Honduran Electoral Politics and Military Rule: The Geopolitics of Central America

摘要

Hondurans find themselves near the epicenter of change and revolution in Central America. The sudden acquisition of geopolitical importance is new for the country. A civilian government is slated to take office in late January 1982 after nearly ten years of direct rule by the Armed Forces of Honduras. The return to constitutional rule began as early as 1976 when an Advisory Council (CONASE), set up by former Chief of State General Juan Melgar Castro, was charged with devising a new electoral law. The Constituent Assembly electron of 1980 was the next phase. The Assembly has modified the electoral law and is about to conclude its work on a new constitution. The final phase of moving from military to civilian government includes electrons scheduled for 29 November 1981 in which voters will select the president of the republic, deputies to the National Congress, and local officials--the first such elections in ten years. The 1981 electrons are significant in practical terms, for the symbolic importance they will have for Hondurans, and the impact they can have in Central America. No less significant are the perturbing questions that the Honduran situation poses for U. S. policymakers.