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He is on one of the list of the most dangerous countries in the world, with an average of 16 fatal deaths per day. The land is famous for its beautiful women, but sadly, these women are bought and sold once a quarter. The government and the underground are closely intertwined, and the daily situation is rife with violent conflicts or their critical status. We can't help but ask, why is Honduras so messy?
Where is Honduras?
Honduras is located in the northern part of Central America, bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the east, Nicaragua to the southwest, and Guatemala to the northwest. The terrain of Honduras is diverse, with plains and hills in the north and vast mountains and plateaus in the south. The country is divided into three main geographical regions: the lowlands along the Caribbean coast, the mountains in the north, and the plains on the Pacific coast.
The Caribbean coast is an important natural resource area, densely forested, and one of the few untouched rainforest areas in the world. However, the area is also often hit by hurricanes, which have had an impact on the lives of local residents. In the mountainous and highland regions of the south, rich mineral resources and a favorable environment for coffee cultivation have become the two pillars of Honduras' economy.
Honduras has a population of about 10 million people, most of which are concentrated in the northern coastal and western mountainous areas. Tegucigalpa is the capital and the most populous city, with more than a million inhabitants. Honduras has a high population growth rate, but it also faces the challenge of a large number of young people migrating abroad.
The population of Honduras consists mainly of Latino, Indian, Afro-descendant, European-descended and other minorities. Among them, Latinos are the largest group, accounting for about 90% of the total population. The aboriginal Indians, including the Rumba and Chiortega peoples, have retained a rich traditional culture and language. The northern Caribbean coast is also home to a large number of people of African descent whose ancestors were brought here as slaves during the colonial period.
In fact, between 1000 BC and 900 AD, it was part of the Mayan civilization. The Maya worked the land and built huge city-states. However, the decline of the Mayan civilization opened a new page in the history of Honduras. In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Spanish conquistadors set foot on the land. They brought with them new cultures, religions, and languages, as well as the misery of colonization and the plundering of resources. Honduras' valuable resources were discovered, and large quantities of precious metals were shipped back to Europe.
In 1821, Honduras followed Mexico in declaring independence from Spain, but true freedom did not come easily. In 1823, it became part of the Federal Republic of Central America, and it was not until the dissolution of the federation in 1838 that Honduras became a truly independent state. But post-independence Honduras was not peaceful, civil strife and coups became the norm in the country, and political stability became a distant dream. At the beginning of the 20th century, the economy of Honduras was established with a banana-centric economic model. The American Fruit Company controls most of Honduras' banana production, which not only brings economic growth to Honduras, but also earns it the nickname "Banana Republic".
Why is Honduras so messy?
The economic structure of Honduras is mainly based on agriculture, industrial production, service and tourism. Bananas and coffee are the two most critical of exports, accounting for almost half of total export earnings. The point is that this place is not only a large source of copper, zinc, and lead, but also contains precious minerals such as gold and silver, especially in the leading position of silver ore reserves.
It stands to reason that Honduras should be rich, but it backfired. This has to do with its history. At that time, in order to ensure its economic and strategic interests in Central America, the United States began to intervene in the internal affairs of Honduras, and used economic aid and military force to support pro-American governments and factions, which led to a number of military coups in Honduras and an extremely turbulent political situation. This unstable political situation has made it difficult for Honduras to develop an internal environment for long-term stable development, which in turn has exacerbated economic and social instability.
The United States and Standard Fruit Company have vigorously promoted banana cultivation in Honduras, making it a "banana republic". This homogeneous economic structure has made the Honduran economy highly dependent on banana exports, especially to the United States. This dependence has led to the loss of economic autonomy and the possibility of diversified development in Honduras. The huge volume of banana transactions has brought endless wealth to American companies, but the company's management is extremely greedy, and in the process of constantly selling bananas to the United States, they are increasingly exploiting their employees. Employees who work hard in the company's premises work more than 10 hours a day, and they are only paid enough to make ends meet.
Over time, the discontent of the workers accumulated, which eventually led to several large-scale strikes and protest actions. At this time, United Fruit came up with a very vicious plan: they used a lot of money to bribe the governments of various countries, so that they sent the military and police to brutally suppress the workers, and at the same time developed their own private army.
Although commercial "empires" such as United Fruit were expelled from Honduras in the 70s, the problems of economic development and structure left behind are difficult to fundamentally solve in a short period of time. Due to the extremely difficult living conditions in Honduras, many residents have turned to neighbouring countries for business and trade. However, their neighbor El Salvador was strongly resentful, believing that these Honduran businessmen had made their fortune by trading on their own soil and had used the money to buy large amounts of land. This practice has caused growing tensions between the two countries. A series of wars ensued.
With the joint mediation of the United States and other countries in the Americas, the conflict was finally resolved. But the war has plunged both countries into extreme poverty. Due to the pressure of poverty, Honduras has frequent coups d'état, almost every year. On average, there is at least one coup d'état a year, and if a government can stay in power for three consecutive years, it is considered quite stable in this situation. Coupled with the fact that the United States opened its doors to immigrants at the time, a large number of Hondurans seeking to escape poverty chose to leave for the United States. However, the United States is not a dream for the poor, where they lack the expertise and are often confined to criminal activities, with the result that the U.S. government has to repatriate the perpetrators to Honduras.
As a result, these gangsters quickly gathered in the local area to form a large gang group, causing chaos in the city, and even colluding with these illegal groups by government agencies. In this country, 90.4 people are murdered per 100,000 people, the second highest murder rate in the world. It is followed by neighbouring El Salvador, which has a murder rate of 173 percent.
Honduras' terrible nightlife, there are even bazaars to buy wives
The British newspaper Daily Mail once aired a documentary that profoundly revealed the tragic situation of discrimination and oppression against women in Honduras, including the existence of a terrible "wife for sale" market. Women in Honduras have a low status in society and have long been treated as second-class citizens, often subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Such high gender inequality, combined with the twin blows of poverty and weak legal protections, makes the situation extremely difficult for women. According to reports, the number of women who died as a result of violence quadrupled between 2005 and 2013, indicating that the magnitude of the problem has reached alarming proportions.
The fact that women are traded as commodities is not only a serious affront to women's dignity, but also a flagrant violation of human rights. The bazaar is only held every three months and is said to be a legacy of the ancient Mayan culture, but it continues to exist in modern society. In such bazaars, women are forced to be the object of trade, whether through family arrangements or forced to be traded, they lose the right to freely choose their lives, and exploitation and abuse become a daily routine. To make matters worse, some families have even sent their daughters to the bazaar to trade in order to escape poverty. In addition, criminals will also use kidnapping, deception and other means to sell women to such bazaars and become their tools for profit.
Despite this, few people have come forward to denounce this inhumane act, and the government has been unable to address this stubborn problem. On the one hand, rigid laws and punishment mechanisms have not been effective in combating such crimes. On the other hand, entrenched gender discrimination makes it difficult for women to get the support and help they deserve. This vicious cycle exacerbates the severity of the problem and makes it difficult for women to seek effective protection and redress after being harmed.