then, price increases have placed a growing burden on Honduran families (1).
Recent energy price increases: Between April 2018 and January 2020, energy prices increased by at least 40% at four different times (2). There is no end in sight as the Honduran government implements strict economic recovery measures to meet their macro economic agreements with the International Monetary Fund (3).
Gas Prices: Hondurans pay approximately the same prices as Californians at the gas pumps. California currently has the second highest gas prices in the United States.
In Honduras: (4)
2018: lowest price: $3.26/gallon (Dec). Highest: $3.81/gallon (Oct)
2019: lowest price: $3.16/gallon. Highest price: $3.72/gallon (May)
2020: $3.60/gallon (Jan)
In California: (5)
2018: lowest price: $3.15/gallon (Jan). Highest: $3.71 (Oct)
2019: lowest price: $3.13/gallon. Highest price: $4.09 (Oct 2019)
2020: $3.52/gallon (Jan)
Price of Basic Food Basket: This cost is $12.71 more expensive than the minimum wage earned by a Honduran employee working for minimum wage in a U.S. or Canadian-owned sweatshop in Honduras. (6)
In December 2019: The basic food basket included approximately 30 products for a 2,200 calories/day/person for a household of 5 people for a month: Total cost: 8,677.15 Lps/$348.48 USD or 1,735.43 Lps/person/$69.70 USD (7).
Healthcare and Education: The government invests little in public education and healthcare, particularly with the growing interests by the government and international financial institutions in privatization of both social services. Hondurans are increasingly forced to pay out of pocket for basic healthcare and public education. Some examples include:
Healthcare: There are no supplies and few medications provided in the hospitals. The crisis in the hospitals has worsened dramatically in the last 5 years. In order to be served by a physician, patients are expected to purchase all materials and medications. Long lines are a major problem.
Education: User fees continue to increase - Parents pay to register their children, pay for uniforms, books, sometimes desks, and the salaries of the security guards and janitors.
Minimum Wage and Underemployment in Honduras
Minimum Wage/Salaries: A minimum wage employee of a U.S. and Canadian-owned sweatshop earns $335.77 USD/month. Almost half of all people employed by the private sector do not receive minimum wage. This means that many private companies do not abide by the labour code, do not follow the law, and given the high impunity rate, are not held accountable.
Minimum wage in Honduras depends on two factors: 1. Industry sector (there are 11 in total), 2. Number of people employed (except in special free trade zones whether it does not matter how many employees a company has)
The Honduran Labour Code is NOT ENFORCED. According to the Honduran Ministry of Work and Social Security (STSS), 43% of all private sector workers (653,096 workers) do not receive minimum wage. Young people are the most affected where 56.16% do not receive minimum wage (8).
2020 minimum wage for private companies with 1 to 10 employees: Lowest: $271.59/month or $1.13/hour in agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing industry. Highest: $386.44/month or $1.61/hour in the financial establishment and real estate industry (9).
2020 for companies located in free trade zones: Flat rate: 8,226.39 Lps/month or $335.77/month (9)
Underemployment rate: Over two thirds (62.8%) of the Honduran working population were underemployed in 2018 and 56% in 2017 (10). In comparison, in 2018 in the U.S., the underemployment rate was 11.1% according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Citizen Security (or lack there of)
Brief Context: Despite millions of dollars from the U.S., Canadian, and European Union governments to improve citizen security and address judicial delay and impunity rates, Honduras is not a safer country for its citizens. Many Hondurans that flee the country will refer to the insecurity and the deep mistrust of state security forces, the lack of action by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the justice system to investigate, prosecute, and bring perpetrators of crime to justice.
Homicide Rate: This continues to be one of the highest in the world. In 2017, Honduras had the third highest murder rate in the world (11).
3,726 people were killed in Honduras (pop 8.5 million) in 2018. Homicide rate: 40.86 per 100,000 compared to the U.S. (4.9) or Canada (1.76) (12).
70.5% of the homicides were committed with a firearm. 382 were women and 113 worked in the transportation industry (13).
Impunity rate: This rate is over 90% - this means that 9 out of 10 crimes are exempt from punishment and perpetrators are never brought to justice (14).
Impunity rate for crimes against human rights defenders: 97%
75% of indictments filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, only 25% of the cases proceed to trial (14).
Massacres and Killings of Targeted Groups: Massacres occur frequently in Honduras and generate an overall environment of fear across the country. Massacres are defined as violent assassinations of 3 or more people in one incident.
In 2019, there were 70 massacres involving 281 victims, the majority were young people. This means that there is often more than one massacre in one week in Honduras all year round (15).
In the first 13 days of January 2019, there were 6 massacres in different cities around the country (16)
In the first 2 days of January 2020, 21 people were killed (17). In the first 15 days of January 2020, 15 women were killed (18).
Corruption and Drug Trafficking:
Brief Context: Millions of dollars have been stolen from Honduran state institutions for the benefit of government officials and their family members. The New York Southern District court has called the involvement of high-level government officials and state institutions in drug trafficking as “state-sponsored drug trafficking.” One Honduran anti-corruption state body stated that the Honduran government loses $480 million from corruption per year (19). This money could be going to social programs including healthcare, education, and other social programs to benefit the country’s poor and reduce the push factors that cause mass migration.
Corruption: Many corruption cases involve networks of government officials and their family members including the two former President’s wives.
The former first lady and wife of ex-President Porfirio Lobo was found guilty and sentenced to 58 years in prison for fraud and appropriating $779,000 USD of public funds destined for social programs (20)
170 current and former Honduran Congressional representatives were involved in looting over $70 million from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and other state institutions in the Pandora corruption case prepared by the anti-corruption body, the MACCIH (21).
$350 million was stolen from the Honduran National Social Security Institute (IHSS) and a portion of stolen funds went into funding the 2013 election of current President Juan Orlando Hernandez (22).
Drug Trafficking: Honduras is a narco-state that participates in “state-sponsored drug trafficking,” according to the Southern District Court in New York.
In October 2019, Juan Antonio “Tony” Hernandez, the brother of President Juan Orlando Hernandez was found guilty of four counts of drug trafficking, using illegal weapons to smuggle drugs, and lying to U.S. federal authorities in the Southern District Court of New York (SDNY) (23).
Current and former Presidents, Juan Orlando Hernandez and Porfirio Lobo Sosa are named as co-conspirators in Tony Hernandez’s drug case. Two current Congressmen, Oscar Nájera and Reynaldo Ekonomo were named in the same SDNY case for their involvement in aiding drug traffickers working with Tony Hernandez (24).
Human Rights Issues:
Brief Context: The human rights situation in Honduras has continued to worsen, particularly since the 2009 military coup. Journalists, lawyers, students, small farmers, Afro-indigenous Garifuna peoples, and many individuals critical of the government are targeted for speaking the truth, challenging the interests of the rich and powerful, and defending their territories. Hondurans that stay in the country to fight for true democracy and deep structural change must confront repression, criminalization, assassinations, threats, and imprisonment.
Land and Environmental Defenders: According to Global Witness, 120 Honduran activists were killed from 2010 to 2016 for “protecting their rivers, forests, or land” (25).
Small Farmers (Campesinos):
From 2010 to 2013, 88 members or associates of campesino movements have been targeted and killed in the northern Aguan Valley. At least three quarters of the killings remain in impunity (26).
Over 5,000 campesinos including approximately 700 women campesinos face charges as a result of land conflicts around the country (27).
Journalists and Lawyers: These professionals continue to be at greater risk and people who commit crimes against them enjoy a 92% impunity rate.
There were 66 murders of journalists from 2013 to 2019. 24 were investigated and only 8 cases went to trial (28).
Reporters ‘Without Borders’ wrote that since securing his (illegal) second term in 2017, President Juan Orlando Hernandez has “increased control over news and information and takes a range of initiatives to silence the most outspoken journalists” (29).
From 2010 to 2014, 29 people that identified as journalists were murdered. All crimes have 97% impunity. 12 of these killings occurred in 2012 (30).
77 murders of journalists & lawyers from 2001 to 2019, only six have been investigated and 71 remain in impunity (30).
Afro-indigenous Garifuna: Eight Garifuna people, mostly leaders and women, were killed from September 2019 to Dec 2019. (31)
Political Prisoners & Imprisoned Water Defenders: Nine political prisoners are in jail for protesting government privatization policies and extraction projects. All have been held in maximum-security prisons.
Over 23 political prisoners were imprisoned between 4 months to two years after the 2017 electoral crisis. The majority were jailed in military-run, maximum-security prisons (32).
8 water and life defenders from Guapinol & other communities in the area remain imprisoned for defending their environment, water supply, and resisting mining operations in a national park (33).
Rommel Herrera, a young teacher, remains imprisoned after arrested and accused of damages to the U.S. Embassy during a protest (34).
Human Rights Defenders: Are killed and frequently attacked for their work defending human rights.
From 2014 to August 2018, 65 human rights defenders were murdered in Honduras (35).
In 2016 and 2017, human rights defenders, their organizations, and family members reported more than 1,232 attacks against them (35).
Students: Students involved in protesting the privatization of education are often targeted and criminalized.
Many University students participated in protests in defense of public education in 2014 and 2016. In this context, 70 were criminalized and 24 were expelled from university (36). At least 15 more were criminalized in 2017 (37).
Approximately 21,000 students (elementary, high school, and university) were killed from 2010 to 2016 (38). Over 89 students were killed in 2019 alone (39).
References
(1) “IMF Policies and the Privatization of the National Energy Company Hits Honduran Households”, September 24, 2016. http://www.aquiabajo.com/blog/2016/9/24/imf-policies-the-privatization-of-the-national-energy-company-hits-honduran-households. And also see “The IMF and Privatization of Honduras: Impact on the National Energy Company”, December 17, 2014. http://www.aquiabajo.com/blog/2014/12/the-imf-and-privatization-in-honduras.html
(2) 10% energy price increase in April 2018: “Descontento popular en Honduras por aumento del 10% a la energy”, April 1, 2018: https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20190401/461402975116/descontento-popular-en-honduras-por-aumento-del-10--a-la-energia.html; 18% price increase in October 2018: “Tarifa electrica sube 18% para clientes residenciales y 12% para otros sectors” October 2018: https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1223700-410/tarifa-electrica-sube-clientes-residenciales-aumento-factura-enee; 10% in April 2019: “Trancazo: tarifa de energya eléctrica aumenta un 10% a partir de abril” March 30, 2019: https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1271677-410/tarifa-energ%C3%ADa-luz-honduras-trancazo-aumento-incremento-medicion-eeh-enee-electrica3.64% increase in January 2020: “CREE aprobó nuevo incremento en la , tarifa de energía eléctrica para el 2020” December 31, 2019: https://hondudiario.com/2019/12/31/cree-aprobo-nuevo-incremento-en-la-tarifa-de-energia-electrica-para-el-2020/
(3) La Prensa, “Déficit de la ENEE autmentó L20,351 milliones en los últimos seis años”, January 20, 2020: https://www.laprensa.hn/economia/1351908-410/deficit-enee-aumento-20351-millones-lempiras-ultimos-seis-anos. The reasons for ENEE’s deficit are complex but corruption plays a defining role in the energy company’s poor economic situation that has grown over several years.
(4) Gas prices in Honduras: https://proceso.hn/index.php/component/k2/item/213760-tabla-de-precios-de-los-combustibles-2020
(5) Gas prices in California: information calculated using the California Energy Commission’s data found at: https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/transportation_data/gasoline/retail_gasoline_prices2_cms.html
(6) This is calculated using the data listed and referenced in the ‘minimum wage section’ of this fact sheet.
(7) El Heraldo, “Costo de la canasta alimenticia es de L 8, 677.15 al mes en Honduras,” December 2019, https://www.elheraldo.hn/economia/1340283-466/costo-canasta-alimenticia-es-del-867715-al-mes
(8) El Heraldo, “Empresas no pagan salario mínimo al 43% de trabajadores.” May 2019, https://www.elheraldo.hn/economia/1256529-466/empresas-no-pagan-salario-m%C3%ADnimo-al-43-de-trabajadores
(9) Honduran Ministry of Labor and Social Security, “Tabla de salario mínimo 2020” http://www.trabajo.gob.hn/tabla-de-salario-minimo-2019-y-tabla-del-bono-educativo-2019/
(10) El Heraldo, “La tasa de subempleo subió a 62.8% durante 2018 en Honduras.” January 2019, https://www.elheraldo.hn/economia/1253875-466/la-tasa-de-subempleo-subi%C3%B3-a-628-durante-2018-en-honduras
(11) United Nations Global Study on Homicide 2019. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/murder-rate-by-country/
(12) Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Informe de pais, Honduras, “Situación de derechos humanos en Honduras” August 27, 2019, page 36 https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Honduras2019.pdf
(13) Ibid, page 38.
(14) Ibid, page 46 and 47
(15) El Tiempo, “2019 en Honduras cierra con 70 masacres: 281 víctimas, mayoría jóvenes.” December 31, 2019, https://tiempo.hn/2019-en-honduras-cierra-con-70-masacres-281-victimas-mayoria-jovenes/
(16) El Heraldo, “Honduras registra seis masacres en los primeros días de 2019” January 13, 2019, https://www.elheraldo.hn/sucesos/1249625-466/honduras-registra-seis-masacres-en-los-primeros-13-d%C3%ADas-de-2019
(17) La Prensa, “Alarmante: 21 homicidios tras iniciar el 2020 en Honduras.” January 2, 2020. https://www.laprensa.hn/sucesos/1345869-410/homicidios-honduras-primeros-dos-dias-enero-nuevo-a%C3%B1o
(18) HRN, “15 mujeres han sido asesinadas en los primeros días del 2020 en Honduras.” January 14, 2020, https://radiohrn.hn/15-mujeres-han-sido-asesinadas-en-los-primeros-dias-del-2020-en-honduras/
(19) El Tiempo, “Unos L. 10 milliones pierde el Estado de Honduras en materia de corrupción.” August 10, 2017, https://tiempo.hn/corrupcion-en-honduras-perdidas/
(20) Reuters, “Former first lady of Honduras sentenced to 58 years in jail.” September 4, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-corruption/former-first-lady-of-honduras-sentenced-to-58-years-in-jail-idUSKCN1VQ00Y
(21) El Heraldo, “Hasta 360 diputados y exdiputados esta salpicados por caso Pandora” August 6, 2019. https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1307807-410/corrupcion-caja-pandora-honduras-juan-orlando-hernandez-joh-desvio-fondos-
(22) Reuters, “Honduras president: graft-linked companies helped fund my campaign.” June 3, 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-corruption/honduras-president-graft-linked-companies-helped-fund-my-campaign-idUSKBN0OJ26B20150603
(23) New York Times, “Honduran President’s brother found guilty of drug trafficking.” October 18, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/world/americas/honduras-president-brother-drug-trafficking.html
(24) Contracorriente, “Tiempo de crímenes: un juicio sobre el control narco en Honduras.” https://contracorriente.red/2019/10/14/tiempo-de-crimenes-un-juicio-sobre-el-control-narco-en-honduras/
(25) Global Witness, “Honduras: the deadliest country in the world for environmental activism.” January 31, 2017, https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/honduras-deadliest-country-world-environmental-activism/
(26) Annie Bird, Rights Action, “Human rights violations attributed to military forces in the Bajo Aguan Valley in Honduras.” Februray 20, 2013, https://rightsaction.org/sites/default/files/Rpt_130220_Aguan_Final.pdf, and Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Informe de pais, Honduras, “Situación de derechos humanos en Honduras” August 27, 2019, page 98 https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Honduras2019.pdf
(27) Conexihon, “Mas de 5,000 campesinos procesados judicialmente en Honduras,” March 2015, http://old.conexihon.hn/site/noticia/derechos-humanos/conflicto-agrario-y-minero/m%C3%A1s-de-5000-campesinos-procesados-judicialmente
(28) Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Informe de pais, Honduras, “Situación de derechos humanos en Honduras” August 27, 2019, page 62 https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Honduras2019.pdf
(29) Reporters Without Borders, “Honduras” https://rsf.org/en/honduras
(30) Statistic reported by the Honduran Human Rights Commission (Comisionado de Derechos Humanos de Honduras CONADEH) and reported by Once Noticias, “Casos sin resolver: “otro día del periodista” y persisten las cifras alarmantes de impunidad en asesinatos de comunicadores. May 26, 2019, https://www.oncenoticias.hn/persisten-cifras-alarmantes-impunidad-asesinatos-comunicadores/
(31) Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), “Basta ya de asesinatos contra el pueblo Garifuna” November 5, 2019, https://ofraneh.wordpress.com/2019/11/05/basta-ya-de-asesinatos-contra-el-pueblo-garifuna/
(32) United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “Las violaciones a los derechos humanos el el context de las elecciones de 2017 en Honduras.” 2017, https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/HN/2017ReportElectionsHRViolations_Honduras_SP.pdf
(33) Center for Studies for Democracy (CESPAD), “Guapinol y Sector San Pedro: Situación de presos politicos por el agua y la vida.” September 12, 2019, https://cespad.org.hn/2019/09/12/guapinol-y-sector-san-pedro-situacion-de-presos-politicos-por-el-agua-y-la-vida/
(34) Committee of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), “En espera la libertad de Rommel.” October 10, 2019. https://defensoresenlinea.com/en-espera-la-libertad-de-rommel/
(35) Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Informe de pais, Honduras, “Situación de derechos humanos en Honduras” August 27, 2019, page 88 https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/informes/pdfs/Honduras2019.pdf
(36) Ibid, page 90
(37) C-LIBRE, “15 nuevos estudiantes universitarios criminalizados por participar en protesta” August 7, 2017, http://www.clibrehonduras.com/index.php/alertas/criminalizacion-de-la-protesta-publica/724-15-nuevos-estudiantes-universitarios-criminalizados-por-participar-en-protesta
(38) Statistics collected by the Violence Observatory of the National Autonomous University of Honduras and reported by Notibomba, “Mas de 21 mil estudiantes asesinados en los últimos 7 años en Honduras,” September 3, 2018, https://notibomba.com/21mil/
(39) La Prensa, “Estudiantes de secundaria, blanco constante de la violencia en Cortés y Francisco Morazán,” November 19, 2019, https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1334416-410/estudiantes-asesinados-honduras-violencia-seguridad-educacion