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Honduras
Area: 112,492 sq km
Population: 7.2 million (UN 2005)
Capital City: Tegucigalpa (1.5 million)
People: Many Hondurans are descended from Spanish and other mainly European immigrants, who settled in Honduras from the sixteenth century. The population is made up of around: Mestizo (mixed Maya and European) 90%; Amerindian 7%; black 2%; white 1%.
Languages: Officially Spanish, though many business executives speak English. There are also indigenous dialects.
Religion(s): Roman Catholicism is the principal religion (97%); and a Protestant minority.
Currency: Lempira
Major Political Parties: Partido Liberal (PL); Partido Nacional (PN); Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC); Partido de Innovacion Nacional y Unidad-Social
Democrata (PINU-SD); Partido de Unificacion Democratica (PUD)
Government: Honduras has a republican system of government consisting of three separate and independent branches: the Executive Branch, headed by the President, who is advised by a Cabinet of Ministers; the Legislative Branch; and the Judicial Branch, headed by the Supreme Court. The President is directly elected for a four-year term.
Head of State: Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales
Prime Minister/Premier: Not applicable
Foreign Minister: Milton Jiménez Puerto
Membership of international groups/organisations: Honduras’s memberships include: United Nations (UN) and its specialised agencies; Organisation of American States (OAS); Central American Common Market; Central American Integration System (SICA); plus numerous institutions and programmes within the UN and OAS systems.
GEOGRAPHY
Honduras is the second largest country in Central America after Nicaragua. Bordered by Guatemala and El Salvador to its west and Nicaragua to its east, the country has 644 km of Caribbean coastline and 124 km of Pacific coast line. Approximately 75% of the country is mountainous but these areas have suffered considerably from deforestation in recent years. The only substantial lowlands are found in coastal areas.
HISTORY
Mayan civilisation reached western Honduras in the fifth century A.D. and spread rapidly. Over the next three and a half centuries the area of Copan developed into the principal centre of Mayan culture and was the leading centre for both astronomical studies – in which the Maya were quite advanced – and art. Then, at the height of the Mayan civilisation around 800 A.D., Copan was mysteriously abandoned and fell into ruin.
Following the period of Mayan dominance, Honduras was inhabited by a multiplicity of indigenous peoples. Although divided into numerous distinct and frequently hostile groups, they carried on considerable trade with other parts of their immediate region as well as with areas as far away as Panama and Mexico.
In August 1502, on his fourth and final voyage, Columbus arrived off the island of Guanaja. Sailing east along the Caribbean coast and into harsh storms, the fleet rounded a cape where, encountering calmer waters, Columbus is reputed to have exclaimed ‘Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de estas Honduras’ (Thank God we have now left these depths), christening both the cape – Cabo Gracias – and eventually the country. Twenty years later, the conquistadors returned to take possession of the new territory.
For the indigenous inhabitants, the consolidation of Spanish power was catastrophic. Contemporary population records are notoriously inaccurate, but from an estimated 400,000 in 1524, the population probably fell to as low as 15,000 by 1571. Those who survived were enslaved and shipped either overseas or into the mines. Incredibly, considering their impact, the number of colonists numbered fewer than 300 throughout the seventeenth century.
By the early 1800s, Honduras was an economy in crisis. Mining was virtually defunct and a series of severe droughts hit both agriculture and livestock. Spanish power went into rapid decline. On September 15, 1821, all the Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain.
For Honduras, the first decades of independence were neither peaceful nor prosperous. The combined impact of civil strife and foreign interventions had doomed Honduras to a position of relative economic and social backwardness that lasted throughout the 1800s. In the late nineteenth century, US fruit companies were more than happy to accept government concessions which included exemption from customs duties and ownership of mineral rights in order to develop the banana industry, an industry that was to become the dominating factor in Honduras’s future.
By 1900, bananas were the most important export and by 1930 Honduras was the world’s leading banana exporter. By 1940, however, diseases had taken their toll and Ecuador overtook Honduras in production. For much of the 20th century the political scene was dominated by the military, foreign (banana) companies and large land-owning interests.
Recent History
In October 1963, a second coup in ten years installed Colonel Oswaldo Lopez Arellano as provisional president. During twelve years in power, he decimated the Liberal opposition and reversed most of his predecessor’s social reforms. Above all, however, his period of office is best remembered for one of the more bizarre conflicts of modern Central America, the so-called ‘Football War’. On July 14, 1969, war broke out on the Honduras-El Salvador border ostensibly caused by a disputed result in a soccer match between the two countries. After three days, around two thousand deaths and a complete rupture of diplomatic relations, the Organisation of American States (OAS) negotiated a cease-fire. Only in 1992 did both sides accept an International Court of Justice ruling demarcating the border in its current location. In January 2002 however, 10 years after the ICJ delimitation of the boundaries, Honduras raised at the UN Security Council, El Salvador's alleged refusal to give effect to those judgements. The matter remains before the Security Council. In December 2003, the ICJ declined El Salvador's application for a revision of its 1992 ruling.
Following the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua in 1979 and the election of Ronald Reagan to the US Presidency, Honduras became the focus for support to the US-backed Contra war in Nicaragua, accepting in return over \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1.5 billion of direct economic and military aid from the US during the 1980s. Domestically, the relationship between the military and government grew ever closer. Human rights violations grew alarmingly, with the army implicated in the ‘disappearance’ of hundreds of activists from labour organisations and peace movements.
With the resolution of both the Contra war and the civil war in El Salvador, the military’s power receded somewhat, forced conscription was ended and most of the US troops stationed in Honduras were recalled, throwing the country’s endemic economic and social problems into stark relief.
In 1982 a freely elected civilian president and National Congress were inaugurated, returning the country to constitutional rule after ten years of military-led government.
POLITICS
The last Presidential elections took place on 27 November 2005, marking 25 years of democracy in Honduras. The Liberal Party candidate Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales (known as Mel Zelaya), was confirmed as President-elect on 7 December when the Honduran National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo Sosa (known as Pepe Lobo) conceded defeat. Lobo's concession came with around 10% of the ballots still to be counted. Zelaya had 49.90% of the vote to Lobo's 46.17%. The announcement ended several days of uncertainty while votes were counted at 5000 voting centres across the Country's 18 departments. Zelaya was inaugurated on 27 January 2006 to serve a four-year term.
Zelaya's campaign was based on a platform of openness and transparency. He proposed the creation of a 'transparency module' that would establish mechanisms for public disclosure of government spending and investment. He aims to work to create a 'responsive and bureaucracy-free' government and build an open economy to promote 'further opportunities for the participation of all the country's social and economic players' (Source: melzelaya.com) Born on 20 September 1952 in Olancho, he studied civil engineering at the National Autonomous University of Honduras and was President of the Lumber Industrialists Association. He is married to Xiomara Castro, and has four children.
Zelaya succeeded the Nationalist President Ricardo Maduro. Maduro was elected on 25 November 2001 in a decisive victory. Honduran voters, beset by high crime and poverty, had made a decisive break with tradition by not voting along traditional party lines. They voted tactically, showing their disenchantment with the performance of Congress Deputies by awarding the balance of power there to the three small political parties. But they voted decisively in the presidential ballot for Maduro. He was inaugurated on 27 January 2002, promising a New York style ‘zero tolerance’ crackdown on crime and corruption and with ambitious plans for reform.
ECONOMY
Honduras's economy is one of the least developed in Latin America. Industrial development has been limited and historically it has been dependent on banana and coffee exports. In the past decade the economy has diversified, with the development of non-traditional exports such as shrimp, melons, maquila (offshore assembly for re-export) and tourism. Investment incentives aimed at attracting foreign capital have been introduced. Tourism revenue has also grown steadily, from US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$29m in 1990 to US\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$291m in 2002.
The continuing burden of its foreign debt (around 80% of total GDP) has retarded growth. In November 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastated the whole country. While the damage has been difficult to calculate, losses to infrastructure and agricultural yields and the displacement of one third of the population will have repercussions for many years. The international community has provided emergency aid, and later reconstruction aid.
Movements have been made toward debt reduction and a payment moratorium. The government signed a Letter of Intent for a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) with the IMF in early 2004. The last three-year deal expired in December 2002 without the targets having been met. Since reaching the completion point of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) in early 2005, Honduras has benefited from several debt relief initiatives, both bilateral and multilateral, which have brought total debt down from approximately \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$5 billion to \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$3 billion. The G8 alone wrote off over \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\$1 billion of the Honduran foreign debt. The UK wrote off a further £20.2 million of bilateral debt.
Basic Economic Facts
Nominal GDP: 7.2 billion US dollars (2004 est)
Nominal GDP per head: 850 US dollars (2004 est)
Annual growth: 3.8% (2004 est)
Inflation: 7.7 % (2004 est)
Major industries: Sugar, coffee, textiles, clothing, wood products
Export partners: US 70%, Guatemala 2%, Canada 2% (2002)
Imports: US 55%, Mexico 4%, Republic of Korea 3% (2002)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Honduras’ Relations with Neighbours
Cuba
During official celebrations of the Inauguration of former-President Maduro on 26/27 January 2002, the outgoing Government of Honduras announced the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, broken in April 1961. The move was not totally unexpected given the strong Cuban assistance to Honduras over the three and a half years since Hurricane Mitch, the ongoing support of the Cuban medical team working in remote areas of Honduras and the conclusion of the Honduran/Cuban maritime boundary agreement. As a new member to the Commission, Honduras tabled the annual Resolution on human rights in Cuba that was passed at the UN Commission on Human Rights in April 2004. Despite Cuban denunciation and claims of US pressure on Honduras, formal bilateral relations between Honduras and Cuba have survived.
Nicaragua
In November 1999, a maritime dispute with Nicaragua flared up. The basis for the dispute was the ratification by Honduras of the 1986 Ramirez-Lopez Treaty whereby Colombia’s right to the San Andreas and Providencia islands in the Caribbean was recognised. Nicaragua, which has laid claim to 30,000 square kilometres of territorial sea, was outraged by the Honduran action. Both countries agreed to take the dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the meantime, the Organisation of American States (OAS) has supported confidence-building measures including visits by an International Verification Mission to the border between Honduras and Nicaragua. In December 2001, Foreign Ministers from both countries signed an agreement at the headquarters of the OAS establishing the framework for a Bi-national Border Development Plan.
As part of the increasing process of economic integration in the Central American region, Honduras signed an agreement with Nicaragua on 15 February 2005 to simplify customs procedures on the border between the two countries.
El Salvador
Alleged El Salvadorian refusal to give effect to the ICJ’s judgement on the delimitation of the boundaries between the two countries, is an ongoing irritant and has led to Honduras raising the issue with the UN Security Council. In December 2003 the ICJ declined El Salvador’s application for a revision of its 1992 ruling.
Honduras enjoys good relations with both Guatemala and Belize, all three being members of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Honduras and Belize are presently pursuing joint-initiatives in disaster and emergency management as well as on environmental issues. Honduras follows the Guatemala/Belize dispute carefully given its own unresolved dispute with El Salvador and because Honduras, Belize and Guatemala are Caribbean neighbours in the Gulf of Honduras. In early 2006, Honduras participated in the OAS-facilitated meetings aimed at promoting a long-term settlement to the Belize/Guatemala border dispute. Honduras hosted a meeting between the two sides on 23 March 2006. Honduras has a particular interest in maritime aspects of the territorial dispute.
There are a large number of migrant seasonal workers from Honduras in the Belizean citrus and banana industry. Many Hondurans also work in Guatemala; the latter having growing business ties and investments in Honduras.
HONDURAS’S RELATIONS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
See 'Membership of International Organisations' above.
Moves towards regional economic integration in Central America are continuing. During the early part of 2004, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic concluded negotiations with the USA on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Violent protests greeted the ratification of the agreement in Honduras and Guatemala. Costa Rica is now the only participant still to ratify the agreement at a national level. During 2004 and early 2005 several Central American countries signed bilateral border agreements to simplify customs procedures for goods (and tourists) passing from one country to another.
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