Honduras
Honduras performs in the mid-range across all categories of democracy, and ranks among the top 25 per cent of the world on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of the Press. Over the last five years, Honduras has experienced notable advances in the Representation and Rule of Law categories, and in the factors of Credible Elections, Civil Liberties and Freedom of the Press. Honduras is a lower middle-income country with an economy centered around the services sector, with significant industry and agriculture contributions to its GDP.
Politics in Honduras are driven by poor socio-economic conditions and interrelated problems of gang violence, gender and ethnic inequality, and corruption. Honduras is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the region: about 60 per cent of people in the country live in poverty. With limited opportunity for upward mobility, many Hondurans turn to gang-related activity and many flee the country. Life in Honduras, especially in its urban centers, is enmeshed with gang activity, and Hondurans often face petty theft, extortion, and generalized violence. In November 2022, the government turned to the use of emergency powers and “states of exception”, in which certain rights are suspended, to address insecurity. However, gang violence has not fully subsided, with violent episodes and clashes between rival gangs still taking place.
Violence disproportionately affects Honduran women and children, and Honduras has the highest femicide rate and the second-highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the region. Women’s rights in Honduras have also been severely restricted in recent years with an absolute ban on abortion. The government, headed by the country’s first female president, pledged a feminist program, focused on advancing women’s rights. Notably, a ban on emergency contraception was lifted in March 2023.
The majority of Hondurans are Mestizo, of mixed European and Indigenous descent, and roughly nine per cent of the total population identifies either as Indigenous or as of African descent. Non-mestizos in Honduras suffer disproportionately from social exclusion, poverty, and political disempowerment. Land encroachment is an ongoing problem in the country, especially for rural, Indigenous communities, and discrimination in urban centers leave minorities with limited access to the labor market. The problem of poverty in Honduras has also been exacerbated by rampant corruption. Although the current government had pledged it would establish an international anti-corruption commission, the process has stalled and prospects for accountability in the near future are dim.
A critical juncture in Honduran politics took place in 2009, when former President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military-led coup. It was followed by a weakening of checks and balances and a lack of political alternation (the National Party established a hegemony for 12 years). However, other political parties started gaining strength, ending the two-party system that had previously prevailed in Honduras. Serious allegations of irregularities in the 2017 elections led to massive opposition-led protests which were met with violence by security forces. These events prompted increased human rights and anti-corruption advocacy, as accusations against high-level officials of previous administrations for money laundering and drug trafficking grew, including against former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted for drug trafficking in the United States in 2024.
Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Absence of Corruption, as the government’s pledges to establish an international anti-corruption commission have not yet materialized, and have been slowed by unresolved structural problems. Finally, the government’s use of a “state of exception” to mobilize military police officers to crack down on gang-related crime and violence could impact performance in Civil Liberties and its related factors.
Last Updated: July 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
March 2024
Former president convicted for drug trafficking
Former President Juan Orlando Hernández was convicted in a New York court for trafficking cocaine. Hernández was extradited to the US by Honduran authorities in April 2022 after the country's Supreme Court rejected the former president's appeals. Witnesses revealed Hernández, who served from 2014 to 2022, accepted bribes, including $1m from infamous drug dealer El Chapo, to fund his political campaigns. The prosecution described his actions as creating a “cocaine superhighway” to the US. While the conviction is a victory for the US’s Drug Enforcement Agency, it calls into question past US support for Hernández, who was once seen as an ally in anti-drug efforts. Hernández, who campaigned for his presidency as an anti-crime leader, is accused of leveraging state power to protect drug traffickers, including the military and police, and turning Honduras into a "narco-state". His arrest and trial have been closely watched in Honduras, reflecting a broader desire for accountability.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC, La Tribuna, Infobae, Latin Post
June 2023
Increasing gang violence results in deadly prison riot and local curfew
A riot and fire started after clashes between rival gangs in a women’s prison resulted in at least 46 deaths. Less than a week later, 13 people were killed in a deadly shooting in the city of Choloma, believed to be linked to gang violence as well. According to a police commissioner, the killings in Choloma could be reprisals related to the prison deaths. President Xiomara Castro has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances of the prison riot, as many women deprived of their liberty allegedly had access to weapons, as well as an investigation into the shooting in the city of Choloma. According to a police, there are allegations that these two events are possibility connected. A local curfew in Choloma and San Pedro Sula was implemented during two weeks in response to the shooting, which President Castro characterised as a “terrorist attack” ordered by drug gangs.
Sources: El Mundo, British Broadcasting Corporation, El Pais, Associated Press
April 2023
International experts raise alerts regarding levels of violence and risks for human rights defenders
International experts have raised alerts about the concerning levels of violence in Honduras. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights carried out a visit to the country in April, during which it highlighted that the murder of human rights and environmental activists position the country as one of the most violent in the region. Social leaders and activists have stressed that the implementation of a state of emergency to counter organized crime in the past months has negatively impacted their activities.
Further, the Norwegian Refugee Council carried out a visit to Honduras, during which it expressed concern for the levels of violence similar to those of an armed conflict, with many displaced and a disproportionate impact on women, who are subjected to sexual and other forms of gender-based violence.
Sources: Radio France Internationale, Criterio, British Broadcasting Corporation
March 2023
Ban on emergency contraception is lifted
President Xiomara Castro signed an executive decree to lift a ban on emergency contraception that had been in place since 2009. The decree was signed on International Women’s Day. Women’s rights activists and organizations celebrated the reversal of this ban, which had been one of Castro’s campaign promises before her 2021 election, particularly given the fact that abortion in Honduras remains prohibited under all circumstances. The emergency contraception pill will be sold over the counter at pharmacies and be free at health centres (last December its use had exceptionally been approved in cases of rape).
Sources: El Pais, The New York Times, British Broadcasting Corporation
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