About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (November 23, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveewn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional
SResearch Service
2021 Elections in Honduras
Updated November 23, 2021
Honduras is scheduled to hold presidential, congressional, and municipal elections on November 28,
2021. The elections come at a difficult moment for Honduras, as many Hondurans have lost confidence in
their democratic institutions and the country faces a protracted recovery from the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, two hurricanes, and a deep recession. Depending on their perceived
legitimacy, the elections could help foster stability in Honduras or could exacerbate the country's
challenges. The elections also will determine whether the U.S. government will have credible Honduran
partners, with whom it can work to address migration, drug trafficking, and other policy concerns, and
may influence congressional foreign assistance decisions.
Domestic Context
President Juan Orlando Hernindez (2014-present) of the conservative National Party (PN) is nearing the
end of his second term and is not seeking a third. Many Hondurans maintain his 2017 reelection was
unconstitutional and the result of electoral fraud. Over the past eight years, Hernindez and the PN-
controlled congress have enacted business-friendly economic policies and a series of security- and justice-
sector reforms while consolidating their influence over the supreme court and other nominally
independent institutions.
In September 2021, 74% of Hondurans surveyed thought the country was on the wrong track. They
identified corruption as the principal problem facing Honduras and unemployment, COVID-19, and crime
as top concerns for their families.
  Corruption. Perceptions of corruption have increased as President Hernindez and other
current and former government officials have been implicated in various corrupt
activities, including drug trafficking. Although the Honduran government enacted some
anti-corruption measures during Hernindez's first term, it has rolled them back over the
past two years as prosecutors have investigated the president and his congressional allies.
  Unemployment. The Honduran economy contracted by an estimated 9% in 2020 due to a
pandemic-driven recession and the damage wrought by two hurricanes. From 2019 to
2020, the unemployment rate increased from 5.7% to 10.9% and the underemployment
rate increased from 60.6% to 70.7%. In September 2021, an estimated 3.3 million people
(a third of Hondurans) were contending with acute food insecurity.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11795
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most