00:00Also in Honduras, during the four years of President Xiomara Castro's administration,
00:05the Lempira depreciated by less than 60 cents against the dollar.
00:09In just seven months of Najri Afsfura's administration,
00:12an accelerated depreciation that is already worrying experts is underway.
00:16Gerardo Torrecelaya reports from Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
00:23The Lempira is beginning to plummet against the dollar with the blessing of the current government,
00:28which seeks to boost exports by making the national currency cheaper relative to foreign currency.
00:35It is once again employing techniques from the old neoliberal playbook,
00:39an approach that after 35 years of implementation in the country,
00:43has brought nothing but extreme poverty to the vast majority of the population.
00:50Constantly devaluing the currency is tantamount to imposing a tax on the population.
00:58This only benefits major powers.
01:01For countries like our impoverished and underdeveloped, it has only been detrimental.
01:05We were told the illusion that devaluation would lead to increased exports.
01:09But in reality, our economic position has not improved.
01:13We remain dependent on just two or three products to participate in the international market.
01:19The current government openly proclaims itself to be neoliberal and far-right.
01:24It seems to fail to recognize that that devaluation that began in 1992 did not boost the country's exports.
01:31Rather, it undermined the purchasing power of imports among the vast majority of the population.
01:41For the economy, this means that imports become more expensive,
01:51which will impact the price levels of most products,
01:54given that Honduras imports significant quantities of raw materials, medicines, equipment, food, and so on.
02:06Secondly, while a devaluation is supposed to boost exports,
02:13our exports have low price elasticity,
02:17meaning there is no guarantee that export volumes will actually rise.
02:23According to officials from the previous government,
02:25Xiomara Castro's administration withstood pressure from the International Monetary Fund, IMF,
02:31to devalue the currency to 30 lempiras per dollar.
02:35However, judging by what has been observed so far under this government,
02:39the resistance will not persist,
02:41and the economic impact on the poorest families will be severe,
02:45even though the central bank president may want to downplay the impacts in the media.
02:52The entire country consumes imported products, starting with fuel,
02:59which is subject to a significant inflationary spiral that harms the Honduran population.
03:05So it is incorrect for the president of the central bank to try to downplay the exchange rate issue.
03:12When inflation exceeding 6 percentage points and the cost of basic food basket rising by more than 30 percent,
03:19currency devaluation has become the clearest sign that the current government lacks a strategy
03:24to safeguard the growth and sustainability of the national economy.
03:28Instead, it is laying the groundwork to serve foreign interests
03:32at the expense of the impoverishment Honduran majority.
03:36Reporting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, for Telesuron English, Gerardo Torres-Elaya.
