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Honduras
Honduras is a country in Central America. The capital is Tegucigalpa. The main religion is Christianity (Catholicism). The main language is Spanish. Once part of Spain's vast empire in the New World, Honduras became an independent nation in 1821. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, Honduras proved a haven for anti-Sandinista contras fighting the Marxist Nicaraguan Government and an ally to Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage.

1. Some five centuries ago, Spanish conquistadores explored the unknown lands and seas of the Americas. It was these early explorers who first settled most of South and Central America and claimed their discoveries for Spain. In many places, the explorers found the uncharted offshore waters unusually deep and treacherous. According to Honduran legend, Christopher Columbus, after escaping a storm in the rough and dangerous seas, is said to have exclaimed, "Thank God, we are safely out of these depths". It is perhaps for this reason that the name Honduras, meaning "depths", was given to the newly discovered territories.
Honduras is a land of mountains and rolling hills, of pleasant valleys, sparkling lakes, and winding rivers. Its forests are rich in lumber; its mines yield silver, gold, and tin; and fish of all varieties swim in its rivers. Yet in this land of plenty, many people are still poorly fed, poorly clothed, and poorly housed. The capital city of Honduras is Tegucigalpa.

2. Honduras is the second-largest country in Central America. Nicaragua (the largest Central American country) borders Honduras to the southeast. Guatemala lies to the northwest, while El Salvador is to the southwest. The northern coastline of Honduras extends for 350 mi (560 km) along the Caribbean Sea, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean's Gulf of Fonseca wash the country's short southwestern shore.
The Central American Cordillera runs through Honduras from the northeast to the southwest. About 80 percent of the land is mountainous; the remainder is made up of coastal and river plains. Many rivers the Aguán, the Sico, the Patuca, and the Ulúa cut through the highlands to the Caribbean Sea. The Coco and Poteca rivers form the boundary between Honduras and Nicaragua. A deep valley runs about 175 mi (280 km) south from the Ulúa River to a point near the Gulf of Fonseca.
Honduras can be divided into distinct geographic zones. The Mosquito Coast near the Nicaraguan border is a hot, humid region densely covered with rain forests. Named for the Miskito Indians who once inhabited the region, it is now sparsely settled. The Caratasca Lagoon, a large body of salt water connected to the sea by a narrow inlet, lies in this area. The ecological balance of this region is seriously threatened by careless exploitation and even eradication of its unique and irreplaceable resources.
A second zone, the Costa Norte, includes the fertile lowlands along the Caribbean Sea. These plains extend inland as far as 75 mi (120 km). This is the land of banana plantations and several important port cities. Most Hondurans live in the third and largest zone the central highlands. There can be found the country's highest mountains as well as Lake Yojoa, Honduras' largest body of fresh water. The mountains have a number of volcanic peaks, all of which are now silent. But for thousands of years, their lava erupted over the land, creating the country's rich soils. From the cool highlands, the Ulúa River winds through the mountains and valleys to its outlet on the Caribbean Sea. The small remaining portion of the country is the Pacific lowland, an area of grassy savannas and fertile grazing lands. The cattle town of Choluteca, one of the country's oldest settlements, is located there.

3. In the late 16th century, Spanish conquistadores founded the city of Tegucigalpa high in the central highlands of Honduras. Some historians say that the city's name comes from an Indian word meaning "hill of silver"; others believe it means "place of the pointed stones". Either explanation would apply to the modern city: Tegucigalpa stands at an elevation of more than 3,000 ft (900 m) in the middle of silver-mining country, surrounded by towering, craggy hills. The city lies across the Choluteca River from its sister city, Comayagua, the old capital. Tegucigalpa holds the distinction of being one of the few capitals in the world without a railroad station; it can be reached only by airplane or by car.
The city retains much of its colonial charm. Some of the sidewalks are paved with colorful mosaics, and many of the buildings have red-tiled roofs. Overlooking the city is United Nations National Park on Picacho Mountain. The park is noted for its magnificent gardens of tropical plants and flowers, among them beautiful Honduran orchids. Tegucigalpa is a pleasant place to visit, with museums, churches, and a cathedral, as well as the Presidential Palace and its well-tended lawns and gardens. Gradually, the city is becoming an industrial center.
Honduras' second-largest city, San Pedro Sula, is home to a thriving population. Dominating the commercial heartland of the Costa Norte, it is in the center of banana and sugarcane country. The city is also a rapidly developing center of light industry. San Pedro Sula was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. Laid out in the typical Spanish colonial checkerboard style, the city has lovely plazas, small squares, and palm-lined streets. A statue of the country's national hero Indian chief Lempira stands on one of the avenues.

4. Honduras is a land whose natural resources make it potentially one of the richest countries in Central America. Nevertheless, the typical Honduran farmer frequently lives in poverty. The farmers, called campesinos, live in rural areas and make up more than three-fourths of the Honduran population. Intermittently along the inland valleys, the campesinos grow corn on small, isolated milpas, or farms. Modern agricultural methods have been slow in coming to the country, and a simple hoe and machete are often the only tools available. Mountain ranges that rise to more than 9,000 ft (3,000 m) separate villages from one another. Most campesinos must travel by foot or on horseback to visit a nearby town. Dirt roads that lead between villages or even just to the homes of neighbors are often washed out during the rainy season (May to November) or hidden by clouds of dust and smog during the dry season. Centuries of poverty and hard labor have made the Hondurans earnest, serious people. Most are Spanish-speaking Roman Catholics, with a strong devotion to traditional customs and to their families. Nine out of 10 Hondurans are mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian). Of the rest, most are Indian. There are few Europeans, and small groups of blacks live along the Caribbean coast. A few English-speaking Hondurans live on the Bay Islands in the Caribbean Sea. The population of Honduras is growing at a rate of nearly 3 percent annually despite a low average life expectancy. Medical facilities, particularly in the upland valleys, are scarce.
For most campesinos, their customary isolation is interrupted only by market days and religious festivals, occasions during which they enjoy the sociability of friends and the generally festive atmosphere that affords them some temporary relief from their daily struggles.
Music and dancing are integral parts of these celebrations. The two favorite instruments are the marimba, particularly popular in the rural areas, and the caramba, found in the towns and villages. One of the most popular dances is the sique, which has its origins in the dances of the early Indians. A favorite dance in the Costa Norte region is the máscaro, which shows strong African influences. The performers of this dance often paint their bodies and wear brightly colored masks.
Food in Honduras is similar to that in other Central American countries. Maize (corn) and frijoles (beans) are the staples, and nacatamales (large corn cakes stuffed with vegetables and meat) are favorites. Two local dishes the Hondurans are particularly fond of are mondongo, a stew made of chopped tripe; and tapado, a dish made of beef, vegetables, and yucca.
Hondurans are a devout people. Religious practices, particularly in rural areas, often blend Roman Catholicism and ancient Indian ceremonies. Local saint's days are often celebrated at ferias, or fairs. These are particularly festive occasions sometimes enlivened by processions of colorfully costumed paraders. During Holy Week (the week preceding Easter), many celebrations take place throughout the country. One of the liveliest occurs in Tegucigalpa in honor of San Benito, the patron saint of cooks.
School in Honduras is free and compulsory for children from 7 to 15, although many areas lack sufficient educational facilities. The country's one university, founded by Father José Trinidad Reyes in 1845, is in Tegucigalpa, with branches in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. As in most Central American countries, university education emphasizes law and the liberal arts. The traditional two-class system with a small, elite upper class and a large, poverty-stricken lower class is perpetuated to some extent in the country's educational system. Most of the students who attend the private secondary schools and the university are the children of wealthy landowners.
In the field of fine arts, Honduras has not fulfilled the promise of the Maya, the country's earliest painters and sculptors. In the field of literature, however, several Hondurans have made important contributions. During the colonial period, José Cecilio del Valle, the political leader and framer of the Central American Declaration of Independence, was also a prominent scholar and newspaper publisher. Among the country's best-known writers of the 20th century is the poet-historian Rafael Heliodoro Valle.

5. Economically, Honduras can be divided into two separate regions: the highlands and the Caribbean coast. The country was originally dependent upon the silver mines of the mountains; as recently as 1915, silver was the leading export. Honduras boasts the richest mineral resources of Central America. Lead, zinc, silver, gold, antimony, mercury, copper, and iron all lie within its borders.
Historically, the grassy basins of the highlands provided another source of income: the cattle haciendas, or ranches. In past decades, ranching languished, but today cattle raisers are upgrading their herds. Meatpacking plants are being established, so that livestock products are becoming a significant export. The most important export crop grown in the highland area is coffee. Less than 20 percent of the land area of Honduras is under cultivation a figure that includes the small subsistence farms.
Much of the country is covered with forests. Honduras was once famous for its mahogany trees, but pine is now the main commercial forest product. Lumbering is difficult because of poor roads; it is also an ecologically unsound practice that can permanently strip the fragile land of its fertility. Deforestation in Honduras has already upset the ecological balance, lowered reservoir levels, and caused severe power shortages.
Compared to the highlands, the Caribbean coastal areas seem almost like a different country. In the late 19th century, banana cultivation was introduced; by the 1930s, Honduran plantations many of them owned by U.S. fruit companies were the world's largest suppliers of bananas. The coastal area became the republic's most industrialized region, where livestock production, food-processing plants, and small industry flourished.
The political turbulence that plagued Honduras and its neighbors negatively affected the Honduran economy. Although regional strife has waned, land ownership is still concentrated in the hands of a few well-to-do families and the banana companies. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated the country's banana and coffee plantations, local infrastructure, and the flourishing export processing zone in the San Pedro Sula region, killing thousands and severely setting back economic recovery.

6. Nearly 1,000 years before Columbus discovered the Bay Islands, the great Mayan civilization flourished in the temple city of Copán. Mayan artists carved stone animals and human figures and created works in gold, silver, and jade. Mayan astronomer-priests conceived of the numeral zero and developed a system of measurement and an accurate calendar. The ruins of their terraced pyramids and sunken courts can still be seen at Copán. Archaeologists particularly prize the stelae, or record stones tall columns carved with hieroglyphic symbols and dates. Long before the arrival of European explorers, the Mayan civilization had vanished mysteriously. In 1502, on his fourth voyage to the New World, Columbus landed on the island of Guanaja, one of the Bay Islands in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Honduras. When Spanish explorers later reached the mainland, they found few vestiges of the great Mayan civilization that had built the fabulous city of Copán. Instead, they were confronted by groups of Indians chiefly the Jicaques who strove to repel them and retain control of the land. In a last desperate bid to drive out the Spaniards, the great chieftain Lempira rallied some 30,000 warriors, but even this force could not bring about a victory for the Indians. A peace meeting was arranged, and Lempira was murdered. News of his death spread rapidly, and the loss of their leader left the Indian forces in disarray. Today Hondurans remember the brave Lempira; his name, which has become a symbol of liberty and valor, has been given to the country's currency.
Throughout the colonial period, Honduras was part of the captaincy general of Guatemala. In 1821, Honduras, along with many of the other countries of South and Central America, declared its independence. From 1823 to 1838, Honduras was a member of the federation known as the United Provinces of Central America, one of whose presidents was the great statesman Francisco Morazán the modern-day national hero of Honduras. Morazán struggled to strengthen the federation, but local rivalries were too intense, and his dream of a united, harmonious alliance came to an end.
Once the union collapsed, Honduras suffered the fate of most of its neighbors. Internal political struggles plagued the government as liberals and conservatives vied for control. The liberals, imbued with the ideas of social reform advocated by Morazán and a later president, Marco Aurelio Soto, were pitted against the conservatives, who sought to perpetuate the interests of the large landowners. Border disputes erupted frequently; in 1969, they led to a brief war between Honduras and neighboring El Salvador (generally known as the "Soccer War"). Honduras ultimately suspended trade with El Salvador for 12 years (until 1982). The century-long territorial dispute was finally settled by the World Court in 1992.
Since independence, several constitutions have been put into effect and later discarded. The army frequently has dictated who would hold office in Honduras. Between 1957 and 1982, the country had only two civilian presidents; both were forced out of office by the military. Although Honduras returned to civilian rule in 1982 under a new constitution and has had several peaceful elections since that time, the army remained a powerful force. It doubled in size during the 1980s, largely because of U.S. aid, and bases in Honduras were used to train Salvadoran forces and contra rebels fighting to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. With peace talks taking place in Guatemala and peace accords signed in Nicaragua (1989) and El Salvador (1991), Honduras no longer faces the threat of involvement in the civil wars of neighboring countries. Carlos Roberto Reina, who became president in 1994, worked to reduce the influence of the military. In 1997 voters cast ballots for individual presidential candidates rather than for a political party; Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse was the victor. The armed forces were subordinated to the civilian president in January 1999. Ricardo Maduro won the 2001 presidential election.

ECONOMY OVERVIEW
Honduras, the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with an extraordinarily unequal distribution of income and massive unemployment, is banking on expanded trade under the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and on debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Despite improvements in tax collections, the government's fiscal deficit is growing due to increases in current expenditures and financial losses from the state energy and telephone companies. Honduras is the fastest growing remittance destination in the region with inflows representing over a quarter of GDP, equivalent to nearly three-quarters of exports. The economy relies heavily on a narrow range of exports, notably bananas and coffee, making it vulnerable to natural disasters and shifts in commodity prices, however, investments in the maquila and non-traditional export sectors are slowly diversifying the economy. Growth remains dependent on the economy of the US, its largest trading partner, and on reduction of the high crime rate, as a means of attracting and maintaining investment.

DISPUTES - INTERNATIONAL:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on the delimitation of "bolsones" (disputed areas) along the El Salvador-Honduras border in 1992 with final settlement by the parties in 2006 after an Organization of American States (OAS) survey and a further ICJ ruling in 2003; the 1992 ICJ ruling advised a tripartite resolution to a maritime boundary in the Gulf of Fonseca with consideration of Honduran access to the Pacific; El Salvador continues to claim tiny Conejo Island, not mentioned in the ICJ ruling, off Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca; Honduras claims the Belizean-administered Sapodilla Cays off the coast of Belize in its constitution, but agreed to a joint ecological park around the cays should Guatemala consent to a maritime corridor in the Caribbean under the OAS-sponsored 2002 Belize-Guatemala Differendum; memorials and countermemorials were filed by the parties in Nicaragua's 1999 and 2001 proceedings against Honduras and Colombia at the ICJ over the maritime boundary and territorial claims in the western Caribbean Sea - final public hearings are scheduled for 2007.

ILLICIT DRUGS:
transshipment point for drugs and narcotics; illicit producer of cannabis, cultivated on small plots and used principally for local consumption; corruption is a major problem; some money-laundering activity.

President: Ricardo Maduro (2002) PNH
The president is elected for a four year year term by the people. The government is formed by the PNH.

Parliament: The Congreso Nacional (National Congress) has 128 members, elected for four year term by proportional representation.

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