An enthusiastic Impunity Observer follower, Daniel Cruz, joins our podcast to discuss Honduras’s sociopolitical challenges. A Canadian-Honduran, Cruz lays out how electoral fraud, corruption, and clientelism have become everyday features of Honduran politics.
He argues that many elected officials “treat the country like a hacienda,” seeking to get a bigger slice of the pie. A never-ending search for a presidential “savior” opens the door to populism and caudillo rule.
Looking ahead, he warns that electoral fraud is likely to recur, with the ruling party finding different ways to manipulate results. Even so, Cruz stresses that Hondurans love their country and many in the large diaspora hope to return and invest in her future.
For Cruz, a key first step to bolstering Hondurans is restoring traditional allies, especially the United States and Taiwan. In his book USA versus China: The Geoeconomics Strategy, he argues that open trade with China functions as a gateway for state-backed firms, a flood of cheap products, and a strategic invasion for the Chinese Communist Party across the continent. As a remedy, Cruz advocates strengthening local industry so it can sell more into the US market.
Recommended Links
- Follow Daniel Cruz on X.
- Buy the book USA versus China: The Geoeconomics Strategy.
- “Three Regional Trends That Hinge on Honduras,” by Fergus Hodgson.
- “Institutionality Is Northern Triangle’s Unresolved Duty,” by Claudia Amaya.
- “Five Takeaways from Honduras’s Latest Corruption Scandals,” by Paz Gómez.
