Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero
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Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero was born on 14 November 1943 in Tegucigalpa in Honduras, and was the President of Honduras from January 27, 1990 to January 27, 1994, representing the National Party of Honduras (PNH).
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[edit] Career
He studied agricultural economics at Mississippi State University, becoming an expert on the financial and economic issues connected to agronomy, and in 1968 he was made the Director of Economic Planning by the then President Oswaldo López. in 1975 another General and President, Juan Alberto Melgar, named Callejas Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources. When another general and President Policarpo Paz took over in a coup in 1978, Callejas remained in his post. During the transition to democracy culminating in November 1981 elections, won by the Honduran Liberal Party (PLH) he rose within the ranks of the Honduran National Party PNH, and in 1982 presided over their central committee. He supported former President Ricardo Maduro's Unidad y Cambio (Unity and Change) movement within the PNH that brought more towards the center, and following a liberal economic path. Callejas then created his own faction, the Movimiento Nacional Callejista (National Callejista Movement), to advance his candidature in the 1985 presidential elections. At the time both main political parties allowed various candidates to stand, and while Callejas gained the highest vote of any candidate with 42.6%, the PLH candidates gained 51.5% of the total vote, and therefore it was their most voted for candidate, José Azcona, with 27.5% of the vote, who became President.
Callejas has been accused of illicit enrichment and conspiring to sell Honduran issued passports in an event known in local media as the Pasaportazo, the disappearance of US$ 10 Million from the National Oil Fund, builidng a big housing complex that was never used due to environmental issues (Ciudad Mateo),which was then cleared in a Court of Law, and several other scandals. However, after more than 11 years of investigation, no accounts linked to these alleged actions have surfaced and no concrete evidence has been forwarded. In may 2007 he was legally declared innocent by a Court of Law of all charges brought against him. An appeal has been requested by the Attorney General.
[edit] President
He was again the PNH candidate in the 1989 elections where a reported 200,000 identifications from deceased Honduran citizens were used. Callejas won with 52.3% of the votes, becoming the first PNH President since 1972. He had to confront severe economic problems, and he followed the advice of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by cutting public spending, resulting in many public servants being laid off, and by devaluing the Lempira. At the time of the devaluation of the Lempira, the Honduran Central Bank presided at the time by Ricardo Maduro Joest did not have any dollars available to the general public. Instead, people were given back devaluated Lempiras causing a lot of suffering in what was already one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. Gasoline supplies were unexistant when he took office and large lines of cars were seen at the gas stations trying to obtain fuel. This led to many strikes and a lot of social agitation, until the United States forgave Honduras a $US430 million debt, in September 1991, relieving the economic hardship.
He presided over a liberal reformist government, opened the Honduran economy to local and foreign investment and managed steady growth during the first three years of his presidency, although during the fourth fiscal indiscipline led to a new set of economic measures to be imposed by the next government. Poverty was reduced by 8% under his tenure. Infrastructure was a priority and large investments in the rich Sula Valley area were made in more than 90 kilometers of four lane highways.
His government had some important accomplishments in the social area, such as the creation of Family Assistance Program (PRAF) and the Honduran Fund for Social Investment (FHIS). Expatriates of the previous Military and Liberal governments were allowed to return to Honduras, with no risk to their lives, and the irregular forces of the Nicaraguan counterrevolutionaries, CONTRAS, were required to leave Honduras in April 1990 after intense negotiations.
[edit] US visa
On September 19, 2006, 12 years after he left office, he was denied entry to the United States after being detained for a number of hours in Miami, Florida when he arrived at Customs & Immigration on a personal trip. The US government cancelled his visa alleging that he was guilty of corruption, even though he has not been convicted of any offences back in Honduras. Callejas traveled back to Honduras by first taking a flight to a neighboring Central American country and then driving back into Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
[edit] External links
- Biography of Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero at CIDOB (Spanish)
- Global Policy - Corruption
| Preceded by José Azcona del Hoyo |
President of Honduras 1990–1994 |
Succeeded by Carlos Roberto Reina |
