00:00And in the first quarter of this year, Honduras' maquiladora industry, one of the country's most important, reported a 3
00:07% drop compared to last year.
00:09However, business leaders maintained strong support for President Asfura, even though workers are already beginning to suffer from layoffs and
00:17the rising cost of living.
00:18Our correspondent Gerardo Torres has more.
00:23The factory is closing operations in Xoloma, north of Honduras, resulting in 1,700 job losses and a loss of
00:32400 million lempidas in wages.
00:34Honduras, which is highly dependent on these investments, is once again experiencing a decline in its economic development at the
00:42start of Nasr Esfura's administration.
00:45The inability of the elites to develop an economic project in the country has meant that we have chronically depended
00:52on foreign investment to supposedly generate massive employment.
00:56It is in this spirit that all kinds of tax benefit and labor exploitation regimes have been created, such as
01:03those that occurred in the banana era and that occur today in the maquilas sector.
01:08Nasr Esfura arrived at the presidential palace with strong support from the national business sector, which had opposed the government
01:14of Xiomara Castro that reviewed the relationship between the state and private enterprise,
01:20a relationship that was unfavorable to the population, which is largely impoverished, and had also proposed a tax reform to
01:27ensure that the wealthiest citizens paid more taxes.
01:30Despite negative indicators, at the beginning of his administration, Asfura's support from the business community remained strong.
01:40In the first 100 days, what we feel is that there is certainty.
01:47In the previous administration, we felt there was more uncertainty, and that doesn't attract much investment.
01:55But in these first 100 days, I see that people are more enthusiastic about investing in the country.
02:03Obviously, we know that this can't happen overnight.
02:08It requires a process of many years in which investors understand and believe that in Honduras there will always be
02:15legal security,
02:18There won't be radical changes, and there will be an attractive climate for investment with clear and permanent rules.
02:28When Xiomara Castro took office, Honduras' poverty rate was of 75 percent, and in four years, she achieved a historic
02:36reduction of 11 percentage points.
02:38However, the rising cost of basic goods, increased inflation, mass layoff, and the implementation of a new hourly employment law
02:47that strips workers of their rights could trigger a new wave of impoverishment in the country.
02:53During her four years in office, Xiomara Castro's government dedicated approximately 40 billion lempiras to ensuring the national production of
03:03basic grains.
03:05We did not import corn or beans during her four years in government.
03:09What we are seeing now is a return to the neoliberal dismantling policies promoted by Juan Orlando Hernandez,
03:17which involved cutting all social programs with the objective of managing a stable macroeconomy based on the criteria of the
03:23International Monetary Fund,
03:26while withdrawing social assistance to the most vulnerable families.
03:32Despite all the support of business leaders to this government, the maquila industry has fallen 3 percent in the first
03:39quarter of this year and compared to the same period of last year.
03:43If local community economy isn't supported, if agriculture subsidies are canceled, and if jobs continue to be lost,
03:50then all that was gained in the fight against poverty could be lost.
03:53For Telesur in English, from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Gerardo Torres Zelaya.
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