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You can download the latest issue of the Central America Report here [PDF].

Humanitarian news website Reuters AlertNet reports that the number of Guatemalans going hungry is set to rise as the Central American nation faces more food shortages after devastating floods washed away crops.

Agatha, the first named storm of this year's Pacific hurricane season, lashed Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador last weekend, killing at least 180 people - most of them Guatemalan - and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Strong winds and torrential rains in Guatemala, which recorded the highest rainfall in over 60 years, triggered landslides and severe flooding, washing away fields of maize, banana, sugar cane and coffee.

"We are facing a very difficult situation. Without doubt the food crisis is going to get worse and we can expect to see more cases of malnutrition," Rubelci Alvarado, programme manager with Save the Children, told AlertNet by phone from Guatemala City.

A press release from the office of Colin Burgon MP welcomes comments by Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant this week that the Honduran elections held on Sunday cannot be "valid" as they did not take place under elected President Manuel Zelaya. 

In a House of Commons debate on Tuesday December 1, Bryant said: “We made it clear before the elections that we believed that President Zelaya should not have been removed from power, and that if the elections were to be valid, they had to be engaged in under President Zelaya."

Bryant added: "Without his return before the end of his term, which is at the end of January, it will be impossible to believe that those were proper elections. However, we recognise and welcome the fact that the elections that did take place did so in a peaceful situation."

For the full text of the media statement, see below.

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Inter Press Service reports on how Brazil, Argentina and most other Latin American countries are refusing to accept the results of the November 29 presidential elections in Honduras, which were won by Porfirio Lobo, a conservative rancher and candidate of the de facto government. 

The condemnation of many leaders in the region clashes with US efforts to push for international recognition of the poll organised by the regime that has been in power since the June 28 coup.

For the full story: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49492

LATIN AMERICA 2009: FACING THE CHALLENGES

SATURDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2009, 9.30AM-5PM
CONGRESS HOUSE, GREAT RUSSELL ST, LONDON WC1Y

http://www.latinamerica2009.org.uk/

PHONE 020 8800 0155 or EMAIL: office@cuba-solidarity.org.uk
FOR FULL DETAILS, BOOKINGS, ETC.

Latin America 2009 brings together trade unionists, NGOs, academics and progressive movements from Latin America and the UK to explore recent developments across the region.

Latin America 2009 features films, stalls, music, discussion on:

Honduras - the struggle for democracy
Cuba - 50 Years of Revolution and the fight against the US Blockade
Venezuela - deepening the revolution
ALBA - The Bolivarian Alternative For The Americas
Women In Latin America
Resistance To Neoliberal Agendas And Debt

ON 25th NOVEMBER, WE SPEAK OUT AGAINST WOMAN-KILLING IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

25th November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the beginning of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. To mark it, the Central America Women’s Network (CAWN) and the Honduran Women’s Studies Centre (CEMH) are holding three events condemning the rising violence against women and girls in the region and worldwide and calling for an end to this violence:

25 Nov, 4–6pm: Parliamentary meeting. House of Commons, London

26 Nov, 7.30pm: Film screening, followed by Q&A “Killer’s Paradise: Women Victims of Violence in Guatemala ”. Bolivar Hall, London , W1T.

27 Nov, 3-6pm: Seminar “Extreme forms of Violence against Women: Femicide in Mexico and Central America ”. Woburn House Conference Centre, London , WC1.

The Emergency Committee Against the Coup in Honduras is organising a protest at the US Embassy in London on the evening of Nov 4 to demand that the recent power-sharing deal be implemented and President Zelaya returned to power.
 
PROTEST AT THE US EMBASSY!
Reinstate President Zelaya Now! Defend human rights in Honduras!
Wednesday November 4, 5.30-7.30pm

At the US Embassy, 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1A.

A deal was reached last week in Honduras that should see the return of President Zelaya to office. But so far this has not been implemented. There are already many reports that this will be delayed by those opposed to the return of Zelaya, including in the Supreme Court and Congress, which both have to approve the deal. President Manuel Zelaya has warned about a possible "manipulation" by the coup government after signing the agreement that could return him to power and end the crisis in his country.

Honduras picket, climate change, Latam conference - check back for updates...

RESTORE DEMOCRACY IN HONDURAS
Public Meeting — Wednesday 14 October, 7.30pm

No more dictators in Latin America
End all US financial support to the coup
Speakers include:
Ken Livingstone
Katherine Ronderos (Central America Women’s Network) will give an eyewitness account of her recent visit  to Honduras. 
Tony Lloyd MP, Chair, Parliamentary Labour Party
Sally Hunt, TUC General Council International Spokesperson
Colin Burgon MP
Alvaro Sanchez, Counsellor, Venezuela Embassy
Steve Hart, Regional Secretary, Unite London and Eastern
Karen Mitchell, Thompsons Solicitors
Dr Francisco Dominguez, Head of Latin America Studies, Middlesex Uni
Bernard Regan, National Secretary Cuba Solidarity Campaign
Plus videos and messages from Honduras

Download an electronic version of the summer issue of Central America Report.

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