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    Why a New Constitution?
    Why a New Constitution?
    Why a New Constitution?
    Ebook138 pages1 hour

    Why a New Constitution?

    By Carolina Bardales

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    About this ebook

    Why a New Constitution? is the question that many people ask themselves without finding a concrete answer. In order to provide an answer, the authors of this book evoke the fact that societies are constantly evolving, progressing, and reinventing themselves; therefore, the rules governing the State (i.e., Constitution of the Republic) must also adapt to these changes to avoid becoming an obstacle to progress. The authors also argue that the most notorious aspects of the constitution of 1982, alone explain why a new constitution is required.

    Why a New Constitution? is an educational book which presents those topics to consider when drafting a new constitution and explains the necessity for a constitutional convention.

    The intention of the authors is to draft proposals, proposals that reflect the idiosyncrasies of the people and that achieve a qualitative improvement in the quality of life of each individual. The main goal of the authors is to encourage citizen involvement in creating a new constitution. Readers are encouraged to formulate their own proposals and to discuss them with others. Only with the contribution of every citizen will it be possible to enact a constitution that benefits all Hondurans.

    Basically, the book is structured in two parts namely; an introductory part that briefly speaks of the Honduras’ constitutional history and the reasons why a constitutional convention should be called, and a propositive part, consisting of more than one hundred proposals. These proposals are expressed in simple language, explaining why certain new elements should be included in the constitution and why other elements should be modified and/ or removed.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarolina Bardales
    Release dateSep 15, 2015
    ISBN9781311545312
    Why a New Constitution?
    Author

    Carolina Bardales

    Carolina was born in Honduras. Her published works include: "Constituyente ¿Para Que? (coauthor) and the English version of this same book called “Why a New Constitution?” She is also the author of "Sintesis de las Principales Violaciones a la Constitucion”, has written opinion articles for local newspapers and served as a professor at the Engineering School.

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      Book preview

      Why a New Constitution? - Carolina Bardales

      WHY A NEW CONSTITUTION?

      By Carolina Bardales

      Copyright 2015 Carolina Bardales

      Smash Words Edition

      Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to your favorite ebook retailer to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

      Why a New Constitution is a translation of the book

      "Constituyente ¿Para Que?

      Propuestas Recopiladas para la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente"

      by Carolina Bardales and Ruben Dario Bardales

      What others are saying about Why a New constitution?

      After completing the reading of this work I express my enthusiastic congratulations to the authors. The content is substantial and interesting, solidly supported either by reference or by the immediate policy's needs of the country. I would say you have in your hands a text of enormous value to the cause of democratic change in Honduras

      -Julio Escoto-

      Honduran writer

      http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Escoto

      This book is dedicated to the people of Honduras.

      Special thanks to Daniel Lynch, Erica Fulton, Linda Hausmann, and Tyrone Babione for their selfless help editing this book.

      "There is no crueler tyranny than that

      Which is perpetuated under the shield of

      Law and in the name of justice"

      -Charles de Montesquieu-

      Table of Contents

      Preface

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Preamble

      Chapter 2: Proposals about Fundamental Rights

      Chapter 3: Proposals about Duties and Responsabilities of the Citizens

      Chapter 4: Proposals about Labor Rights and Social Security System

      Chapter 5: Proposals about the Form of Government and its Structure

      Chapter 6: Proposals about Citizen Participation

      Chapter 7: Proposals about Transparency and Accountability

      Chapter 8: Proposals about the Role of the State as Guarantor of the Development and Distribution of Wealth

      Chapter 9: Proposals about Media

      Chapter 10: Proposals about the Military and Police

      Chapter 11: Proposals about Natural Resources

      Chapter 12: Proposals about the Call for the Constitutional Convention and the Reform Process of the Constitution

      Glosary

      Bibliography

      Endnotes

      Call to Action

      About the Author

      Preface

      Five years have passed since the need for a new constitution was first discussed. Five years have passed since a coup d'état silenced the people calling for a constituent assembly (constitutional convention).

      In 2010, when the Spanish version of this book was first published, people were talking about the imminent need to draft a new constitution. At that time, virtually no specific, clear, and concise proposals were heard (except the broad goal of creating a participatory democracy) which left the new constitution hidden behind a veil of darkness. It was precisely this lack of specific content that provided the motivation for the authors of this book to collect and offer proposals that reflected the needs Honduras requires.

      Back to Top

      Introduction

      Why a New Constitution? is the question that many people ask themselves without finding a concrete answer. In order to provide an answer, the authors of this book evoke the fact that societies are constantly evolving, progressing, and reinventing themselves; therefore, the rules governing the State (i.e., Constitution of the Republic) must also adapt to these changes to avoid becoming an obstacle to progress. The authors also argue that the most notorious aspects of the constitution of 1982, alone explain why a new constitution is required.

      Why a New Constitution? is an educational book which presents those topics to consider when drafting a new constitution and explains the necessity for a constitutional convention.

      The intention of the authors is to draft proposals, proposals that reflect the idiosyncrasies of the people and that achieve a qualitative improvement in the quality of life of each individual. The main goal of the authors is to encourage citizen involvement in creating a new constitution. Readers are encouraged to formulate their own proposals and to discuss them with others. Only with the contribution of every citizen will it be possible to enact a constitution that benefits all Hondurans.

      Basically, the book is structured in two parts namely; an introductory part that briefly speaks of the Honduras’ constitutional history and the reasons why a constitutional convention should be called, and a propositive part, consisting of more than one hundred proposals. These proposals are expressed in simple language, explaining why certain new elements should be included in the constitution and why other elements should be modified and/ or removed.

      CHAPTER 1

      Preamble

      A constituent assembly (sometimes also known as a constitutional convention or constitutional assembly) is a congregation of delegates elected from the Honduran people. Its mandate is to write the basic rules of social order of the state: a new constitution which represents the sovereign will of the people and comes into effect after being submitted to referendum and sanctioned by the Honduran people. This fundamental law sets up the rules for the construction of a new state.

      Historically, the State of Honduras has had many constitutions. The first was the Cadiz Constitution of 1812, created when Honduras was part of the Spanish Empire. Some of the subsequent constitutions include:

      -The Federal Constitution, adopted in Central America in 1824

      -The first Constitution of the State of Honduras itself in 1825

      -The Constitution of 1831

      The most recent constitution was enacted in 1982. Altogether, there have been eighteen constitutions in 203 years, equivalent to enacting a new constitution every eleven years.

      Human beings and their societies evolve, progress, and reinvent themselves continuously; therefore, the rules governing the State (the Constitution) must adapt to these changes to avoid becoming an obstacle to the progress of the peoples. Laws cannot be immutable (as claimed by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1980-81) particularly if such laws do not represent the majority.

      The 1982 Constitution contains a set of flawed and outdated legal standards that earned it the title of eyesore by the Constitutional lawyers around the world. Some of these flaws were passed down from the previous core standards. (It is worth mentioning that the previous Constitutions were not representative of the majority.)

      The current Constitution was written during the military dictatorship in order to maintain the status quo, which favored the ruling classes. It was written during the time of the Cold War, when many Honduran citizens who thought differently from the prevailing clans were systematically persecuted, tortured, and made to disappear. Among the Constitution’s most notorious flaws are:

      a) It does not represent all citizens. Most citizens were not allowed to participate in its writing.

      b) It grants privileges to certain sectors of society, mainly the powerful economic groups and the ruling class.

      c) It does not address the protection of natural resources.

      d) It failed to protect the cultural, ethnic, and linguistic rights of indigenous peoples of the Americas, bringing them almost to extinction.

      e) It was imposed by the minority who held the economic, political, and military power; therefore, it

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