This Latin term is used in legal doctrine to describe the full trajectory of a crime—from its initial conception, deliberation, and decision (internal acts) to the execution of preparatory steps and the eventual commission of the offense (external acts).
Depending on its nature, a crime may be committed by an individual or as the result of a coordinated effort among several people acting with criminal intent.
In the electoral process set to conclude on November 30, a prominent attorney associated with an opposition party has laid out—clearly and convincingly—the actions that have been underway for some time with the apparent aim of derailing the election and potentially triggering a rupture of the constitutional order, once again raising the specter of a constituent assembly.
This respected attorney has warned on multiple television programs that if the officials responsible for overseeing the general elections—across the various institutions charged with this duty—fail to carry out their obligations, whether out of defiance or negligent abandonment of duty, the entire process could be put at risk. Such a scenario could lead to the National Elections Council refusing to certify the results, and the National Congress doing the same. The country could then reach December 31, 2025, without an official declaration of who won the presidency—an outcome that would effectively break the constitutional order.
Of course, the attorney is not suggesting that this would happen by mere accident or institutional misfortune. He argues that if all the bodies responsible for certifying the election simply fail to do so, it would be reasonable to suspect coordinated action—an association formed with the intention of undermining the electoral process, its results, and ultimately, the Constitution itself.
This is a warning that deserves serious attention—especially from the presidential candidates, if they have not yet taken note, and from their candidates for other elected offices as well.
We must also remember that the country has been living under a permanent state of exception, which effectively suspends constitutional rights. Bringing an end to this abnormal and democratically incompatible situation is both urgent and necessary.
The Constitution is unequivocal: it cannot be amended or repealed through any procedure other than those expressly established within it. Anyone who attempts to do so commits the crime of rebellion and is subject to the penalties set forth in the Penal Code.
Our Constitution aligns with international conventions on fundamental rights and freedoms. We know the rights that guarantee our status as citizens—whether workers, merchants, teachers, union members, professionals, or businesspeople. But no one can predict what a constituent assembly might produce. It cannot expand the fundamental rights we already have, but it could certainly restrict or abolish them to the benefit of a political group seeking to consolidate control over all branches of power. The examples of Venezuela and other South American countries—where constituent assemblies devastated economies and stripped citizens of their rights—serve as stark warnings.
May God save Honduras.
By: Carlos Lopez Contrera.
