The president appoints 18 governors to run administrative departments. The departments are further broken down with localities being the most local subdivision of government. People in each locality are able to elect a mayor.
A third of the economy in Honduras is derived from agriculture, with coffee being the biggest export. Bananas also contribute a significant percentage of the money brought into the country. Christopher Columbus discovered Honduras in the 16th century, then home to the Maya and other indigineous people, and his discovery was soon followed by a Spanish conquest of the country. In the early 19th century, Honduras gained independence from Spain and briefly became part of Mexico before joining the newly-formed United Provinces of Central America.
Following some political instability in the early 20th century, the United States took action to protect its investment of banana crops in the country. In , while Honduras was under military rule, a brief but serious war broke out with El Salvador as a result of a dispute over immigration and the lack of a clearly defined border between the two countries.
Two decades later, Honduras returned to civilian rule and an agreement was reached with El Salvador. In , Hurricane Mitch took the lives of more than 5, people in Honduras and caused billions of dollars in damage. Political instability continues to trouble the country, with another military coup taking place as recently as All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. The regimes of General Melgar Castro and General Paz Garcia largely built the current physical infrastructure and telecommunications system of Honduras.
The country also enjoyed its most rapid economic growth during this period, due to greater international demand for its products and the availability of foreign commercial lending. Following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza in Nicaragua in and general instability in El Salvador at the time, the Honduran military accelerated plans to return the country to civilian rule. A constituent assembly was popularly elected in April , and general elections were held in November A new constitution was approved in , and the Liberal Party government of President Roberto Suazo Cordoba assumed power.
Suazo relied on U. Close cooperation on political and military issues with the United States was complemented by ambitious social and economic development projects sponsored by USAID. Honduras became host to the largest Peace Corps mission in the world, and non-governmental and international voluntary agencies proliferated. As the November election approached, the Liberal Party had difficulty settling on a candidate and interpreted election law as permitting multiple presidential candidates from one party.
With strong endorsement and support from the Honduran military, the Suazo Administration had ushered in the first peaceful transfer of power between civilian presidents in more than 30 years. Four years later, Rafael Callejas won the presidential election, taking office in January Callejas concentrated on economic reform, reducing the deficit, and taking steps to deal with an overvalued exchange rate and major structural barriers to investment.
He began the movement to place the military under civilian control and laid the groundwork for the creation of the public ministry Attorney General's office. President Reina, elected on a platform calling for a "Moral Revolution," actively prosecuted corruption and pursued those responsible for human rights abuses in the s. He created a modern attorney general's office and an investigative police force, and reduced Honduras' historic and endemic corruption and elite impunity. As a result, a notable start has been made in institutionalizing the rule of law in Honduras.
A hallmark of the Reina Administration was his successful efforts to increase civilian control over the armed forces, making his time in office a period of fundamental change in civil-military relations in Honduras.
Important achievements--including the abolition of the military draft and passage of legislation transferring the national police from military to civilian authority--have brought civil-military relations closer to the kind of balance normal in a constitutional democracy. Additionally, President Reina in named his own defense minister, breaking the precedent of accepting the nominee of the armed forces leadership.
Reina restored national fiscal health. After a rough start in , the Reina Administration substantially increased Central Bank net international reserves, reduced inflation to Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse took office on January 27, , as Honduras' fifth democratically elected President since free elections were restored in Like three of his four predecessors, including his immediate predecessor, Flores is a member of the Liberal Party.
These elections, probably the cleanest in Honduran history, reflected the maturing of Honduras' democratic institutions. On the eve of his electoral victory, Flores presented a platform that is a blueprint for reform and modernization of the Honduran Government and economy, with emphasis on helping Honduras' poorest citizens while maintaining the country's fiscal health and improving international competitiveness. The constitution provides for a strong executive, a unicameral National Congress, and a judiciary appointed by the National Congress.
The president is directly elected to a four-year term by popular vote. The congress also serves a four-year term; congressional seats are assigned the parties' candidates in proportion to the number of votes each party receives. The judiciary includes a Supreme Court of Justice, courts of appeal, and several courts of original jurisdiction, such as labor, tax, and criminal courts.
For administrative purposes, Honduras is divided into 18 departments, with departmental and municipal officials selected for two-year terms. The resolution of the civil wars in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and across-the-board budget cuts made in all ministries have brought reduced funding for the Honduran armed forces. The abolition of the draft has created staffing gaps in the now all volunteer armed forces. The military now is far below its authorized strength and further reductions are expected.
Reinforced by the media and several political watchdog organizations, human rights and civil liberties are reasonably well protected. There are no known political prisoners in Honduras, and the privately owned media frequently exercises its right to criticize without fear of reprisals. Honduras held its fifth consecutive democratic elections in November , to elect a new president, unicameral Congress and mayors; for the first time, voters were able to cast separate ballots for each office.
The two major parties--the Liberal Party and the National Party--run active campaigns throughout the country. Their ideologies are mostly centrist, with diverse factions in each centered on personalities. The three smaller registered parties, the Christian Democratic Party, the Innovation and Unity Party, and the Democratic Unification Party remain marginal, slightly left-of-center groupings with few campaign resources and little organization.
Despite significant progress in training and installing more skillful advisers at the top of each party ladder, electoral politics in Honduras remain traditionalist and paternalistic. Honduras will hold its next general elections--which will choose the nation's next president, Congress, and mayors--in November Principal Government Officials. Honduras is one of the poorest and least-developed countries in Latin America. Honduras has extensive forest, marine, and mineral resources, although widespread slash-and-burn agricultural methods continue to destroy Honduran forests.
Hondurans, however, are becoming more concerned about protecting their environmental patrimony. Preliminary data show that the Honduran economy grew 4. The Honduran Government cut the inflation rate nearly in half in , bringing it from The government's non-financial public sector deficit was brought down to 1. A particularly bright spot in the Honduran economy in was the performance of the large and growing maquiladora sector.
The economic outlook for Honduras in is positive. The Honduran Government will be meeting in with the International Monetary Fund in an effort to agree on an Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, which could lead to foreign bilateral debt forgiveness in the Paris Club.
During , Honduras, a founding member of the United Nations, for the first time served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. President Flores consults frequently with the other Central American presidents on issues of mutual interest.
He has continued his predecessor's strong emphasis on Central American cooperation and integration, which resulted in an agreement easing border controls and tariffs among Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. In , El Salvador and Honduras fought the brief "Soccer War" over disputed border areas and friction resulting from the , Salvadorans who had emigrated to Honduras in search of land and employment.
The catalyst was nationalistic feelings aroused by a series of soccer matches between the two countries. The two countries formally signed a peace treaty on October 30,, which put the border dispute before the International Court of Justice. In September , the court awarded most of the disputed territory to Honduras. The treaty awaits legal ratification in both countries. Honduras and El Salvador maintain normal diplomatic and trade relations.
During recent years, Honduras had registered the second highest economic growth rates in Central America, only behind Panama. However, the country has been facing high levels of poverty and inequality. International estimates for the latest available year , before the double impact of the COVID pandemic and hurricanes Eta and Iota, showed that In addition, almost half of the population 4.
Another third of the population was near-poor and vulnerable to falling back into poverty, while the size of Honduras' middle class 18 percent was among the smallest in the region compared to an average middle class of 41 percent. In addition, Honduras struggles with high levels of violence, with over 38 homicides per , inhabitants This rate has diminished however in recent years, from a peak of 83 homicides per , inhabitants in A prudent macroeconomic framework helped contain vulnerabilities, buoyed by the IMF program.
Around 45 percent of households, according to World Bank surveys , reported income losses in August, which likely deteriorated further with the November hurricanes. A deeper global downturn amid the prolonged pandemic could weaken economic recovery and continue to threaten the health and welfare of the population.
Institutional reforms on key issues, such as improving the sustainability of the electricity sector, as well as governance and the business climate, can also contribute to further developing a framework for inclusive growth in Honduras. Since COVID struck, the World Bank has been working intensely on fast, broad actions to limit harm and help countries, including Honduras, prepare for recovery and rebuilding better and stronger than before, by focusing on four priorities:.
World Bank initiatives support sectors in Honduras such as rural competitiveness, social protection, early childhood education, water and food security and disaster risk management.
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