Houndrous
... church and the state throughout the centuries, in the 1880s the Roman Catholic Church was stripped of some of its economic and political power. Nevertheless, in the twentieth century the church has remained an important social actor, and the vast majority of Hondurans have remained Roman Catholic. Church schools receive government subsidies, and religious instruction is part of the public school curriculum. Protestant, especially evangelical, churches have undergone a tremendous growth in membership during the 1980s. The largest numbers are found in Methodist, Church of God, Seventh Day Adventist, and Assemblies of God denominations. These churches sponsor social service programs in many communities, making them attractive to the lower classes. The evangelical leadership generally exerts a conservative influence on the political process. “Although Protestant membership was estimated at only 100,000 in 1990, Roman Catholic leaders apparently see growth of Protestant churches as a threat.” (lcweb2) Instances of criticism leveled at evangelicals by Roman Catholic leaders have increased; however, such criticisms have generally been ineffective in stemming the rise of converts to Protestant denominations. This religion conflict may cause problems between the Catholics and the Protestants like Northern Ireland’s civil war. Honduras has to make sure that the Catholics and the Protestants stay at rest and don’t last out at each other. · Politics and History In 1982 freely elected civilian president and National Congress inaugurated, returning country to constitutional rule after ten years of military-led government. New constitution, country's sixteenth, devised and ratified by Constituent Assembly in 1982. President, three presidential designates (vice presidents), deputies of 134-member Congress, and nine justices of Supreme Court of Justice all serve four-year terms. President appoints and dismisses twelve secretaries of state and two other agency directors, who form Council of Ministers, or cabinet. Most heads of various decentralized autonomous and semiautonomous agencies appointed by, or with concurrence of, president, who also appoints eighteen departmental governors. Local governments (municipios), including mayor and five- to seven-member council, normally elected every two to three years. Revolve around Liberal Party of Honduras and National Party of Honduras. Since late 1960s, armed forces have evolved as principal political force, governing directly, influencing general policy, or controlling national security affairs. Private enterprise sector, labor, peasants, teachers, and professionals all highly organized and actively pursue own interests through a variety of means, including media, personal contact with officials, rallies, and demonstrations. · Manufacturing The country's manufacturing sector was small, contributing only 15 percent to the total GDP in 1992. Textile exports, primarily to the United States, led the Honduran manufacturing sector. The maquiladora, or assembly industry, was a growth industry in the generally bleak economy. Asian-owned firms dominated the sector, with twenty-one South Korean-owned companies in export processing zones located in the Río Sula valley in 1991. The export textile manufacturing industry all but wiped out small, Honduran manufacturers, and food processors, whose goods were historically aimed at the domestic market, were also adversely affected. The small Honduran firms could not begin to compete with the assembly industry for labor because of the maquiladoras' relatively high wage scale of close to “US$4 per day.”(Jonas 65) Small firms also found it increasingly difficult to meet the high cost of mostly imported inputs. This resulted that the “membership in the Honduran Association of Small and Medium Industry (Asociación Hondureña de Empresas Pequeñas y Medianas) declined by 70 percent by 1991.” (lcweb2) Honduran domestic manufacturers also suffered from increased Central American competition resulting from a trade liberalization pact signed in May 1991 by Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Overall, the Honduran manufacturing sector has mimicked other sectors of the economy--it is mostly noncompetitive, even in a regional context, because of insufficient credit and the high cost of inputs. Relatively high interest rates and a complicated investment law have also inhibited the foreign-dominated manufacturing sector from taking off. In order for Honduras to be successful in manufacturing Honduras needs to beat their competitors. Honduras either needs to manufacture something that no one else is that is in demand. Or find a ways to produce for cheaper. Possibly slack up on their interest rates and investment laws. · Services and High Tech The Honduran financial sector is small in comparison to the banking systems of its neighbors. After 1985, however, the sector began to grow rapidly. The average annual growth rate of value added to the economy from the financial sector for the 1980s was the second-highest in Latin America, averaging 4 percent. By 1985 Honduras had twenty-five financial institutions with 300 branch offices. Honduran commercial banks held 60 percent of the financial system's assets in 1985 ...