125 quotes found
"Hear ye, all persons! Ye people as many as ye are! I have done things according to the design of my heart. … I have restored that which was in ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished since the Asiatics were in the midst of the Northland, and the barbarians were in the midst of them, overthrowing that which was made, while they ruled in ignorance of Re. He did not do according to the divine command until my majesty. When I was firm upon the throne of Re, I was ennobled until the two periods of years...I came as Hor-watit flaming against my enemies."
"I have commanded that my titulary] abide like the mountains; when the sun shines its rays are bright upon the titulary of my majesty; my Horus is high upon the standard … forever."
"I must tell you that I Abhor the principles of the Church of Rome as much as it is possible for any to do, and I as much value the doćtrine of the Church of England. And certainly there is the greatest reason in the world to do so, for the doćtrine of the Church of Rome is wicked and dangerous, and directly contrary to the Scriptures, and their ceremonies—most of them—plain, downright idolatry. But God be thanked we were not bred up in that communion but are of a Church that is pious and sincere, and conformable in all its principles to the Scriptures. Our Church teaches no doctrine but what is just, holy, and good, or what is profitable to salvation; and the Church of England is, without all doubt, the only true Church."
"[C]an you beleeve we will ever truckle to that Monster who from ye first moment of his coming has used us ... but Suppose I did submitt & that the King could change his nature so much as to use me with humanety, how would all reasonable people despise me, how would that Dutch abortive laugh at me & please himself with haveing got ye better. ... No my deare Mrs. Freeman never beleve your faithfull Mrs. Morely will ever submitt, she can waite with patience for a SunShine day & if She does not live to see it yet She hopes England will flourish againe."
"I know my own heart to be entirely English."
"I shall be very careful to preserve and maintain the Act of Toleration, and to set the minds of all my people at quiet; my own principles must always keep me entirely firm to the interests and religion of the Church of England, and will incline me to countenance those who have the truest zeal to support it."
"Whoever of ye Whigs thinks I am to be Hecktor'd or frighted into a Complyance tho I am a woman, are mightely mistaken in me. I thank God I have a Soul above that, & am too much conserned for my reputation to do any thing to forfeit it."
"[T]he answer that was returned, ... as I am told, was worthy of Q. Eliz. It was given in the Cabinet without consultation upon it, & in such a manner that there was not a word offered agst it."
"Upon the king's death, the privy council came in a body to wait on the new queen: she received them with a well considered speech: she expressed great respect to the memory of the late king, in whose steps she intended to go, for preserving both church and state, in opposition to the growing power of France, and for maintaining the succession in the protestant line. She pronounced this, as she did all her other speeches, with great weight and authority, and with a softness of voice, and sweetness in the pronunciation, that added much life to all she spoke."
"The reign of Queen Anne was a glorious one, by the success of her arms against France, under the Duke of Marlborough. As she died without children, the family of the Stuarts ended in her, and the crown went to the House of Hanover, as the next Protestant family, so that she was succeeded by King George the First."
"When Anne came to the throne unexpectedly early, in March 1702 following a fatal riding accident to William, the whole country, apart from the most hard-bitten Jacobites, was united in acclaiming her. Most Tories, in fact, openly gloried in their "Church of England Queen", and her accession certainly helped to reconcile them to the new war which broke out in May."
"Anne was no cipher. She took a serious view of her functions as monarch. She religiously attended the Sunday meetings of the full Cabinet of 12–14 members. Statesmen who neglected to win Anne over to any desired line of policy, or bullied her into ministerial appointments she disliked, usually had cause to regret it; and where appointments in her beloved Church were concerned, she could be tenacious in the extreme. Another prerogative, that of dissolving parliament, she used with devastating effect against the Whigs in 1710."
"To her very marrow she was English, Anglican, Stuart. She made the most of it, declaring to her first Parliament that "I know my own Heart to be entirely English", a statement which echoed Elizabeth I's famous speech at Tilbury and reflected poorly upon William, as well as upon the Pretender and his mother living in Paris as dependents of Louis XIV."
"[T]o say truth, we are a declining People: destined, I fear, to absolute destruction. We have had our Day. It ended with Queen Ann. Since her time all has been Confusion and Discontent at Home; Folly and False Politics abroad."
"At the age of two years Mr. Johnson was brought up to London by his mother, to be touched by Queen Anne for the scrophulous evil ... As Mr. Johnson had an astonishing memory, I asked him, if he could remember Queen Anne at all? "He had (he said) a confused, but somehow a sort of solemn recollection of a lady in diamonds, and a long black hood.""
"Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel take - and sometimes tea."
"The queen was abroad to-day [31 July 1711] in order to hunt, but finding it disposed to rain, she kept in her coach; she hunts in a chaise with one horse, which she drives herself, and drives furiously like Jehu, and is a mighty hunter, like Nimrod."
"She was indeed no picturesque figure. Yet in that part of heroism which consists of endurance, poor dowdy Queen Anne was no less heroic than her ancestress the Prima Donna of Scottish romance. And certainly the last of the Stuart Queens had many more of the qualities required for the wise ruling of a State. For a dozen weary years the invalid daily faced her office work. She did not leave affairs to her favourites or even wholly to her Ministers. In order to do what she thought right in Church and State, she slaved at many details of government. And the ideas that inspired her were those of moderation, good sense and humanity, for which the Stuart line had not always been conspicuous."
"Inspired by the great plebeian, my father, President Diosdado Macapagal, promulgated the Land Reform Law to emancipate the peasant from a feudal bondage to the soil."
"In 1986 Filipinos peacefully reclaimed their civil liberties in the people power revolution. Under the leadership of Corazon Aquino, we reaffirmed our commitment to freedom and democracy on a mere stretch of highway — with hardly a drop of blood shed or a shot fired in anger."
"Less Than Two Months After The State Of The Nation Address, On 9/11/2001, The World Changed. To the Basic Desires of Work, Food on Every Table, Home, and Education, We Add Peace."
"I am sorry."
"We have been fighting the longest running communist insurgency in history. We have been coming to grips with fundamentalist terrorism long before 9/11."
"The people want government that works for them at every level. They want good government that begins at their doorstep in the barangay, and does not end before the closed door of a bureaucrat in Metro Manila."
"On top of peace and investment, progress also demands good governance. I congratulate Donkoy Emano for the drop in reports of corruption for public contracts in Cagayan de Oro from 65% of firms last year to 38 this year. Also Rudy Duterte and the other leaders of Metro Davao led by Majority Leader Boy Nograles for a similar drop, 57% last year to 49 now. Things are coming together for Mindanao, a prelude to their readiness for eventual federalism."
"A president can be as strong as she wants to be."
"From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the eminence it deserves."
"Indeed, the 1960s was a time of radical change. So much was happening — in science and technology, religion, politics, culture, and society as a whole — and at a fast pace. Imagine how my curiosity was piqued by everything going on around me. If there was ever a time that I developed a love for learning, an ability to focus on responsibility, and to deliver on my own goals, it was then."
"Bill Clinton was my classmate. When the future 42nd President of the United States found out that Dad was president, he wrote his grandmother that his classmate was the first daughter of the Philippines! Half a century later, he wrote in our jubilee yearbook: "Our class produced three presidents, Alfredo Cristiano, whom I did not know, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whom I knew and liked.""
"The transition from academe to government was admittedly difficult. In the academe, I was an authority figure to my students. In government, I was servant to the public, sometimes equal to peers in the executive, but always outranked by those with mandates from the electorate. I learned to respect the civil service in deed as in thought."
"Johnny Ponce Enrile will surely go down in history as among the most formidable political figures of our time, truly a legend in his own time. To many, that legend is based on his role as the feared Secretary of National Defense during the martial law years era of President Marcos. In reality, through the sheer force of his intelligence, political skill and personal, he has grown beyond that legend to become perhaps the most enduring politician of our time, sometimes still feared, but always respected by friend and for alike for his political capability."
"As the events leading to EDSA Dos unfolded, former President Cory together with Cardinal Sin became my twin pillars of strength. She was a true mentor, for she had gone through it all before."
"One night early in my term as senator, an undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways visited me at home. He asked me to nominate a contractor to handle my pork barrel projects, and I said I had none. An inherited staffer explained to me that her old boss used to get a commission from such projects, but I said I would not do that."
"Dirty politics has always been around, whenever and wherever there was a government to be won, with the spoils of power and patronage that come with it."
"Machinery is often of little value when the administration's standard bearer is behind in the surveys."
"E-VAT was the centerpiece of perhaps the greatest and most long-playing achievement of my presidency, fiscal reform management."
"Victory is a powerful word, but it often reeks of pride and hubris. Vengeance is sweet, but it is hateful. Vindication is my preferred word."
"The Philippines had to take the necessary bolder steps forward in the next six years. It was under this milieu that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo unveiled in her inauguration in 2004 a 10-Point Legacy that included gaming the budget deficit, providing sufficient infrastructure and efficient delivery of services, decentralized development and livelihood promotion, computerization of elections, and arriving at sustained national harmony."
"Land for the landless was the battle cry of the late President Diosdado Macapagal, which his daughter espoused and followed in her presidency. Her administration distributed millions of hectares in private, public and ancestral lands to landless farmers and indigenous communities."
"He was dispos'd to mirth; but on the sudden A Roman thought hath struck him."
"Eternity was in our lips and eyes."
"Where’s my serpent of old Nile? For so he calls me."
"My salad days, When I was green in judgment, cold in blood, To say as I said then!"
"O, wither’d is the garland of the war! The soldier’s pole is fall'n; young boys and girls Are level now with men; the odds is gone, And there is nothing left remarkable Beneath the visiting moon."
"Good sirs, take heart: — We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's noble, Let's do it after the high Roman fashion, And make Death proud to take us. Come, away: This case of that huge spirit now is cold. — Ah, women, women! — come; we have no friend But resolution, and the briefest end."
"I have Immortal longings in me."
"I am fire and air; my other elements I give to baser life."
"Peace, peace! Dost thou not see my baby at my breast, That sucks the nurse asleep?"
"The secret is always to wear the same scent, until it becomes a personal, untransferable trademark, something that identifies us. Cleopatra knew this and, as with everything else she did, carried it to an extreme."
"Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."
"Her beauty, as we are told, was in itself not altogether incomparable, nor such as to strike those who saw her; but converse with her had an irresistible charm, and her presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her discourse and the character which was somehow diffused about her behaviour towards others, had something stimulating about it. There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased..."
"It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter."
"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety..."
"All strange and terrible events are welcome, But comforts we despise; our size of sorrow, Proportion'd to our cause, must be as great."
"Nought under heaven so strongly doth allure The sense of man, and all his mind possess, As Beauty's lovely bait, that doth procure Great warriors oft their rigour to repress, And mighty hands forget their manliness; ..... And so did warlike Antony neglect The world's whole rule for Cleopatra's sight; Such wondrous power hath women's fair aspect To captive men, and make them all the world reject."
"Kings are not elected. Gods are not elected."
"A unique opportunity has opened up in Kyrgyzstan to deal with democracy. We started to go toward democracy, and it was interrupted. Now there is a chance to come back to democracy, and in half a year my interim government should prepare elections — open and transparent elections — and we should pass a constitution based on political agreement between the parties. We have quite a task."
"I am a fighter. I believe in the bright future of my country. I believe that the people of my country deserve a decent life, and I know that my people want to live in freedom."
"Our combined endeavour should be to ensure that the rate of economic growth is sustained and it is socially inclusive; We must also ensure that every region of the country participates in and benefits from the process of economic growth."
"While bringing about reforms and improving institutions, we have to be cautious that while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself."
"Corruption is the enemy of development. It must be got rid of. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective. You have always shown an ability to understand events happening around you; expressed your views and I am sure you will not fail in building a strong, progressive, cohesive and corruption-free India. These are totally unacceptable and must be opposed by one and all. The government, social organizations, NGOs and other voluntary bodies all have to work collectively. Therefore, their issues received my constant attention during my Presidency. Women have talent and intelligence but due to social constraints and prejudices, it is still a long distance away from the goal of gender equality. A paradigm shift, where, in addition to, physical inputs for farming, a focused emphasis placed on knowledge inputs, can be a promising way forward. This knowledge-based approach will bring immense returns particularly in rainfed and dryland farming areas. I believe economic growth should translate into the happiness and progress of all. Alongwith it, there should be development of art and culture, literature and education, science and technology. We have to see how to harness the many resources of India for achieving common good and for inclusive growth."
"For the whole world I became a heroine, very easy, but not complimentary, since I had done nothing in this case, received the most ridiculous letters from places all over the world; especially a steady flow of praises came from France! I have never seen such a exaggerated reaction"
"I have done more for the Boers than my fellow countrymen will ever know"
"only in the intimacy with mother I could be just a human"
"the government did not fulfil the urge in their hearts and felt that the public wished to see me openly revealing my sympathy for our kinsmen; how could I as the head of state!"
"Already then, there was in my subconsciousness as unsatisfactoriness about powerlessness, which was accompanied by being locked in a cage, whereby made taking an initiative, of any kind, impossible"
"to one of which I am attached by bonds of friendship, to other by ties of common origin"
"What could be more cynical than still seeking to exploit fossil fuel reserves when the scientific evidence is abundantly clear that we need to end all combustion of fossil fuels by 2050?""
"We have entered a new reality where fossil fuel companies have lost their legitimacy and social license to operate."
"The opening words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the landmark post-WWII text signed seventy years ago this month, still resonate today: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” But the contours of today’s world are changing – often literally, as climate change sees sea levels rise and coastlines erode, threatening small island states and low-lying communities. And it’s incumbent upon all of us to ensure that the people living in these areas, and those who migrate from their homes due to war, persecution and poverty are as “free and equal in dignity and rights” as those of us living in prosperity... The need for collective action to protect the vulnerable and defend their rights is urgent, as the threat from divisive populists shows no sign of receding. We all need to remember that refugees and migrants are not a “horde” threatening livelihoods and security... The Global Compact can actually strengthen sovereignty by giving back to countries the ability to manage migration – as opposed to the chaotic scenes we have witnessed in the Mediterranean in recent years, with so much wretched human misery and hardship..."
"As heads of state travel to Marrakesh in the coming days, I hope they will reflect on the powerful words spoken earlier this year by Amina Mohammed, the UN Deputy Secretary-General: “Human beings have moved from place to place since the beginning of time, by choice and under duress, and will continue to do so. Refugees and migrants are not ‘others’. They are ‘us’. They are as diverse as the human family itself.” These are the values we all must uphold if we are to have any hope of effectively managing migration and protecting human rights. Inaction, cowardice or sabotage will leave the whole world poorer."
"It is a huge honour to take up the role as Chair of The Elders at such a critical moment for peace, justice and human rights worldwide. Building on the powerful legacies of Archbishop Tutu and Kofi Annan, I am confident that our group’s voice can both be heard by leaders and amplify grassroots activists fighting for their rights."
"The executives were given a dressing down by the former Irish premier Mary Robinson. She said: "We should all salute the courage the Holy Father has shown on climate change when too many secular leaders have spurned their responsibilities." Ms Robinson asked the oil bosses: "What could be more cynical than still seeking to exploit fossil fuel reserves when the scientific evidence is abundantly clear that we need to end all combustion of fossil fuels by 2050?" She said the energy transition would require a massive shift of capital to clean energy and warned: "If some industries fail to adjust to this new word, they will fail to exist.""
"She used a press briefing at UN headquarters.. to excoriate President Trump. She blamed, at least in part, what she characterized as President Trump’s “poor leadership” for... the increasing tendency... to put “country first in an isolationist, nationalistic way.” Ms. Robinson also complained about what she claimed was the “destabilizing” effect of President Trump’s tweets.... Ms. Robinson told reporters that the Elders had met with the autocratic presidents of China and Russia. However, the Elders had not requested any meeting with President Trump. “It’s difficult to see how constructive a conversation we could have with President Trump at the moment, given his clear views,” she said, referring particularly to the issues of climate change, the nuclear proliferation threat, multilateral trade, and the value of multilateralism... In June 2017, reacting to President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, Mary Robinson said it was “unconscionable that one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters would simply walk away from its responsibility to people both at home and abroad.” She accused the president of turning the United States into “a rogue state on the international stage.”... Ms. Robinson’s...on par with the most progressive proponents of the “Green New Deal.”...“We have entered a new reality where fossil fuel companies have lost their legitimacy and social license to operate,” she declared. No more exploration by fossil fuel companies for new reserves, she demanded."
"This year, we are awarding the Kew International Medal to Mary Robinson, a long-standing champion of climate justice and founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. Mary’s work demonstrates how dependent humanity is on the ecosystems that surround us, and the impact of the increased threat to their existence. Like Kew, she is committed to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals on biodiversity, agriculture and food security. She believes in supporting the next generation of scientists and climate activists and is working alongside them to demand that we make better use of our planet’s most precious resources."
"I write about women's lives, their struggles, their friendships, their successes, their reflections, partially out of resistance to being immersed in this Irish-Catholic culture for so long. But in recent years we have the wonderful Mary Robinson, we have divorce laws, which aren't perfect but are making some changes. We have a much more active lesbian population in Ireland and so the Irish construction of women is changing in some very positive ways."
"The Elders announced today that their new Chair will be Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Mary Robinson becomes The Elders’ third Chair since the group was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, following Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2007-13) and Kofi Annan (2013-2018). Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General, and Graça Machel, former Education Minister of Mozambique and co-founder of The Elders, will serve as joint Deputy Chairs, succeeding Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, who has held the role since 2013."
"Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Emeritus Elder and former Chair, said: “I am delighted that Mary Robinson is the new Chair of The Elders. I have witnessed her commitment to rights and justice in Palestine, Côte d’Ivoire, India and so many other parts of the world. Mary always puts ordinary people at the heart of The Elders’ mission, and I know she will fight for their rights with the same vigour as our dearly missed brother Kofi.”"
"Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General and new Deputy Chair of The Elders, said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to become Deputy Chair of The Elders alongside Graça Machel. I look forward to working with my fellow Elders under Mary Robinson’s leadership to defend human rights, address the challenge of climate change and promote equality.”"
"We want to be a democratic tool of inclusion and unity."
"It’s important to preserve our cultural practices of our Bolivian people, because they enrich the national identity."
"Bolivia cannot continue revolving around a tyrant."
"Evo Morales does not qualify to run for a fourth term. It’s because [he did] that we’ve had all this convulsion, and because of this that so many Bolivians have been demonstrating in the streets."
"I dream of a Bolivia free of satanic inigenous rites, the city is not for the Indians who can leave to the plateau or the Chaco!!"
"Demonstrators took to the streets to decry the nation's interim president, Jeanine Añez. The protesters, made up largely of members of Bolivia's indigenous population, view Añez's rule as illegitimate and are calling for Morales to return."
"In Bolivia, indigenous-led protests continued to rage in La Paz Thursday, after Bolivia’s self-proclaimed interim President Jeanine Áñez swore in a new Cabinet with no indigenous members. Áñez is a right-wing Christian who’s previously blasted indigenous communities as “Satanic” in tweets that she later deleted. She said Thursday that exiled socialist President Evo Morales — who fled to Mexico after he was deposed by the military Sunday — would not be allowed to compete in a new round of elections."
"Bolivia has a new US-backed puppet leader, and the Western media can hardly conceal their adulation. Jeanine Áñez declared herself “interim president” in a near-empty Senate chamber on November 12... Despite a lack of quorum rendering the move nakedly unconstiutional, Áñez was immediately recognized by the Trump administration and 10 Downing Street... like a parody of January’s events in Venezuela..."
"Añez also faces a challenge to her legitimacy in Congress, where lawmakers loyal to Morales tried to hold new sessions that would undermine her claim to the presidency... Morales’ backers, who hold a two-thirds majority in Congress, boycotted the session that she called Tuesday night to formalize her claim to the presidency, preventing a quorum. She claimed power anyway, saying the constitution did not specifically require congressional approval."
"Áñez’s choice of cabinet showed no signs that she intended to reach across the country’s deep political and ethnic divide. Her senior ministers includes prominent members of the business elite from Santa Cruz, Bolivia’s most populous city and a bastion of opposition to Evo Morales."
"Speaking to journalists, Áñez’s new interior minister, Arturo Murillo, vowed to “hunt down” his predecessor Juan Ramón Quintana, a prominent Morales ally, stoking fears of a witch-hunt against members the previous administration."
"Hours after the swearing-in ceremony, a New York Times reporter watched about 20 motorbike-riding civilians armed with metal pipes and chains travel out of Cochabamba’s main police station, as police officers saluted them and gave thumbs up on the way out. The riders did not carry any political affiliation, but Cochabamba’s Police Headquarters had flipped its allegiance to the opposition last Saturday, triggering a national wave of police mutiny that brought Ms. Añez to power."
"On Monday, as looting and violence spread across several cities, Ms. Añez at first appeared rattled, sobbing as she called for calm. But by the evening, she was projecting strength, and demanding that the army accept the national police’s call to jointly patrol the streets of La Paz to restore order."
"The Sunday military coup in Bolivia has put in place a government which appears likely to reverse a decision by just-resigned President Evo Morales to cancel an agreement with a German company for developing lithium deposits in the Latin American country for batteries like those in electric cars. ...Sen. Jeanine Añez, of the center-right party Democratic Unity, is currently the interim president in the unstable post-coup government in advance of elections."
"Vietnam is a developing country, the Communist Party of Vietnam and the State of Vietnam have been providing their concerns and supports to the development of the cooperative economic sector and cooperatives. At present, Vietnam has got over 150,000 pre-cooperatives, 20,000 cooperatives and 50 cooperative federations with nearly 30 million people participating in almost careers of the economy such as agriculture, small industry and handicraft, construction, transportation, trade, bank credit, health, environment …. The cooperative economy and cooperatives have significantly contributed to the cause of the poverty alleviation, building new rural areas (new villages) and protecting the sustainable environment in Vietnam."
"The increased protectism causes the deep anxiousness. The achievements of the globalization process is not allocated equally among countries in the region, cooperatives and population community. The scientific and technological advances can increase the development distance between economies and cooperatives as well as the rich and poor gap between people classes in the region."
"Women worldwide should unite for peace, friendly co-operation and development."
"What would you do if people came into your house and beat you and beat your family, and then this aggressor wanted to sit down with you and say, “OK, be nice, and stay out of the country”? Imagine, they have violated President Zelaya's’s rights. They have invented accusations of crimes against him, when they never presented any order of arrest. They took him out, tied up, transferred him to another country, and now they sit him down to negotiate with the criminals."
"This important act reflects the will of a people demanding unity, especially within the opposition, in order to defeat the dictatorship... I want a social pact with every sector, the productive sectors, with business, with workers, with teachers, with farmers and campesinos, with the informal economy and small and medium-sized businesses"
"For 12 years the people resisted, and those 12 years were not in vain. God takes time but doesn't forget. Today the people have made justice."
"We are going to build a new era. Out with the death squads. Out with corruption. Out with drug trafficking and organized crime. No more poverty and misery. To victory! The people will always be united. Together, we are going to transform this country... (speaking November 28, 2021)"
"The economic catastrophe that I am inheriting is unparalleled in the life of the country and its impact on the lives of the people is reflected by an increase in poverty of 74% making us the poorest country in Latin America. This number by itself explains the caravan of thousands of people of all ages fleeing to the north, Mexico and the United States, looking for a place and a way to survive, regardless of the risk to their lives.” ... Having economic resources to invest in people is one of the fundamental missions of my mandate. The transversal axis of the next budget that I will send to the national congress will be transparency and anti-corruption. It is impossible to find another moment in our history so full of sabotage to our country, but I did not come today to elaborate a story full of complaints, nor to deduce historical accounts of the past. The justice system will take care of that... We are committed to our proposal for democratic socialism so that the events that have embarrassed us will never be repeated. The refounding of Honduras begins with the reestablishment of respect for human beings, the inviolability of life, the security of citizens, no more death squads. No more silence in the face of femicides. No more hit men, no more drug trafficking, no more organized crime."
"We are going to concentrate our greatest efforts on 4 sectors permanently demanded by the citizens: Education, health, security and employment. They will be the real anchors to progress. Education will be an objective of supreme priority. Effective tomorrow, we start the dialogue with the teachers for the return of our children to in person classes. The government will not be alone, but will accompany the voice and opinion of the people through popular consultations... As part of my first decrees, I order that more than a million families who live in poverty and consume less than 150 kilowatts per month from this day no longer pay the bill for energy consumption. Electricity will be free in their homes.... Our vision of the world puts the human being before the rules of the market. We have the best disposition and spirit of dialogue. No more violence against women. I go with all my efforts to generate the conditions for our girls to fully develop and live in a free country. Honduran women, I will not fail you. I will defend your rights, all your rights. Count on me. To victory. Forever."
"In Honduras’ presidential election on November 28, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya could make history in an already historic year: Her victory would make her the first woman to lead the nation since it declared independence from Spain 200 years ago. Castro has proposed some big changes for the crisis-stricken country, including a referendum to propose rewriting the constitution, switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China, and the creation of a UN-backed anti-corruption commission similar to Guatemala’s once successful CICIG. For many, however, the self-described “revolutionary” Castro would be far from a fresh start. Before he was removed in a 2009 coup d’état, her husband had brought Honduras closer to Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, and much of the business establishment still fears that the Zelayas want to pick up where they left off. In her campaign, Castro is trying to strike a more moderate tone in meetings with private sector leaders. As for what she wants to repeat from her husband’s presidency, she points to the reductions in poverty during those years. “Most of her policies,” said economist Roberto Lagos, “are related to reducing poverty and inequality. This message is connecting with voters.”"
"Castro, 62, declared herself the winner in a speech before a crowd of jubilant supporters late on Sunday, and promised to form a government of “peace and justice”. ... Supporters across the nation took to the streets to celebrate, including in the capital, Tegucigalpa., where people gathered along one of the main boulevards to party. “We are celebrating because the corrupt are no longer going to govern Honduras,” said Oliver Pindel, 50, a doctor who danced while draped in a Honduran flag... Castro’s apparent victory was the opposite of what many had expected... On the campaign trail, Castro promised to “pull Honduras out of the abyss we have been buried in by neoliberalism, a narco-dictator and corruption,” and victory would be seen as a repudiation of the culture of impunity in government."
"Leftist presidential candidate Xiomara Castro appears poised to become the country’s first woman president, putting an end to over a decade of right-wing neoliberal rule... Xiomara Castro’s apparent victory in Honduras is seen as a blow to Washington, which has embraced successive right-wing governments despite widespread accusations that Honduras has become a narco-military regime. In April, a federal court in New York sentenced the brother of the Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández to life in prison for drug trafficking. Prosecutors also accused the president of being a co-conspirator in state-sponsored drug trafficking. This all comes as Hondurans continue to flee the dire social and economic conditions at home."
"Thousands of jubilant voters have been flooding the streets of cities across Honduras to celebrate the apparent electoral victory of leftist presidential candidate Xiomara Castro... Castro, who is part of the leftist Libre Party, is in position to become the first woman president of Honduras, and the overwhelming show of support for her candidacy is a repudiation of the conservative forces that — with backing from the U.S. government — carried out a coup in 2009 and seized power from democratically elected leftist President Manuel Zelaya, who is Castro’s husband. Hondurans across the country are celebrating the end of the Juan Orlando Hernández regime and marking the beginning of a new democratic era in the country.... “[Castro] is a righteous woman, a decent woman, a woman who is concerned for the well-being of Honduras, not just a select group of people, but the entirety of the Honduras people,” Erodito Vásquez, a Libre Party voter in the Suyapa neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, told Truthout."
"As Zelaya’s spouse, Castro was thrust into the political spotlight after Zelaya was whisked away in the middle of the night by the armed forces to nearby Costa Rica. She became one of the most visible faces of the anti-coup resistance that sprang up in response to the rupture in the country’s constitutional order. Despite months of daily street protests, the coup was consolidated thanks to violent repression and the efforts of former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who backed the election of Lobo in a vote held barely five months after the coup, despite widespread condemnation of the conditions in post-coup Honduras that ensured the vote could not be free or fair.... “Democracy remains very fragile in Honduras,” said Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-Director Mark Weisbrot in a press release. “This is a country that saw the military kidnap the president at gunpoint and fly him out of the country just 12 years ago, and there was very strong evidence that the elections of four years ago were stolen.” With memories of U.S. support for the 2009 coup still present in the minds of the vast majority of Libre Party supporters, as well as memories of the role played by the U.S. in sustaining Hernandezin power, relations between Washington and Tegucigalpa under a Castro government are likely to be complicated. However, with Hondurans representing the largest nationality crossing the southern U.S. border seeking asylum and U.S. President Joe Biden’s stated commitment to addressing the flow of migration from Central America, Washington will likely be forced to accommodate itself to the new government in Honduras."
"Xiomara Castro won Honduras’s presidency pledging to tax wealth, expand the welfare state, and end the country’s “failed neoliberal model.” Her win was also a defeat for the US, which backed a coup that overthrew her husband Manuel Zelaya 12 years ago... Iraq is still in flames, Henry Kissinger will probably live to 100, and the world’s nations are pockmarked with the irreversible damage of countless capital - driven military coups. Yet as Xiomara Castro’s win in Honduras should remind us, it’s not a hard-and-fast rule that the world’s many wrongs are destined to never be righted. This past week, the socialist Castro won the Honduran presidency in a landslide, ending twelve years of right-wing rule in the country and becoming its first female president in the process. That Castro won on a platform to tax wealth, create a new welfare payment for the poor and elderly, and overhaul the country’s “failed neoliberal model” is significant enough. But Castro’s win is also a symbolic reversal of the US-backed right-wing coup that threw her husband, Manuel Zelaya, from power twelve years ago."
"Before the vote, many were anxious: Upscale businesses boarded their windows in anticipation of violence...Instead, unease turned to celebration as it became clear Castro would win...It wasn’t clear that Castro had a chance to win until several other opposition candidates decided to support her... When I interviewed Manuel Zelaya in 2019, he said that the weakness of the Honduran left was that it lacked the organizational capacity of the National Party, something that would only be overcome if the opposition parties united. Two years later, just downstairs from where we spoke, his wife walked out to a crowd of thousands and a flutter of camera lenses to announce her victory in the presidency....The Castro government won’t have it easy: Corrupt networks have been entrenched for decades and permeate every branch of government. Hilary Goodfriend, a journalist and doctoral researcher from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told me that the 2009 election of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, the leftist guerrilla organization turned political party in El Salvador, is an important precedent."
"I heard repeatedly that people hope the Castro administration will provide an opportunity for the United States to alter its relationship with the country, which many Hondurans say remains asymmetrical and exploitative. “The US continually dictates whatever goes on in this country,” said Audrey Majomar Lomas, a business owner from Tegucigalpa. “Nothing gets done without the embassy’s approval.”... For anyone who opposed the National Party—and it wasn’t just the left; the last 12 years of misrule created enemies across the political spectrum — the election of Castro was an emotional event. On a roundabout in front of a gas station the night of November 29, more than a hundred residents parked their cars, danced, waved red (Libre Party) flags, and sprayed each other with champagne bottles. It was a scene that repeated itself on the streets hundreds of times across Tegucigalpa over the past week.... Jalvin Sandoval, a teacher from Tegucigalpa, smoked a cigarette on the hill above the party, overwhelmed by the National Party’s defeat: “All of this right now grows out of the suffering we’ve lived through since the coup d’état. They humiliated the people, they mistreated them. This vote [for Castro] was for all of the deaths since then.” he said through tears. “I finally feel free.”"
"In Honduras’ presidential election on Nov. 28, Xiomara Castro and her allies among the country’s political opposition ousted the ruling National Party, which has spent the past decade using corruption, violence and vote-buying to entrench itself in power. For Castro’s coalition, just making it to election day meant facing down targeted assassinations, engineering a fragile consensus among opposition factions to back her candidacy and convincing disillusioned voters that turning out was worth it, even if the elections might be rigged. But in retrospect, winning the election might have been the easy part for Castro and the opposition—at least compared to what comes next. Castro has promised to rebuild democracy and the rule of law and to fight corruption, but after 12 years of National Party rule, she inherits a thoroughly gutted state. Outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernandez, in power since 2014, repurposed the courts and electoral council to tilt the playing field against opponents. The feared Military Police harassed government critics and killed dozens of opposition protesters. And according to testimony from the drug-trafficking trial of HHernandez’s brother—now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison—cartels penetrated all levels of public office. As Castro’s swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 27 approaches, the new president faces a daunting question: How do you rebuild democratic institutions in a mafia state?"
"Castro’s challenges... are not historically unprecedented. Since 2000, pivotal elections have brought down undemocratic governments and ushered opposition parties into power in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, and while none of these countries bears an exact resemblance to Honduras, their transitions yield clues... three issues became stumbling blocks: tackling corruption, reforming the security forces and keeping pro-reform constituencies united. By learning from the past, Castro might steer clear of these other post-authoritarian governments’ mistakes.... The dilemma isn’t so much building democratic institutions as rebuilding them — often under the shadow of entrenched corruption and organized crime. Moreover, elected autocrats know how to linger... after losing office, they tend to keep control of political parties... to sabotage institution -building and thwart justice, while appearing to play by democratic rules.... After the election, Hernandez published an executive decree that turned virtually the entire appointed executive bureaucracy into permanent career positions—a bid to keep his party plugged into power that, although unlikely to succeed, is sure to generate confusion. Meanwhile, the National Party’s delegation in Congress, ...proposed legislation to set up a special unit within the intelligence services and set aside $10 million to fund it. Ostensibly, the unit and funds will be used to set up security details for state officials leaving office, but government critics warn the program amounts to a scheme to make off with cars, houses and public money. Before election day, the National Party... altered Honduras’ law on money laundering, enabling judges to dismiss charges against 10 suspects in corruption cases tied to the Hernandez administration."
"During her inaugural speech, Xiomara Castro said that she will work from her presidential office so that justice is done in the case of Berta Cáceres, an environmentalist murdered in 2016, and for whom the perpetrators were sentenced in 2019. During the campaign, Castro placed the protection of human rights as one of the priorities on her agenda, which also includes the issue of the rights of migrants and minority communities. The new president promised the release of political prisoners and defenders of the environment, she also spoke of relief for a million underserved families who will no longer pay for electricity. Xiomara Castro’s inaugural speech reproached the previous administrations for the high indebtedness with which they left the state coffers."
"Honduras' new leftist president on Wednesday intervened to halt a court-ordered eviction of an Indigenous community from their ancestral lands following violent scenes of the attempted forced removal by police earlier in the day... Castro, sworn in January 27 following a dozen years of the country being run by the right-wing National Party, is the country's first female president. She is also the wife of Manuel Zelaya, Honduras's former progressive president who was in power from 2006 until 2009 when he was ousted in a Washington-backed coup."
"On Monday, February 28, the newly inaugurated government of progressive President Xiomara Castro declared Honduras a country free of open-pit mining as a measure to protect its environment. In this regard, the government announced the cancellation of the approval of extractivist exploitation permits. According to a statement from the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines (MIAMBIENTE), the decision was taken as a part of the 2022-2026 government program and in accordance with the principles of climate justice, respect and protection of natural resources. “The approval of extractivist exploitation permits is canceled, as they are harmful to the State of Honduras, which threaten natural resources, public health and limit access to water as a human right,” said the MIAMBIENTE. The initiative, which placed the protection of the environment above the interests of the transnational companies, was celebrated by environmentalists and social organizations across the country."
"Democracy is confronted by serious challenges, to the point that we could say there is a war declared against democracy. A war which we need us all to confront with more political will and determination, consensus and solidarity."
"I, Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra, swear by God, by the homeland and by all Peruvians, that I will faithfully exercise the office of President of the Republic (of Peru) that I assume in accordance with the political constitution of Peru, from this moment until July 26, 2026."
"What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country (Peru)."
":"It is a great honor and joy to be here today and address the European Court of Human Rights. My personal interest and perception of the utmost importance of the Convention has arisen during my longtime career as a judge and President of the Greek Council of State..""
". "As the President of the Greek Republic, I am very pleased to confirm that the bonds between my country and the Council of Europe remain strong and undisputed.""
"The concept that the European Convention of Human Rights is a dynamic text and a living instrument has been a crucial feature of Strasbourg’s case law from its very start."
"The Convention’s case-law has proved to be a force of reform for national legislation and domestic law in general. Especially, concerning Greece, religious liberty, property rights, and fair trial guarantees have been more effectively safeguarded thanks to the implementation of the Court’sjudgments."
"Applying the Convention has also led to constitutional change: an interpretative statement has been added to article 4 in virtue of the recognition of contentious objectors, after the respective decision."
"She's a great judge, an excellent consensus builder, she's liberal in the broadest sense of the word, and she's not partisan. This is very important for Greek politics. Most importantly, she's a generous person, she's empathetic, she very perceptive."
""exceptional judge" and a defender of human rights."