1821

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "The rivalry between Tegucigalpa and Comayagua helped precipitate the final collapse of Spanish authority in Honduras...The weakened Spanish government was unable to end Comayagua's defiance, and for a time civil strife threatened to break out. Conflict was averted by the decision made by all the Central American provinces on September 15, 1821, to declare their independence from Spain. This action failed to resolve the dispute between Tegucigalpa and Comayagua, however; the former now urged the creation of a unified Central American state, while the latter favored union with the Empire of Mexico under the rule of General Augustín de Iturbide. Ultimately, Comayagua's position prevailed, and in early 1822 the Central American provinces declared their allegiance to Mexico" (pages 12-13).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Jóse Gregorio Tinoco de Contreras, as the last Spanish governor of Honduras, is the first governor of Honduras after independence (volume 1 page 9).

1822

Becerra 1994: "La primera elección con 'sufragio popular' se realizó en Honduras el 10 de marzo de 1822. Tuvo efecto con motivo de elegirse los diputados que irían por Centroamérica al Congreso Federal Mexicano" (volume 1 page 332). "La forma del sufragio fue la misma que entonces era común en eventos de tal naturaleza: el 'voto público' ante un escrutador nombrado al efecto" (volume 1 page 333).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Gives the number of votes for each option of organization by the "ayuntamientos" in the Central American provinces (volume 1 page 25).

1823

Becerra 1994: "(E)l segundo evento electoral en Honduras...[fue] la elección de los diputados que irían por [Honduras al Congreso del Estado de Centroamérica]...Las elecciones se efectuaron el 10 de mayo de 1823 conforme a lo establecido por el Acta [del 15 de Septiembre]" (volume 1 page 333). Reproduces the portions relating to the election of representatives.

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "In March 1823, Iturbide was overthrown in Mexico, and the empire was replaced by a republic. The Central American Congress, in which Comayagua but not Tegucigalpa was represented, was quickly convened. With little debate, the United Provinces of Central America declared their independence from Mexico...From its 1823 inception, the new federation (the United Provinces of Central America) faced a series of ultimately unresolvable problems. Instead of engendering a spirit of unity, Spanish rule had fostered divisions and local suspicions...At least equally serious was the division of the politically active population into conservative and liberal factions" (page 13). Details the distinctions between these two points of view.

1824

Becerra 1994: The constitution for the Central American federation goes into effect on November 22, 1824 and recognizes each state as "libre e independiente en su gobierno y administración interior" (volume 1 page 333). Gives the details of the portions of the constitution governing elections (volume 1 pages 334-335).

Caceres Lara 1978: "El 16 de septiembre de 1824 la Asamblea Constituyente del Estado de Honduras...eligió Jefe del Estado al ciudadano Dionisio de Herrera" (page 3).

Taplin 1972: Dionisio Herrera is "elected September 16, 1824, by the state constituent assembly which convened at the Mineral de Cedro in accordance with the decree of the national congress in Guatemala" (page 123).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Gives the number of deputies from each Central American province to be elected to their provincial constituent assemblies (volume 1 page 38). "En Honduras se organizó el Primer Congreso Constitutivo, en Cedros, el 29 de agosto de 1824. Luego hizo su traslado a Tegucigalpa para continuar los debates, los que se reanudaron el 16 de septiembre inmediato, día en que se practicó el escrutinio de los votos emitidos para designar al Jefe, Vice-Jefe y Senadores del Estado. Por no haber mayoría de votos para ningún mienbro del Poder Ejecutivo, la Asamblea, de acuerdo con la ley, procedió a elegir dichos funcionarios, de entre los que había recibido sufragio para tales cargos, resultando favorecidos, por su orden, los ciudadanos Dionisio de Herrera y José Justo Milla" (page 52).

1825

July

Taplin 1972: Honduras is divided into seven departments (page 123).

December

Parker 1981: First constitution is completed in December 1825 (page 185).

1826

Taplin 1972: In April 1826 "the ordinary legislature was installed at Tegucigalpa, the representative council at Comayagua. The assembly ordered new elections for jefe político, holding that Herrera's tenure was provisional" (page 123).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Congress convenes on April 5 and accepts the resignation of vice-president José Justo Milla on April 7. Gives details of the discussion in congress for elections to replace the president, although the article under which he had been appointed had specified a four-year term. The conservative majority overrules the objections of the liberals and calls for elections (volume 1 page 53).

1827

May 10: Government overthrown by Coronel José Justo Milla

Caceres Lara 1978: Milla imposes Cleto Bendaña as president (page 11).

Taplin 1972: José Justo Milla "took control upon the overthrow of Herrera, [and] was supported by Arce, president of the confederation who wanted the liberals overthrown in Honduras" (page 123).

November

Caceres Lara 1978: Francisco Morazán defeats Milla and is declared provisional president of Honduras (page 13).

1830

June 22

Caceres Lara 1978: Morazán is elected president of the Federal Republic of Central America and resigns his position as leader of Honduras (page 15).

Presidential election

Caceres Lara 1978: No candidate wins a majority of the vote and the Congress elects Joaquín Rivera, who refuses to assume the presidency because he has not won the popular election (pages 15 and 31). Congress appoints José Antonio Márquez in his place (page 21).

1832

March: President killed in battle, Francisco Milla assumes presidency

Caceres Lara 1978: Francisco Milla as acting president calls for a popular election in which Joaquín Rivera is elected president (page 31).

October

Zúñiga Huete 1987: A constituent assembly is convened on October 10, 1832 (volume 1 page 85).

December

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Congress elects Joaquín Rivera president on December 31, 1832 (volume 1 pages 85-86).

1837

Presidential election (Herrera)

Caceres Lara 1978: "Fue elegido popularmente" (page 45).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Justo José Herrera is "declarado constitucionalmente electo gobernante" on May 28, 1837 (volume 1 page 93).

1838

Becerra 1994: "Al romperse la Federación Centroamericana bajo la acción destructora de sus enemigos, Honduras se declara desligada de aquélla el 26 de octubre de 1838" (page 335).

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "On May 30, 1838, the Central American Congress removed Morazán from office, declared that the individual states could establish their own governments, and on July 7 recognized these as 'sovereign, free, and independent political bodies'" (page 14).

Merrill 1995: Honduras declares its independence from the United Provinces of Central America on November 15, 1838 (page xvi).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: The constituent assembly convenes on October 10, 1838 (volume 1 page 114).

1839

Becerra 1994: Honduras promulgates its first independent constitution on January 11, 1839 (page volume 1 page 335). "El Artículo 96, Sección XV, de este documento se refiere a la forma de elegir las autoridades supremas del nuevo Estado. El mismo expresa que tal actividad se hará por medio de elecciones 'populares directas,' es decir, en un solo acto del pueblo y no a través de 'electores primarios,' como ocurría en tiempos de la Federación." Reproduces other portions of the constitution that refer to elections (volume 1 pages 335-336).

Parker 1981: "In January 1939 Honduras...set itself up constitutionally as a separate government...Provisions were made for a unicameral legislature and a two-year president" (page 185).

Villanueva 1994: "La Constitución de 1839 establece la ciudadanía a los hondureños mayores de 18 años que tuvieren renta, oficio o modo de vivir conocido, pero con voto pasivo restringido" (page 133).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: The constitution of 1839 is promulgated (volume 1 page 114). Gives highlights, including "El Poder Legislativo se ejerce por una Cámara de Diputados electos por el pueblo, a razón de uno por cada Dpmto. o cada 20.000 habitantes....El Poder Ejecutivo se ejerce por un Presidente, electo popularmente, cada dos años."

1840

Presidential election (Ferrera / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: Ferrera is elected by Congress "por todos sus votos" (page 56) when no candidate wins a majority of the popular vote (page 61).

Durón 1982: "Por decreto de 6 de Junio, la Cámara convocó a elecciones: y el 30 de Diciembre, no apareciendo de hecho la elección de Presidente, eligió con totalidad de votos al General Francisco Ferrera" (page 164).

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "After the fifteen-month interim presidency of Francisco Zelaya Ayes (1849-40), conservative General Ferrera became independent Honduras's first elected president. Ferrera's two-year term (1841-42) was followed by a five-year period in which he alternately named himself president or allowed the congress to name an interim president while he maintained control of the country by holding the post then known as minister of war" (page 15).

Munro 1967: "Francisco Ferrera, supported by Carrera, held the supreme power from 1840 to 1852, first as president and then as commander-in-chief of the army" (page 122).

1843

Presidential election

Durón 1982: "(S)egún la nueva Constitución el periódo presidencial era de dos años. Ferrera fue reelegido para la Presidencia según decreto de 23 de Febrero de 1843" (page 165).

1845

January 8: Presidential election (Chavez)

Caceres Lara 1978: Congress elects Chavez to succeed Ferrera on January 8 (page 71).

Durón 1982: Ferrera succeeded by Coronando Chavez (page 166).

1847

Presidential election (Lindo / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: Congress elects Ferrera again but he resigns in favor of Juan Lindo, who is elected by Congress on January 13th (page 81).

Durón 1982: As there is no popular election for president, the assembly elects Juan Lindo (page 167). Lindo convokes a constituent assembly in 1847, which changes the presidential term to four years.

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "In 1847 Ferrera allowed fellow-conservative Juan Lindo Zelaya to assume the presidency" (page 15).

1848

Becerra 1994: "Dos novedades muy interesantes recoge esta Ley desde el punto de vista electoral. La primera consiste en que se introduce el principio (Articulo 17) de dividir el territorio hondureño en 'distritos electorales' de 15 mil habitantes cada uno para elegir un diputado propietario y un suplente por distrito...La otra novedad es que el Poder Legislativo se dividió en dos Cámaras, una de Diputados y otra de Senadores" (volume 1 page 336). Gives further details of the portions of the new constitution governing elections (volume 1 pages 336-337)..

Caceres Lara 1978: New constitution changes presidential term to four years, with reelection possible (page 85). Lindo is declared provisional president until elections can be called.

Parker 1981: "A new constitution prepared in February 1848 under Lindo's guidance brought back a bicameral legislature and changed the presidential term to four years" (page 185).

Villanueva 1994: "En 1848 la Constitución reforma los requisitos para obtener la ciudadanía y los condiciona a ser hondureño, mayor de 21 años, padre de familia y tener la propiedad que le asigne la ley, o sin ella, saber leer y escribir, o ser licenciado en cualquiera de las Facultades Mayores" (page 133).

Presidential election (Lindo / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: Lindo is reelected by popular vote and congressional declaration for four year term (page 85).

Durón 1982: Lindo reelected president (page 168).

1852

Presidential election (Cabañas / Liberal)

Caceres Lara 1978: No candidate wins the popular election so congress makes the appointment (page 91).

Durón 1982: General Trinidad Cabañas is elected to succeed Lindo (page 170).

Parker 1981: "(T)here was a peaceful transition of executive power to a candidate not chosen by his predecessor, an event almost without equal in nineteenth-century Central America. The new president was José Trinidad Cabañas, one-time general under Morazán and now the ranking liberal of the isthmus" (page 186).

1855

Munro 1967: "Trinidad Cabañas, a Liberal,...had been in office only three years when Carrera sent an army into the country to supplant him by Santos Guardiola" (page 122).

Stokes 1950: "Trinidad Cabañas was chosen president, but he was distasteful to the conservative administration in Guatemala, which attempted to install his enemy, Santos Guardiola, by force. On July 6, 1855, Cabañas was overthrown, and in February of the next year Guardiola was inaugurated as chief executive" (page 40).

1856

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "The fighting between liberals and conservatives was temporarily set aside because of the 1855 appearance in Central America of an American soldier of fortune, William Walker, who established himself as president of Nicaragua in 1856" (page 15).

February 14: Presidential election (Guardiola / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: "(S)e practicaron elecciones y como no resultó electo ningún ciudadano por mayoría absoluta de votos, la Cámara General eligió Presidente" (page 96).

Durón 1982: Elections are held and no candidate wins a majority, leading the assembly to elect on February 14^th General Santos Guardiola (page 172).

1860

Presidential election (Guardiola / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: Guardiola runs against his vice president Lazo, the Liberal candidate he had defeated in 1856 (page 107). "Los comicios fueron enteramente libres y en ellos ganó el General Guardiola por 20,531 votos en una base de 22,873 electores" (page 108). "Por primera vez un Presidente del Estado era elegido por el sufragio directo del pueblo."

Durón 1982: Guardiola is reelected (page 173).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Discusses election and gives total votes and votes for Guardiola (volume 1 page 226).

1862

January 11: President assassinated

Caceres Lara 1978: Guardiola is succeeded by Senator Francisco Montes in the absence of the vice president (page 117).

Durón 1982: Guardiola is assassinated on January 11 (page 173).

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "Guardiola was assassinated by his own honor guard in 1862, and the following decade witnessed the presidency change hands almost twenty times" (page 16).

February 4: Vice president Castellanos assumes power

December 11: Castellanos dies

Caceres Lara 1978: Francisco Montes assumes power (page 127).

Munro 1967: Montes, "allying himself to Salvador, became involved in a war against Guatemala and Nicaragua, and the victory of the two latter states resulted in the 'election' of José María Medina as president of Honduras" (page 122).

1864

February 15: Presidential election (Medina / Conservative)

Durón 1982: José María Medina is elected by popular vote. Gives votes he won and total votes cast (page 173).

Stokes 1950: "In the election of February 15, 1864, José María Medina became president assisted by the political leaders in Guatemala" (page 41).

1865

April 9: Constituent assembly election

Caceres Lara 1978: Medina asks congress to convoke a constituent assembly election (subsequently set for April 9, 1865) to change the constitution to allow him to be reelected (page 155). Gives names of elected representatives (page 157).

September 28: Constitution promulgated

Becerra 1994: "En 1865 hay un nuevo orden constitucional. Por primera vez se adopta la designación de República para el país" (volume 1 page 337). Details the electoral changes (volume 1 pages 337-338).

Caceres Lara 1978: Constitution bars successive presidential terms; Medina is appointed provisional president by the constituent assembly and popular elections are set for December 1 (page 159).

Posas 1983: "Medina convoca a la Asamblea Nacional Constituyente que deroga la Constitución Política de 1848, emitiendo en su lugar la de 1865, en que por primera vez, desde el punto de vista jurídico, se concede al país la nominación de República, se suprime el sistema legislativo bicameral implantado por Juan Lindo (1846-1852) -a quien también se debe la instauración del período presidencial de cuatro años...y se reinstaura el sistema legislativo unicameral" (page 25).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: "Se estipuló la base de 10.000 electores, para la designación de diputados al Congreso, en vez de 20.000 que requería la Carta Fundamental anterior...Se consignó, por primera vez, en el derecho constitucional hondureño, la no reelección del presidente de la república" (volume 1 page 251). "El Poder Legislativo se organizó en forma unicameral, debiendo celebrar sesiones cada dos años" (volume 1 page 252).

October 2: Medina transfers power to Crescencio Gómez

Caceres Lara 1978: Transfer is because of Medina's illness (page 160).

1866

Presidential election: (Medina / Conservative)

Caceres Lara 1978: Medina wins popular election and is appointed president by congress (pages 160-161).

Durón 1982: Medina is reelected by popular vote (page 174).

1869

August 13: Constituent assembly reelects Medina

Caceres Lara 1978: Constitution is rewritten and Medina declared president (page 172). "Más tarde, en vista de las protestas de la oposición se practicaron elecciones y Medina obtuvo 10,649 votos en favor y 542 en contra" (page 173).

Durón 1982: Medina has constitution changed to allow himself another term (pages 175-176).

1870

Acker 1988: "Gaining political power was not a very sophisticated process in the nineteenth century, when 'Honduran-style elections' became a byword for corruption. Few Hondurans had the vote, anyway, since an eligible voter had to be male, twenty-one, and literate. In 1870, when only 10,000 out of a total population of 350,000 attended school, and when primary education had only just begun, the eligible voters probably numbered less than 25,000" (page 72).

Durón 1982: Because of the general discontent with his government, Medina calls for a plebiscite. "El resultado del plebiscito fue el que deseaba" (page 176).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: "Pero Medina no estaba resuelto a dejar el poder, no obstante el principio de no reelección establecido en la Carta Fundamental. Para burlarle recurrió al gastado expediente del plebiscito en cabildos abiertos, procedimiento que fue aprobado por el Congreso y lo capacitó para encargarse del poder el 26 de marzo de 1870" (volume 1 page 255).

1872

Finney 1979: "In 1872, the Arias' presidency was imposed on Honduras by Guatemalan President Miguel García Granados as part of the Guatemalan liberals' effort to consolidate their 'revolution'" (page 95).

Munro 1967: Medina "was overthrown in 1872 by the intervention of the Liberals who had just returned to power in Guatemala and Salvador" (page 123).

Stokes 1950: "Céleo Arias was the candidate supported by Guatemala, and he was inaugurated as provisional president...on May 12, 1872" (page 31).

August 9: Medina imprisoned

1873

June 17

Caceres Lara 1978: Arias declares himself president (page 192).

July 16

Caceres Lara 1978: General Ponciano Leiva signs agreement with governments of El Salvador and Guatemala promising to maintain "la mayor armonía" with their regimes if he becomes president of Honduras (page 195). These governments then encourage Arias to resign.

Finney 1979: "Rival liberals in El Salvador..., reluctant to allow the Guatemalans to consolidate their hegemony in Central America, backed the moderate veteran campaigner Ponciano Leiva in an attempt to overthrow the Arias regime. Luis Bográn, President Arias' very young secretary of war and treasury, resigned his post and defected to serve with his fellow townsman, Leiva" (page 95).

November 23

Caceres Lara 1978: Leiva declares himself provisional president (pages 196-197).

December 14

Caceres Lara 1978: Arias convenes constituent assembly to give his government "carácter constitucional" (page 197).

1874

Presidential election (Leiva / Liberal)

Caceres Lara 1978: Arias resigns January 13^th. Leiva convenes a "Convención Nacional" which names him provisional president (page 203). He is then elected president by popular vote.

Durón 1982: "La Convención Nacional declaró en vigor la Constitución de 1865, y el 29 de Abril nombró a Leiva Presidente de la República. Elegido (Ponciano) Leiva por el voto popular tomó posesión de la Presidencia constitucionalmente" (page 179).

Stokes 1950: Arias is forced to resign on January 13, 1874 (page 41). "In April the national convention, which Leiva had called, annulled Arias' Constitution of 1873, restored the conservative document of 1865, and named Leiva president of the republic" (page 41).

1875

Civil war

1876

Munro 1967: In 1876 Leíva is forced to resign the presidency "by the intrigues of President Barrios of Guatemala" (page 123).

August 27

Caceres Lara 1978: Marco Aurelio Soto declares himself provisional president (page 219) and calls for presidential elections (page 220).

Finney 1979: "Guatemala's new strongman, Justo Rufino Barrios, initially backed José María Medina (who toppled Leiva from power in 1875), but then changed his mind and in an accord...with the new president of El Salvador...raised up one of his Honduran lieutenants, Marcos Aurelio Soto, against both Leiva and Medina" (page 95).

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "From 1876 until 1882, liberal president Marco Aurelio Soto governed Honduras with the support of Guatemalan strongman General Justo Rufino Barrios" (page 17).

1877

Caceres Lara 1978: Soto calls for presidential elections on April 22 and elections for a "Congreso Extraordinario" on April 25 (page 238). Soto receives 16,603 votes out of 20,635 cast (page 240).

Durón 1982: Marco Aurelio Soto is declared president, by the "Congreso Extraordinario" that he had called, on the basis of a popular election (page 183). Gives total votes cast and votes for Soto.

Zúñiga Huete 1987: "Desde el 27 de agosto la administración del novel gobernante fue de facto, con el carácter de pacificador, hasta mayo del 77 en que la Asamblea lo declaró popularmente electo por 16.603 sufragios, en una base de 20.635 votantes" (volume 2 page 22).

1878

Acker 1988: Medina "gained and lost the presidency eight times between 1860 and 1880" (page 69).

Caceres Lara 1978: Soto has Medina executed by firing squad on February 8, 1878 for crimes against Honduras (page 227).

Taracena Arriola 1994: "(C)uando el ex presidente José María Medina (1863-1872) reinició sus actividades conspirativas en 1878, Soto actuó drásticamente. Vencido militarmente, el ex presidente hondureño fue fusilado el 8 de febrero de 1878" (page 191).

1880

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "Mining was revived somewhat in the 1880s. A key factor in this revival was the activity of the New York and Honduras Rosario Mining Company, which had expanded rapidly and had become a major economic and political power within Honduras" (page 18).

February

Durón 1982: Soto calls for elections on February 5^th of a constituent assembly (page 184).

November

Becerra 1994: "Por su parte, la Constitución emitida durante el gobierno liberal de Marco Aurelio Soto--1o de noviembre de 1880--no avanza mucho en esta materia [asuntos electorales]respecto a la de 1865" (volume 1 page 338). Gives details of electoral guidelines (volume 1 pages 338-339).

Taracena Arriola 1994: The constitution of 1880 guarantees the direct vote and sets the presidential term at four years with the possibility of re-election (page 191).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: A constituent assembly is convoked which promulgates a new constitution on November 1, 1880 (volume 2 page 23).

1881

Presidential election (Soto / Liberal)

Caceres Lara 1978: Soto receives 24,521 votes of 29,795 cast (page 256).

Durón 1982: Soto is reelected for four years in a popular election (page 185). Gives total votes and votes for Soto.

Zúñiga Huete 1987: "El 1o. de febrero del 81 el Dr. Soto entró a ejercer un nuevo período de mando, por designación del voto popular que le irrogó 24.521, contra su contrincante, el Dr. Arias, en una base de 29.795 inscripciones" (volume 2 page 23).

1883

Caceres Lara 1978: Soto officially resigns the presidency (page 279).

Durón 1982: Soto resigns from presidency August 27 because of illness (page 185).

Finney 1979: "In 1883, under increasing pressure from Barrios in Guatemala, Soto resigned, leaving control of Honduras to a council of ministers [that included] Bográn" (page 96).

Haggerty and Millet 1995: In 1883, Soto "too fell into disfavor with Barrios and was forced to resign" (page 17).

November: Presidential election (Bográn / Liberal)

Caceres Lara 1978: "El pueblo hondureño votó por diferentes candidatos, pero quienes lograron mayor volumen de votación fueron: el General Luis Bográn, con 40,958 sufragios; el Doctor Célio Arias, con 2,942; el General Emilio Delgado con 536 y el Doctor Manuel Gamero, con 88. Las elecciones se practicaron en complete paz en toda la República, los días 9, 10 y 11 de noviembre de 1883" (page 288).

Durón 1982: Luis Bográn is popularly elected in October. Gives total votes and votes for Bográn (page 185).

Finney 1979: "Bográn called for new elections and simultaneously announced his own candidacy. His only opposition came from Céleo Arias. Former President Arias counted on his close personal ties with many of the departmental commandants to give him the election, but Bográn adeptly won over the military. As a result, Bográn swept the election in a landslide--40,598 to 3,500 votes--and was installed as president on November 30, 1883" (page 96).

1887

January

Finney 1979: "Four years later, with his term rapidly drawing to a close, Bográn convened a council of notables in early January to begin discussions about choosing a successor. In his opening remarks to this council, Bográn announced his opposition to reelection, but most members of the council insisted that he run for a second term" (page 96).

November: presidential election (Bográn / Liberal)

Caceres Lara 1978: "El 28 de febrero de 1887 el Congreso Nacional convocó el pueblo a elecciones de autoridades supremas...Las elecciones se efectuaron más or menos en orden y su resultado fue de 38,394 votos para el General Bográn, en una base de 44,499 sufragantes. El Doctor Céleo Arias obtuvo 5,326 votos" (pages 296-297).

Finney 1979: "President Luis Bográn was persuaded to run for reelection and was challenged by an aging former president, Céleo Arias" (page 95). Arias forms an alliance with Policarpo Bonilla to try to defeat Bográn (page 97). "Despite threats and rumors, the November 30, 1887 election took place with minimal upheaval. To the end, Policarpo Bonilla sought to block Bográn's reelection by every means available...In the balloting, Bográn won a second term...28,394 to 5,326" (pages 102-103). "(T)he evidence suggests that the 1887 reelection of Bográn was one of the freest, least violent, and perhaps even fairest ballotings in the country's history. In spite of the predictable liberal charges of preelection harrassment of opposition candidates and election day coercion, there is little proof of the overt foreign intervention which would later become standard practice and relegate Honduras to the status of a 'Banana Republic'" (page 107).

Durón 1982: Bográn is reelected (page 187). Gives total votes, votes for Bográn, and votes for his opponent.

Zúñiga Huete 1987: Describes campaign and election (volume 2 pages 31-32).

1891

Acker 1988: "The Liberal Party was founded in 1891, with classic principles but no proposals to solve national ills. The National Party originated in the same year in preliminary discussions over a suitable name, but its early programs were more anti-Liberal than classic Conservatism" (page 72).

Caceres Lara 1978: The Partido Liberal and Partido Progresista are both organized in January of 1891 (pages 309-310).

Ropp 1974: "The Liberal Party was founded in 1891 by Policarpo Bonilla to oppose the 'continuismo' of President Luis Bográn" (page 505).

Sullivan 1995: "The PLH was established in 1891 under the leadership of Policarpo Bonilla Vásquez and had origins in the liberal reform efforts of the late nineteenth century" (pages 173-174).

Taracena Arriola 1994: "A la salida de la presidencia del general Bográn en 1891 se abrió en Honduras un período de enorme inestabilidad política, ligada a las ambiciones presidenciales del licenciado Policarpo Bonilla, líder del Partido Liberal. Como en los países vecinos, la contienda electoral se daba entre facciones liberales" (page 193).

September: Presidential election (Leiva / PN)

Caceres Lara 1978: "Los comicios para elegir el sucesor del Presidente, General Luis Bográn, se practicaron en todo el país los días 4, 5 y 6 de septiembre de 1891 y en los mismos obtuvo mayoría la candidatura del General Ponciano Leiva, postulada por el Partido Progresista, sobre la del Doctor Policarpo Bonilla, postulada por el Partido Liberal" (page 315).

Durón 1982: Ponciano Leiva is elected president in September elections (page 188). Gives total votes, votes for Leiva, and votes for his opponent.

Haggerty and Millet 1995: Bográn "survived in office until 1891 when General Poinciana Leiva (who had ruled briefly three times from 1873-76) was returned to power in a manipulated election. Although a liberal, Leiva tried to rule as an absolute dictator, dissolving the fledgling Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH) and deporting its leaders. The result was another round of civil conflict from which the reconstituted PLH ultimately emerged victorious. The PLH was led by Policarpo Bonilla, with the support of Nicaragua's liberal dictator, José Santos Zelaya" (page 17).

Mariñas Otero 1990: "Como resultado de las discutidas elecciones de 1891 subió al poder Ponciano Leiva, que gobernó durante catorce meses de continua guerra civil" (page 434).

Zúñiga Huete 1987: "La candidatura de Leiva, sostenida por todos los órganos del Ejecutivo, se llevó a sangre y fuego de uno a otro extremo del país, y se le hizo triunfar en los comicios del 5 de septiembre del 91, por una votación de 34.362 sufragios, contra 15.000 que alcanzó el liberalismo en medio de la más cruda imposición" (volume 2 pages 17 and 33). There were 49,662 registered voters (page 39).

1893

Presidential election (Vázquez)

Caceres Lara 1978: "Las elecciones convocadas por el Congreso [7 de agosto de 1893] se practicaron en todo el país en un clima de zozobra y con la asistencia de sólo los electores favorables al régimen. En tales condiciones, el General Vásquez fue elegido Presidente Constitucional, con 37,141 votos, en una base de 39,124 sufragantes" (page 336).

Durón 1982: Leiva resigns in January under threat of civil war and a provisional government is established (page 189). Congress calls for elections in August, with General Domingo Vásquez the victor. Gives total votes and votes for Vásquez.

Mariñas Otero 1990: "Convertido Vásquez en el hombre fuerte de Honduras, al finalizar la campaña, Leiva renunció y Agúero depositó el poder en Vásquez, que realizó una durísima represión contra los vencidos, siendo electo presidente el 14 de septiembre de 1893, en unos comicios en los que fue candidato único" (page 435).

Taracena Arriola 1994: "En agosto de 1893 Leiva presentó su renuncia y el general Domingo Vásquez (1893) se convirtió en presidente por medio de un proceso electoral de un solo candidato" (page 194).

1894

February

Durón 1982: Vásquez is overthrown in February 1894 (page 190).

Mariñas Otero 1990: "El 22 de febrero de 1894, tras un sitio que duró varias semanas, el ejército aliado entró en Tegucigalpa" (page 435). Policarpo Bonilla is installed as provisional president.

Munro 1967: Vásquez "was overthrown a year later as the result of a disastrous war with Nicaragua" (page 123).

Taracena Arriola 1994: "Empero, Vásquez no pudo resistir la nueva insurrección acaudillada por Bonilla, que contaba con el respaldo del régimen nicaragüense encabezado por el general José Santos Zelaya" (page 194).

April-July

Becerra 1994: Gives the details of the 1894 constitution relating to elections (volume 1 page 339).

Caceres Lara 1978: "El 26 de abril de 1894 el Presidente Provisional, Doctor Bonilla, emitió decreto convocando a elecciones de una Asamblea Constituyente que se reuniría en Tegucigalpa del 1o. al 10 de julio de ese año. Las elecciones, según el decreto, se efectuarían los días 3, 4 y 5 de junio" (page 349).

Villanueva 1994: "Es hasta la Constitución de 1894 cuando se establece el voto universal masculino directo y secreto a los hondureños mayores de 21 años y a los mayores de 18 que sean casados o sepan leer y escribir" (pages 133-134).

December: Presidential election (Bonilla / PL)

Caceres Lara 1978: "El l5 de diciembre de 1894 la Asamblea Constituyente declaró electos Presidente y Vicepresidente de la República al Doctor Policarpo Bonilla y al General Manuel Bonilla, por haber obtenido 42,667 y 40,621 votos, respectivamente, en una base de 43,032 sufragantes" (page 353).

Durón 1982: Policarpo Bonilla is elected president in December (page 190). Gives total votes and votes for Bonilla, and total vice presidential votes and votes for General Manuel Bonilla.

Morris 1984a: "Under the persistent leadership of Dr. Policarpo Bonilla..., the Liberal Party of Honduras (PLH) was formed and was able to govern intermittently until 1932" (page 197).

Munro 1967: "Bonilla, an ally of President Zelaya and an ardent Liberal, became president" (page 123).

1898

Taracena Arriola 1994: "Centroamérica entraba en una nueva etapa donde la influencia de Nicaragua había desplazado a la de Guatemala. En el caso particular de Honduras, con Bonilla se abrío un período de relativa estabilidad caracterizado por el caudillismo y la creciente influencia extranjera no centroamericana en el país, especialmente aquella que representaba los intereses políticos y económicos de Estados Unidos a través del naciente enclave bananero" (page 194).

Presidential election (Sierra / PL)

Caceres Lara 1978: "(L)os comicios [fueron] practicados el 30 y 31 de octubre y el primero de noviembre...El escrutinio practicado por el Congreso en el mes de enero de 1899 dio al General Sierra 36,796 votos en una base de 44,537 sufragantes, y al General José María Reina, 37,546 sufragios en una base de 44,408 electores...como electos Presidente y Vicepresidente de Honduras en orden respectivo" (pages 375-376).

Durón 1982: General Terencio Sierra is elected president in popular elections March 2 (page 192). Gives total votes and votes for Sierra.

Stokes 1950: "The elections were held on October 30, 1898, and in January, 1899, the Congress declared Sierra elected" (page 46).

Taracena Arriola 1994: "La sucesión presidencial en 1899 fue pacífica, a raíz de que Bonilla impuso la candidatura única de Terencio Sierra (1899-1903) como forma de garantizar la estabilidad del poder" (page 194).

1899

Haggerty and Millet 1995: "Although...1899 was important as the first time in decades that...a constitutional transition had taken place, that year was a watershed in another, even more important, sense. In 1899 the Vaccaro brothers of New Orleans, founders of what would become the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company (later known as Standard Fruit Company), shipped their first boatload of bananas from Honduras to New Orleans" (pages 18-19).