President Porfirio Lobo Sosa:

I have never written a letter to a President, but the circumstances that we are living in these days, as a society, force me to fulfill the duty appointed by Article 40 of our constitution:

The duties of citizens are: 1. Comply with, uphold, and ensure compliance with the Constitution and the laws. . .

Mr. Lobo, Honduras is a country that has become a center for power battles and special interest lobbies, none of them of good nature. Its geographical and political position is very powerful, but unfortunately those who have realized this are only threatening our democracy, sovereignty, integrity, and loyalty.

Knowing this and in the midst of a harsh sociopolitical challenge, Honduras went through a voting process with the best intentions of lifting up this country — of trusting in someone who would consolidate the peace process we have fought for. And the person people chose for that task was you, upon whom fell the responsibility of taking our nation to safe shores, where we could see the rule of law being enforced: A “Free, Sovereign, and Independent” country as our National Shield clearly reads.

Now, we see with great concern the course your government has set for our country. A course that, as we see it, leads us into a path of death and endless violence, of legal uncertainty, of social, political, and economic instability — plunging the citizens of Honduras into daily unrest.

You are the first citizen of Honduras, therefore the one who is supposed to set the example for civic behavior, and from that point start building a better country. But every single one of your actions seem to be part of a systematic process that leads Honduras to the worst of abysses, where everyday men and women fall victim to violence that during your government has gotten out of control. The only one who does not want see the situation is you.

Expropriations? Violations of the principle of private property? Authoritarianism? Disrespecting the separation of powers? One example is the Debt Law (la Ley Hipoteca), which did not follow parliamentary proceedings and undermined what little of such order remains in Honduras.

Excuse me Mr. Lobo, but any Venezuelan who reads this could mistakenly think I am talking about his country. On top of this, the personal insecurity we are living on the streets of Honduras is alarming and deeply painful.

When power does not benefit the majority of people, but only a few, it is has ceased to be authority and has become dictatorship. And that is the reality in Honduras, where your administration is stealing our country, but you will never get hold of our hope for a better future in peace.

Goodbye from an everyday citizen.

Elena Toledo Chirinos