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Honduras MILITARY FINANCES
Defense Budget
The Honduran National Congress has little say in
determining how
the armed forces spends the defense budget. Congress
approves a
single lump-sum amount, with little debate or itemization
and no
oversight. The chief of the armed forces has the authority
to make
all final spending decisions for the military.
During the 1980s, increases in the defense budget were
fueled by
military assistance from the United States in the form of
Foreign
Military Sales (FMS), the Military Assistance Program
(MAP), and
the International Military Education Training (IMET)
program
(see United States Military Assistance and Training
, this ch.).
Between
1983 and 1989, these programs provided Honduras with a
yearly
average of US$47.59 million in military assistance. The
advent of
peace in Central America led to a sharp drop in military
assistance
after 1991--down from US$33.5 in 1991 to US$16.3 million
in 1992,
and to only US$2.7 million in 1993. The rise in foreign
assistance
and subsequent dramatic reductions had a corresponding
effect on
Honduran military expenditures.
Honduran military spending averaged US$72.4 million a
year
between 1982 and 1988, reaching a peak of US$126 million
in 1989.
Later, during 1992 and 1993, the official defense budgets
averaged
only US$44.2 million. At the beginning of the 1994
government
budget process, it appeared likely that military
expenditures would
drop further. The sharp decline in spending has led to
significant
reductions in the size and capabilities of the armed
forces
(see The Armed Forces
, this ch.).
Data as of December 1993
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