Hondures

LAND

More than three-fourths of the land area of Honduras is mountainous, lowlands being found only along the coasts and in the several river valleys that penetrate toward the interior. The interior takes the form of a dissected upland with numerous small peaks. The main surface features have a general east-west orientation. There is a narrow plain of alluvium bordering the Gulf of Fonseca in the south. The southwestern mountains, the Volcanic Highlands, consist of alternating layers of rock composed of dark, volcanic detritus and lava flows, both of Tertiary age.The northern mountains in other regions are more ancient, with granite and crystalline rocks predominating.

ECONOMY

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Government plans seek to promote and expand the manufacturing sector, diversify agriculture, improve transportation facilities, and develop hydroelectric projects. In 1999 electricity production amounted to 3.3 billion kilowatt-hours, of which 65.56 percent was hydroelectric. The national budget in 1995 included $713 million in revenue and $591 million in expenditure. The gross domestic product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced, was $5.4 billion in 1999.

Honduras is a poor country, and the majority of Hondurans work under extremely difficult conditions. The government has, however, adopted more active economic policies since the mid-20th century. In 1954 striking banana workers led the trade union movement to one of its most resounding triumphs, which resulted in the promulgation of a labour code that is considered one of the most complete instruments of its kind in Latin America. The code has generally resulted in a higher standard of living for the worker and better operating conditions for business; labour laws are not always strictly applied, however, and some workplaces are substandard.

Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, is banking on expanded trade privileges under the Enhanced Caribbean Basin Initiative and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative. While reconstruction from 1998's Hurricane Mitch is at an advanced stage, and the country has met most of its macroeconomic targets, it failed to meet the IMF's goals to liberalize its energy and telecommunications sectors. Economic growth has rebounded nicely since the hurricane and should continue in 2001.

PEOPLE

Honduras has been inhabited since well before the 1st century AD. The ruins at CopÐ"ÐŽn in western Honduras indicate that the area was the centre of Mayan civilization before the Maya migrated to the YucatÐ"ÐŽn Peninsula. Most of the American Indians are Lenca and are now found in the southwest, near the Guatemala border, close to the most important Indian centres of the pre-Columbian period. Small, isolated groups of non-Spanish-speaking IndiansÐ'--such as the Jicaque, Miskito (Mosquito), and PayaÐ'--continue to live in the northeast, although their numbers are declining. Of the total population, about nine-tenths is mestizo. Blacks of West Indian origin and Garifuna make up a significant part of the population along the Caribbean coast, an area where English is widely spoken.

The official language of Honduras is Spanish, and the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism, more than four-fifths of the population being adherents. The largest of the remaining groups are Protestant, with notable congregations in the east and on the Bay Islands. There has been rapid growth in Protestant churches, especially since the upheaval caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

GOVERNMENT

Honduras was governed under the constitution of 1965 until 1972, when it was largely suspended after a coup. A new constitution was adopted in 1982. LOCATION

Honduras is approximately 1000 miles southwest of Miami and has a mainly mountainous area of 48,200 square miles. To the North it has a large coastal line with the Caribbean sea and to the South it enjoys a small access to the Pacific.

HISTORY

Honduras lies at what was the southern tip of the Mayan civilization that spread southwards from the YucatÐ"ÐŽn peninsula through modern Guatemala to the city of CopÐ"ÐŽn, now in north-west Honduras. The Mayan civilization collapsed long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, who visited Trujillo in north-east Honduras in 1502 on his third voyage to the new world. The country was colonized by Spain after some resistance by the Lenca peoples of the central highlands. Their chief, Lempira, who was murdered by the Spaniards, became a national symbol after independence.

On independence in 1821 Honduras joined the Central American Federation, and the Honduran general, Francisco MorazÐ"ÐŽn, became its first president. He also entered the phatheon of national heroes after he was killed in the break-up of the federation in 1839. Honduras' liberal revolution took place in the 1870s under the presidency of Marco Aurelio Soto.

In 1899 the first banana concession was granted to the Vacarro brothers; their company would later become Standard Fruit. In 1907 Sam Zemurray set up the Cuyamel Fruit Company; later bought by United Fruit. The unequal relationship that would exist between the companies and the Honduran state for the first half of the 20th century gave rise to the description "banana republic." Between 1932 and 1948 Honduras was ruled by a dictator, Tiburcio Carias Andino.

After the fall of Carias, Honduras began an uneven process of political and economic modernization. In 1954, Honduras signed a military treaty with the US government, which was concerned for its strategic interests in the region following the rise of the Arbenz government in Guatemala.

In 1957 a Liberal president, RamÐ"Ñ-n Villeda Morales, was elected. His administration promoted the first agrarian reform and saw the beginning of social welfare legislation. He also took Honduras into the Central American Common Market, the Mercado ComÐ"Ñ"n CentroamÐ"©ricano which was founded in 1960.

President Villeda was ousted from power by a military coup in 1963 and General Oswaldo LÐ"Ñ-pez Arellano became president. General LÐ"Ñ-pez Arellano tried to resolve growing land conflicts in the West at the cost of Salvadorian immigrants, and as a result, Honduras fought a brief war with El Salvador in 1967 that went into the history books as the "soccer war" since it was triggered by abusive treatment of the Honduran