National Party of Honduras

National Party of Honduras

Partido Nacional de Honduras
National Party of Honduras Partido Nacional de Honduras
Abbreviation	PNH
President	Fátima Juárez
Secretary-General	Mario Pineda
Founded	27 February 1902; 121 years ago
Headquarters	Comayagüela
Youth wing	Nationalist Youth (Juventud Nacionalista)
Ideology	Conservatism; Social market economy; Christian democracy
Political position	Centre-right to right-wing
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International (observer)
Regional affiliation	Union of Latin American Parties; Christian Democrat Organization of America
Colours	Blue
Anthem	"Estandartes Azules"; "Blue Guidons"
National Congress	44 / 128
Election symbol
Party flag
Website
	www.partidonacional.hn
	Politics of Honduras; Political parties; Elections;

The National Party of Honduras (PNH; Spanish: Partido Nacional de Honduras) is a conservative political party in Honduras founded on 27 February 1902, by Manuel Bonilla Chirinos. Historically it has been one of the two most influential parties in the country. The party's platform is based on Christian humanist doctrine,^[2] and its five main principles are common wealth, dignity of the human person, equality, solidarity and subsidiarity.

Since the foundation of the National Party, Honduras has had 13 PNH presidents. Manuel Bonilla was the first (1903–1907), and the most recent is the president, Juan Orlando Hernández who served from 2014 to 2022. The party was the ruling directive of the National Congress from 2009 to 2022 and currently holds mayoralties of most of the country's municipalities.^[11]

History

The ideology of the party can be traced back to national hero José Trinidad Cabañas's principles and thinking. Cabañas believed in a strong sense of patriotism, and that national interest was over any other interest. Moreover, in the late 1800s, actors such as Ponciano Leiva and Luis Bogran made efforts to conform an institution which reflected their ideology.^[12]

The Progressive Party, led by Ponciano Leiva, joined forces by a movement led by General Manuel Bonilla. On 27 February 1902, in Tegucigalpa, both parties united to form the National Convention, backed by 40,000 signatures from supporters. That event was the birth of the National Party of Honduras.^[13]

Symbols

Seal

Fraternity, equality and justice are reflected in the official seal. Holding arms represent fraternity among Honduran citizens. The scale represents equality between men and women. The burning torch shines defending those in need. The seal also states the party's motto: Social Justice with Liberty and Democracy.^{[citation needed]}

Organic structure

National Convention: Made up from Municipal, State, Regional and national authorities.
Permanent Commission: Permanent members of the National Convention
National Committee: Political Commission, Justice Party, Financial and Budget Administration, Political and Ideological Formation
State Committee: Conformed by the authorities of each of the 18 departments in Honduras
Local Committee: Counts with Municipal Representation

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
1902	Manuel Bonilla	28,550	48.7%	Elected Y
1916	Francisco Bertrand	77,832	100%
1923	Tiburcio Carías Andino	49,541	47.1%
1924	Miguel Paz Barahona	72,021	99%
1928	Tiburcio Carías Andino	47,745	43.38%	Lost N
1932		81,211		Elected Y
1936		Elected by Constituent Assembly Y
1939		Elected by Congress Y
1948	Juan Manuel Gálvez	254,802	99.85%	Elected Y
1954	Tiburcio Carías Andino	77,726	30.85%	Lost N
1971	Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés	299,807	49.28%	Elected Y
1981	Ricardo Zuñiga	491,089	40.43%	Lost N
1985	Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero	701,406	45.49%	Lost N
1989	Rafael Leonardo Callejas Romero	916,131	52.29%	Elected Y
1993	Oswaldo Ramos Soto	735,123	42.97%	Lost N
1997	Nora Gúnera de Melgar	844,985	42.76%	Lost N
2001	Ricardo Maduro	1,135,565	52.22%	Elected Y
2005	Porfirio Lobo Sosa	925,243	42.15%	Lost N
2009	Porfirio Lobo Sosa	1,212,846	56.56%	Elected Y
2013	Juan Orlando Hernández	1,149,302	36.89%
2017	Juan Orlando Hernández	1,410,888	42.95%
2021	Nasry Asfura	1,240,260	36.93%	Lost N

National Congress elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position
1923			15 / 48	15	2nd
1924			46 / 46	31	1st
1926			36 / 46	10
1928			26 / 48	10
1930			23 / 48	3
1932			43 / 56	20
1934			55 / 59	12
1936	132,948	99.99%	59 / 59	4
1942			45 / 45	14
1948	254,802	99.85%	49 / 49	4
1954	77,726	30.85%	23 / 59	26	2nd
1956	2,003	00.48%	0 / 58	23	3rd
1957	98,088	29.57%	18 / 58	18	2nd
1965	334,646	55.15%	35 / 64	17	1st
1971	299,807	52.62%	32 / 64	3	1st
1980	423,623	44.15%	33 / 71	1	2nd
1981	491,089	41.6%	34 / 82	1
1985	701,406	45.49%	63 / 134	29
1989	916,131	52.29%	76 / 128	13	1st
1993	735,123	42.97%	55 / 128	21	2nd
1997	844,985	42.76%	55 / 128		2nd
2001	967,733	46.46%	61 / 128	6	1st
2005		40.42%	55 / 128	6	2nd
2009		53.37%	71 / 128	16	1st
2013		33.64%	48 / 128	23
2017	1,410,888	47.66%	61 / 128	13
2021		30.18%	44 / 128	17	2nd

Controversies

The National Party has been involved in the last few years on several issues of corruption. In 2015, it was discovered that the National Party was using money from the Honduran Social Security in order to finance the campaign of President Juan Orlando Hernandez through an elaborate scheme of companies redirecting Social Security funds to the party.^[14] After the scheme was discovered, the President said the money should be returned by the party.^[15]

Former President Porfirio Lobo was accused in March 2017 by the New York's DA office for helping protect drug organizations.^[16]

In April 2022, former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who served two terms between 2014 and January 2022, was extradited to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. Hernandez denied the accusations.^[17]

References

^ "Fátima Juárez, Nueva Presidenta del Partido Nacional". La Prensa (in Spanish). 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Declaration of Principles" (PDF). www.tse.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ "Honduras: Background and U.S. Relations". Congressional Research Service. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2021. Honduras's traditional two-party political system, dominated by the Liberal (Partido Liberal, PL) and National (Partido Nacional, PN) Parties, has fractured over the past decade. Both traditional parties are considered to be ideologically center-right, and political competition between them generally has been focused more on using the public sector for patronage than on implementing programmatic agendas.
^ "Factbox: Proposals of main parties in Honduras presidential election". Reuters. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2021 – via www.reuters.com.
^ "Honduras election: Army given more powers to quash unrest". BBC News. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ ^[3]^[4]^[5]
^ Schepers, Emile (20 December 2017). "Honduras still in turmoil after election results; right-wing consolidates coup". People's World. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ "Postcard from Honduras: On the Eve of the Election". The New Yorker. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
^ ^[7]^[8]
^ "Declaration of Principles" (PDF). www.tse.hn (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 February 2022. El Himno del Partido es el denominado ESTANDARTES AZULES y debe ejecutarse en todos los actos políticos oficiales del partido.
^ "Tribunal Supremo Electoral". siede.tse.hn. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
^ "Los 112 años de Fundación del Partido Nacional de Honduras". LaTribuna.hn. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
^ ""Historia de Nuestro Partido"". PartidoNacional.hn. 6 March 2014.
^ Lakhani, Nina (10 June 2015). "How hitmen and high living lifted lid on looting of Honduran healthcare system". the Guardian.
^ "JOH: Partido Nacional de Honduras debe devolver fondos al IHSS". Diario El Heraldo.
^ "Ligan a Porfirio Lobo con narco". 19 March 2017.
^ "Juan Orlando Hernández: Honduran ex-leader extradited to US". BBC News. 21 April 2022.