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Honduras HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
One of the most important aspects of the Armed Forces
of Honduras (Fuerzas Armadas de Honduras--FAH) is its
political and economic influence. In some Central American countries,
such as Guatemala and El Salvador, the armed forces emerged during
the late nineteenth century as an appendage of powerful new coffee
oligarchies. Its primary function was to maintain peace or
to restore it in rural areas suffering from the major
dislocations that coffee cultivation produced. In Honduras, however, it
was the lack of government continuity and the desire of caudillos
(political strongmen) to control the central government
that eventually led to the creation of the Honduran military.
This difference in origins is important because it explains
differences in contemporary military behavior. The Honduran military
never developed a strong and overriding allegiance to a landed
oligarchy or to any other single economic interest group; it could
thus play a mediating role when the interests of the oligarchy
clashed with those of the less privileged classes.
Although the political role that the armed forces has
historically performed has remained largely the same,
major changes in military organization and structure have occurred since
national independence was achieved in 1838. The evolution of the
armed forces took place in three stages. From 1838 until 1922,
the military was a tool of the political faction or party in
power. Between 1922 and 1963, the military forged an independent
institutional identity (with guidance and aid from the
United States). After 1963 a number of national and international
developments occurred that moved the armed forces farther
along the road toward institutional consolidation and organizational
sophistication.
Data as of December 1993
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