‘Model Cities’: The Biggest Threat to Democracy in Honduras?
‘Model Cities’: The Biggest Threat to Democracy in Honduras?
By: Tyler Ingraham
The idea for these neoliberal ‘model cities’ took force after the US-backed military coup that ousted President Zelaya in 2009.
Honduras finds itself in the midst of an ongoing anti-corruption movement. In late October the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a session on judicial independence in Honduras and the OAS is advancing plans to install an international Mission of Support in Combating Corruption in the country, albeit amid criticism. These steps were prompted by months of weekly torch-lit marches that drew tens of thousands to the streets through August of this year. The impressive “Indignados” marches called for President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s resignation over corruption charges, the OAS’s help in weeding out criminal behavior in the State, and broader reforms that would ensure separation of government powers.
But lurking in the background of these debates on how to build accountability and democracy in in the country is the specter of Honduras’ proposed Economic Development and Employment Zones (ZEDEs), popularly referred to as ‘model cities’ by Hondurans.
ZEDEs represent an aggressive form of special economic zone in which investors and international overseers can create semi-autonomous, highly privatized city-states designed to be legally, judicially and administratively independent from the structures of the Honduran state.
Internationally, many heard of these plans as “charter cities,” proposed by U.S. economist Paul Romer back in 2009. The idea to create charter cities took force after the 2009 military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya opened Honduran markets further and aimed to make the country the most attractive place to invest in the Americas.
More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Model-Cities-The-Biggest-Threat-to-Democracy-in-Honduras-20151109-0023.html
