The National Congress ratified the Constitution reform that eliminated the controversial position of commander in chief of the armed forces with the conditional support of the representatives of the National party. The condition that the National Party required of the Liberal Party is that they support the reform to Article 51 of the Magna Carta that establishes that any modifications to the Electorial Laws will require approval by 2/3 of the members of the National Congress.

In essence, this ratification made General Hung Pacheco the last military leader to hold the office of commander in chief and marks the end of the 41 years that the military manipulated the government. This now retired general officially eliminated the position of commander-in-chief in a ceremony held in the military school "Francisco Morazan" in the area of Las Tapias, Tegucigalpa. He officially presented President Carlos Flores with the power symbols of the former position; the command staff, banner and flag pole.

The renown lawyer Edgardo Dumas Rodríguez, has been appointed by President Carlos Flores as the Minister of Defense. Dumas Rodríguez had been the Ambassador of Honduras to the United States just prior to his new appointment and has now become the first civilian leader of the Honduran armed forces.

Many changes within the structure of the armed forces were announced this week. The most momentous news was the official retiring of four generals, including Hung Pacheco. Another one of the newly retired generals, Roberto Lázarus Lozano, was appointed the next day as the new Vice Minister of Defense. He has stated that any military officials who oppose the new restructuring should ask to be retired from service.

One of the first declarations made by the new Minister of Defense, Dumas Rodríguez, was that the armed forces needs to expand its budget to acquire new equipment.

The Minister of Security, Elizabeth Chiuz Sierra, has confirmed that the director of the penitentiary, Rafael Castro Avila, has been removed from his post due to the riot that broke out in the new central penitentiary last year, which lasted over a month long and resulted in its partial destruction.

In a related news item, it was announced that Taiwan will donate a helicopter for the use of Honduran presidents. The Honduran government originally had planned to invest in a new dual turbine chopper due to the dangers posed by the present old single turbine helicopters employed by the air force and used by the president. However, later the designated funds were invested in helping Mitch's victims.

The city of Fillmore, California has donated its former bridge to Honduras and will be installed in the area of La Paz. A hearty thanks to Taiwan and Fillmore, CA for these valuable donations :)

In other news, Honduran tourism officials, including the Minister Norman García Paz, have announced publicly that two tunnels used by archeologists to penetrate the interior of the great Mayan acropolis at the Copan Ruins, will be opened to the public next March. These two tunnels extend about three kilometers in total length and soon tourists will be permited to observe first hand the latest archeological discoveries of the ruins.

President Carlos Flores presented garifuna and tolupan communities with land titles to the areas in which they live. The garifuna communities which received over 34 thousand individual land titles are: Nueva Go, La Rosita, Cayo Venado, Limón y Cosuna; and the tolupan communities are: Agua Caliente de Reinada, San Francisco de Locomapa, Los Anisillos and Mina Honda. The director of the National Agrarian Institute (INA), Aníbal Delgado Fiallos, also stated that this is not the end of the processing of land titles, and that later this year the other ethnic groups of the chortis, lencas, misquitos, pech and tahuakas will also be provided definite land titles by this institution to the areas in which they presently inhabit.

Jose Arevalos, president of the Central American Integration Bank (BCIE) has placed the estimated cost of reconstruction efforts in Honduras to be $10,000,000,000 - double the original quote. Regional finance officials from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, as well as delegates from the BCIE, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank met with Arevalos in the Honduran capital on Thursday.

The Clinton administration has claimed they will offer a significant contribution above the $300 million already promised in aid to the countries affected by Hurricane Mitch. This comes on the heels of a trip made by Department Counselor Wendy Sherman, and the senior Latin American Official for the Agency for International Development, Mark Schneider. Schneider believes the reconstruction phase will take three to five years, and explained that the $300 million went toward food, relief to health clinics, and to maintain about 5,000 U.S. troops stationed in the region. It was also mentioned that congressional approval for a free trade agreement between Central America, the United States and Canada is being pursued.

President Clinton has delayed his trip to Central America so he can be in Washington on February 12th, when the senate impeachment vote is expected to be taken. He has rescheduled to visit Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala on March 8-11th.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Sweden has promised $180 million over three-years to help rebuild parts of Central America devastated by Hurricane Mitch, with the bulk of the amount going to Honduras.

A motion is being tabled in Honduras parliament to permit Hurricane Mitch missing persons to be officially declared dead, so relatives can claim inheritance or life insurance from the victims. Currently, relatives must wait four years for a person to be declared dead without a death certificate.

The local registrar office "Registro Nacional de las Personas" in San Pedro Sula is not helping citizens this week. This adversely affects anyone who needs to procure a birth certificate. It means that many children may be unable to register for school. Even if they could, it has been announced that most schools are filled up and lack both teachers and facilities. Schools throughout the country were damaged by the homeless who were sheltered there immediately after Hurricane Mitch struck. Desks were destroyed and stolen in many institutions by homeless vandals.

This closing adversely affects the productivity of diverse areas and as was succinctly uttered by an immigration officer, this is a reflection of the "political immaturity" that still permeates throughout the government. The photo shows one of the signs indicating that work will start not until next week, i.e. "hasta la otra semana".