Facussé intends to take financial advantage of abandoned plainflood lands in Aguán
The press conference took place in the headquarters of FIAN InternationalIn a press conference, the Unified Movement of Peasants of Aguán (MUCA), denounced that landlord Miguel Facussé intends to charge 750 million Lempiras to the State of Honduras for circa 3000 hectares of land, despite the fact that a part of these lands are abandoned floodplain lands, and others are destined for electric transmission towers.
The landlord and agroindustrial Miguel Facussé expects the State of Honduras to pay him 250 thousand lempiras per hectare without taking into account that the land have been abandoned for several years, in floodplain lands and others covered by lagoons.
Leader Jhony Rivas said that the price of the land is very high since this is a rural area and the land is in its majority floodplain land. We are working today with agricultural technicians where the real price of the land will be determined.a.
Rivas added that there is no way that we are hindering the negotiation process. What's more, we are meeting all conditions and seeking to comply with the Agreement.
Leader Jhony Rivas said that the price of the land is very high since this is a rural area and the land is in its majority floodplain land. We are working today with agricultural technicians where the real price of the land will be determined.a.
Rivas added that there is no way that we are hindering the negotiation process. What's more, we are meeting all conditions and seeking to comply with the Agreement.
“ The market price fluctuates between 80 and 90 thousand lempiras per cultivated hectare in the zone. However, there are 683 hectares where the land is uncultivated and floodplain where not even he (Miguel Facussé) could make it produce, because it is highly floodplain and he includes them in the price of 250 thousand lempiras", held the peasant leader.
Miguel Facussé expects that the State of Honduras pays him 250 thousand lempiras per hectare
If the peasants are told that the land is worth 250 thousand lempiras, then the project is surely not legal. If the peasants are told that each hectare of this project is worth 250 thousand lempiras, then the possibility exists that the project is feasable and they can build companies that are consolidated as such and like Hondupalma or like Coapalma have consolidated.
“Because they dream also with having a company of second degree, with the 24 companies integrated to the agreement, as has happened with Hondupalma who owns 31 base companies and has become one of the most important companies in this country", said Ríos.
Hondupalma is one of the companies that counts with at least tens of thousands of dollars in assets, a company that competes with Clover Brand and even against Miguel Facussé himself, to such an extent that we have in the future a possibility to generate peasant companies in Aguán, strong, consolidated, but with the care and this can only be done when the cost of the assets that the state will finance them is handled with care", expressedwith optimism the FIAN expert and member of the Platform of Human Rights.
Ríos emphasized that the negotiations must adhere to technical reports, which is why we spoke about the need of integrating agricultural engineers specialists in African Palm and hire a company that could determine the financial viability of the project.
“Prices can't be fixed as one pleases, this doesn't express any real product value of a serious technical investigation. Can you imagine that any landlord is paid 250 thousand lempiras per hectare. That would mean that from that moment, peasants would have to pay, even with low interest rates, huge amounts of money, measured in hundreds of millions of lempiras, with prices that wouldn't be profitable to companies", expressed the expert.
The best way out is that the State of Honduras forgives the debt, i.e. that the people pay the bankruptcy of a company because the landlord who sold the land was paid far too much, then who was favoured in reality? The landlord, as simple as that. This is what we have been fighting against since the start of the negotiations, Ríos said.
Gilberto Ríos from FIAN Internacional
“The MUCA, according to what has been stated, does not agree to pay 250 thousand lempiras per hectare because that is not the real value of the land. Furthermore, the analyses carried out by the technical team point that this estate are being sold as if they were industrialized products and the MUCA suggeststhat the real value of land is paid according to the agricultural valuation".
However, the MUCA hopes that the valuation of lands which is currently carried out by the technicians assigned for that purpuse will be respected. They reported that the technicians of the National Agrarian Institute(INA) and the Technical Comission are carrying out surveying work to then elaborate a report that will be presented to the corresponding authorities.
The MUCA also points out that in the compliance of the Agreement with the current regime, the lands which the settlements of La Confianza, La Aurora, La Lempira, La Concepción, Marañones y La Isla currently occupy have been identified and assigned. Around 18 thousand peasants occupy those lands, from which 25% are women, 50% children and the rest are men.
They emphasize that the the statement ofthe Technical Commission, integrated by MUCA and INA remeasured the estate, before the appropiation to determine the amount of incultivated and floodplain areas, lagoons, overhead lines, and cultivated areas.
“We clarify to the general population and particularly the Aguán zone, that it is not true that Miguel Facussé is firing his personnel due to the land that is now in MUCA's hands, this is only a media smear and tendentious campaign with the aim of misinforming, since he can't have employees working in something that he has abandoned", said the statement.
On the other hand, MUCA demanded the corresponding authorities to comply with the law and that they don't allow that there is more repression against the peasantry of the Aguán zone, and especially against MUCA members. They also demanded Mr. Miguel Facussé to order the security guards he keeps in the area to stop harassing the members of the organization.
Finally, the MUCA called for the solidarity of all people and national and international organizations in this step of the process that will allow progress into a satisfying solution. " To the Honduran people, we reiterate our commitment of persons of dialogue until complying with the basic objectives", concluded the statement.
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