Dear Honduras,

November 12, 2021

The view in Copán, western Honduras.
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September 15, 2021 marked the 200th anniversary of Honduras' independence from Spain. As ASJ-Honduras researcher Edgar Aguilar reflected on what the day meant to him, he wrote this open letter to his home on his personal blog, which he has adapted to share here.

Dear Honduras,



Today we celebrate 200 years of your independence. It’s a tradition. Do you remember? I’ve spent at least 15 years celebrating this day every September 15: participating in parades, attending events, imagining from a young age a future here; a future of prosperity, opportunities, and development.


That’s what I was taught in school, that in a free country as the nation develops, one does too. That in a free country there are rights and opportunities for all. That in a free country everyone is protected and can enjoy a dignified life.


However, much has happened in these 15 years of celebrations and parades; I have realized that you are not completely free, yet, and that there is much to do so that your citizens enjoy the promise I grew up believing in.

I have realized that you are not completely free, yet, and that there is much to do so that your citizens enjoy the promise I grew up believing in.

Many have lost their roots, hope, and love for you. I don’t blame them:

  • Today, 1 of every 3 children between 3 and 17 years of age is excluded from the educational system. An unfulfilled promise. On top of that, ¼ of teenagers and young adults are neither studying nor working. Another unfulfilled promise.
  • Currently, for every 1000 births, 18 children under the age of 5 die. And in every 100,000 births, 129 mothers die.
  • It is estimated that about 12.5% of GDP is lost to corruption (around $2.5 billion), stealing Hondurans’ work and their lives.
  • Impunity in the country was 87% in 2018. Too many wrongdoers go unpunished. A homicide rate persists that greatly affects the young, women, the LGBT community, and defenders of the environment and human rights. You have even been called a ‘narco-state’, for the latent collaboration between organized crime and the elite.
  • A large part of the population does not have a job in the formal sector and earns 3,635 Lempiras ($150) a month.
  • About 35% of the country’s energy is stolen, and this provokes a great financial impact on the country while leaving us with low quality service.


An overlook of Honduras' capital city, Tegucigalpa.

It seems that you have failed us, but in reality we have only been lied to. You are not completely free, yet. You are trapped by some people with interests against the promises you once made to us. People who are keen to compete for the power to control you, only to pursue their own self-interest and reckless greed.


Your potential is immense, your beauty is great, and your promises are good ones. Although in the last 15 years I have realized that parades and celebrations, like other things, can become only an illusion of a yet unknown reality; I still believe in a future in which your promises—the things I was taught you were and could be—become a reality.


I accept my part and understand the challenge. We must not sit with just pom-poms or hopelessness. We must not lose our trust and love for you. We must contribute—all of us— in creating the future we grew up hoping for. It’s all of our responsibility to work so that you fulfill your promise; it’s not a done deed from the past like I was taught. It’s a process, in which we contribute to your continued liberation.

I still believe in a future in which your promises—the things I was taught you were and could be—become a reality. 


The depressing statistics that I mentioned earlier must change and they will. We should support and be people committed to ensuring that you provide security and rights to all Hondurans. We should support and be people who are aligned with the common good and not with unconscionable corrupt interests.


Right now, we have upcoming elections to establish new leaders. I hope that these competing candidates truly work to guarantee a future with life, educational opportunities for all, and individual and collective prosperity.


It’s not so simple. I have realized that much of what I grew up hearing is not as easy as it seemed, but it’s good for me to learn that reality is complex and that we are all called to create a more just and prosperous Honduras. I still believe that you can fulfill your promises and that you can continue freeing yourself, with the difference that now I do not take your promises for granted, I take responsibility, and I realize I’m a part of this too.


With affection, Edgar

Edgar Aguilar
ASJ-Honduras Researcher
Edgar Aguilar hails from Tomalá, Honduras, and enjoys adventuring to new places, reading about Honduran politics, and having good conversations with friends. Find his original reflection in Spanish at https://bit.ly/3aZva5t.

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ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People,  Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
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Dear friend,  I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
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