History of Honduras - Term Paper Example

Honduras Columbus named the country Honduras on his fourth voyage in 1502, which means depth from its coastal deep waters. Before its discovery by the Spaniards, the warlike Jicaques and Lencas, Paya hunters and fishermen, and the Mexican Amerindian traders inhabited it. Honduras colonizers were Spain after resistance by the Lenca people of the central highlands. Colonization began in the year 1954 under the leadership of Gil Gonzalez De Avila. In 1536, Pedro de Alvarado founded San Pedro Sula, while another faction Comayagua in the year 1957. Treacherous murders by Spaniards followed including slaying of an Amerindian chieftain Lempira in 1539 and followers subjugated. (Leonard 20) In the same year, the country was under control of the captaincy general of Guatemala up to 1821. During this period, Honduras had two provinces Tegucigalpa and Comayagua. Despite production of silver in the mines of Tegucigalpa, the Spanish empire ignored the area. On gaining independence in 1821, Honduras became a member of the Central American federation with Francisco Morazán the Honduran general being its first president. He unsuccessfully struggled to hold the federation together. In 1840, he was exiled and assassinated in 1842 and was entered in the in the pantheon of national heroes. The federation broke up in 1839. Between 1840 and 1876, most of the conservative leaders were in power either as army leaders or as presidents. In 1870, the Honduras liberal revolution took over under the leadership of President Marco Aurelio Soto. (Leonardo 26) Developments began in the second half of the 19th century by U.S companies. In 1899, the Vacaro brothers got the first banana concession in northern Honduras. There was also the Cuyamel Fruit Company setup by Sam Zemurray in 1907 and later bought by United Fruit. During this era of President Marco Aurelio Soto, there was evidence of a golden age of in the Honduran letters and education. During the 20th century first half, the Honduran economic life was dominated by military dictators, US corporate interests, mostly the united fruit company ( now the united brands) (Leonardo 46) There existed unequal relationship between the Honduran state and the companies that gave rise to the “banana republic" in the description in this first half of the 20th century. Between 1932 and 1948, Honduras politics became dominated and ruled by a conservative dictator Gen. Tiburcio Carias Andino. Uneven process of economic and political modernization began in Honduras after the fall of Carias. A military treaty signed in 1954 between Honduras and US government; this was out of strategic interests by the US government in the region following Arbenz government rise in Guatemala. In 1957, Ramon Villeda Morales a liberal president came to office. The first agrarian reform came to rise in his administration and led to the introduction of social welfare legislation. During his era, he took Honduras into joining the Central American Common market. In 1963 before completing his six-year term, a military coup ousted Villeda out of office by and General Oswaldo Lopez Arellano took office. The military regime became increasingly unpopular due to growing economic problems, except for a short period when there was unity between the country and military fighting the six day soccer war in 1969 with El Salvador. Pressure slowly built necessitating return to a civilian government. (Leonardo 112) After the 1971 elections, but shortly after nine months in office, the military ousted the civilian president. For some time, economic growth and land reforms that were in place made the military government popular. Nevertheless, towards the decades end the economy began to deteriorate leading to circulation of rumors about government's corruption and involvement in narcotic trafficking by the military. By 1978, the military had lost control, and a coup by a three-man junta replaced the military president promising to hold elections. The US government pressurized the Honduran government to holding democratic elections. In January 1982, a new civilian president Robert Suazo came to office after drafting a new constitution that allowed elections. Despite the return of democracy in Honduras in 1982, there was a confidence crisis throughout the 1980's due to underdevelopment in the country. The combination of a sharp rise in crime, worldwide economic crisis and the absence of the judicial system and an independent police force left the average citizens vulnerable. At this time, the country's economy was much dependent on the from the US government due to its support of rebels bases against the government of Nicaragua. This presence of the US troops and the massive aid brought high levels of criticism from the countries nationalists, and other portions of the society. The presence of the United States in Honduras resulted in massive demonstrations that resulted to declaration of a state of emergency. It forced the government to distance itself from the US in the early 1990's. (leonardo102) Establishment of an economic viability independent of the US led to Honduras benefiting from the regional peace and cooperation in the 1990's. Border issues with El Salvador came to a resolution in 1992 by the agreement signing between the two countries. The last disputed border section became demarcated in 2006. In 1993, Liberal Party won the elections with Carlos Roberto Reina as president. Carlos Roberto Flores also a liberal won elections in 1997 presidential elections. Late in 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated the country leaving 5600 people dead, thousands missing and destruction of the countries livestock and crops. Ricardo Madulo of the national party won the 2001 presidential elections. In 2005, Manuel Zenaya Rosales won the presidential elections (leonardo186). Zenaya was thought to be the peoples and a safe representative leader who would not question the status quo, because he represented one between the two traditional parties. Nevertheless, during his term in office he aligned in a number of instances with the Hugo Chavez's Venezuela in obtaining the preferential oil prices. This and the proposal to amend the constitution alienated many of his party members. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling the referendum illegal, he proceeded with his move for 2009 vote on the assembly. People viewed it as a move to eliminate the presidential term limit, thus his arrest and forceful exile. His ouster became denounced internationally, and an order for restoration announced by the United Nations. It led to the suspension of Honduras from OAS and economic sanctions imposed by a number of nations. Porfilio lobo Sosa became president in November elections. Juan Orlando Hernandez, a politician, and businessman won the November 2013 presidential elections (Leonardo 186). If the Honduran citizens manage to remove the coup regime and support their democratically elected president, it can be the birth of the Honduran democracy. This time people are fighting for a government that belongs to the people and for the people. They try to eradicate the era of plutocracy hidden behind ignorance of their fellow countrymen. Sadly, it's not an easy battle to win because the coup government and the elite in the society have their guns pointed to the opposition. The levels of crime and violence are in the rise in Honduras, which attributes to gangs and organized crime, and drug trafficking thus presenting another threat to the people's democracy (Leonardo 201). Having the highest homicide rate in the hemisphere, the countries civic and political leaders should seek new approaches and measures to improve the citizen's security thus exercising their democratic rights. The ironic part is that Honduras is among the poorest nations in the western hemisphere. It is still dependent on international aid in their economic sustainability, despite the having a vast range of resources ranging from deposits of lead, silver, zinc, gold, iron, copper and antimony. Nevertheless, these resources tend are underexploited due to inadequate rail and road transport systems thus the country remains underdeveloped. The backbone of Honduras economy is mainly on agriculture; coffee and bananas are the main and most important exports. There is much of political and social influence in the companies that process the agricultural products; such as the united fruit company and standard fruit company due to their monopolistic nature. Most Hondurans have to work very hard to earn an average of USD 183 a month. Those in the industrial and agricultural sectors earn the lowest wages, while those in the services sector earn slightly higher salaries (leonardo212). Honduras has a strategic geographical location with access to the richest and largest economies of the world. Thus, has the potential for alternative sources of energy development such as geothermal, hydropower and solar energy. Being in the middle of demographic transition provides a significance bonus in economic development. Thus, is due to low dependency ratio. Works Cited Leonard, Thomas M. The History of Honduras. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood, 2011. Print. Read More