Introducing Honduras
Like its neighbors, Honduras is experiencing tremendous changes: an expanding tourist economy (cruise ships in Roatán?!), a maturing political scene, and the whole globalization thing, including maquilas, free trade agreements – heck, even implementing Daylight Savings Time for the second time. Honduras remains deeply entrenched in a two-front war against gangs and HIV/AIDS. Illegal logging is emerging as another major concern (do you know where that new mahogany chest came from?) and a key issue among Honduras’ growing environmental community.
In fact, logging was a factor in the 2005 presidential elections, in which both candidates were from Olancho, ground-zero for illegal logging. Both candidates had less-than-savory connections to timber interests –it’s hard to climb the political ranks in Olancho without them – but Liberal Party candidate Manuel ‘Mel’ Zelaya was less besmirched than his National Party rival, and eked out a narrow victory. Though hard-fought, it was a mostly clean and fair election, no small feat for a country with a history of electoral fraud and military coups. One of President Zelaya’s first major deeds was the implementation of the Central America and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which was met with predictable applause from the business community and condemnation from anti-globalization activists. Everyday Hondurans were characteristically unfazed by the event, reserving judgment until the real effects begin to appear in the form of job growth or job loss.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Village passed on journey into La Mosquitia area.
- Damian Turski
- Lonely Planet photographer
