HONDURAS: RICARDO MADURO TAKES OVER PRESIDENCY VOWING TO CARRY OUT A TRANSFORMATION OF THE COUNTRY.

Ricardo Maduro, of the Partido Nacional (PN), took the oath of office as president of Honduras Jan. 27. Maduro, a businessman, defeated Partido Liberal (PL) candidate Rafael Pineda Ponce in the November presidential election (see NotiCen, 2001-11-29). Maduro became the sixth democratically

In his inaugural address, Maduro promised to transform the country by attacking poverty and government inefficiency, to resolve outstanding problems with El Salvador and Nicaragua, and to work toward regional integration.

Crime and corruption received special attention. Maduro said in an interview with the Salvadoran newspaper La Prensa Grafica that the problem of crime stems partly from impunity and partly from the inefficiency of the justice and penal systems. He promised to end violent crime during his four-year term.

Maduro said the difference between the two major parties was more in execution than in ideology. Although both have similar objectives, he said, such as the redistribution of wealth to the poor, much money is lost on the way to the poor through corruption and inefficiency. Therefore, Maduro's approach to corruption in government will be through structural changes to smooth the way for reform.

Border problems await resolution

Maduro plans an early meeting with Salvadoran President Francisco Flores to work out a solution to their dispute over the maritime and territorial boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca area--a dispute that stretches back decades. The two nations fought the 1969 Hundred-Hour War over that boundary (see EcoCentral, 1996-10-17).

The International Court of Justice at The Hague supposedly settled the border problem with a ruling in 1992. As outgoing Honduran President Carlos Flores left office, he was still trying to get El Salvador to demarcate the border as set by the court. Flores asked the UN Security Council to force compliance, a move that further annoyed the Salvadoran government. Salvadoran President Flores said the demarcation should be made under the supervision of a mixed commission, and said he was going to do nothing in response to the UN appeal, which he said had only complicated the job facing Maduro.

But three days before Maduro took office, the Salvadoran president made Maduro's job even more difficult by announcing that the Salvadoran government was preparing an appeal of The Hague ruling to "perfect" the settlement.