How do you bring about social change? How do you change the course of a country?

Throughout history the answer has always centered on strength in numbers. Too often that’s been numbers in armies or numbers of superior weapons, but the most lasting changes have come when the strength is simply in the number of people, united in an unwavering conviction.

Hondurans are sticking to this core principle as thousands of citizens march through the streets, carrying torches, demanding an end to corruption and government impunity.

Marching with torches? That may evoke images of angry mobs foaming at the mouths, ready to burn down a barn.


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But that’s not what this is.

The protesters abide by peaceful methods--chanting slogans, dancing, inspiring bystanders.

Their tiki torches shed light on the movement, thousands of bright orbs forming a powerful river to flood the capital city, Tegucigalpa, with a single message: End corruption.  

The marches are in response to charges of massive embezzlement. $200 to $300 million USD were allegedly taken from the country’s social security institute, which provides health services to Hondurans. The country had already suffered from a lack of health resources before this crime.

President Juan Hernandez’ right-wing (i.e. conservative) National Party is at the heart of the scandal.

Dozens of young people began to march in May, calling themselves the Indignados (spanish for the indignant). Soon they hit a nerve of public outrage and the protests swelled to the thousands.

Now, every Friday hundreds of thousands of citizens march with torches in more than 50 cities across the country.

The vibe is celebratory. People are optimistic that change will come. The movement has grown powerful and the charges seem too stark for the status quo to remain.

The movement cuts across political affiliations, bringing people of diverse ideologies together.

Some commentators are calling the movement the Honduran Spring, echoing the populist Arab Spring that still roils the Middle East.

Corruption is a symptom of democracy in decline, of a dangerous concentration of power. A spring promises regeneration, a return to clarity and life.

As the Hondurans wave their torches, giddy with hope and grounded with courage, the call for change cannot fizzle out. It should be stoked by global citizens worldwide.


Make that change truly global in TAKE ACTION NOW by calling on world leaders to champion the Global Goals.

TopicsCitizenshipprotestHondurasLatin AmericaCorruption

Editorial

Demand Equity

Hondurans hit the streets to torch corruption

By Joe McCarthy