The Long Game

The Opposition Wins in Honduras

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6286523
AutoresWill Freeman, Lucas Perelló (0000-0002-8142-7246)
Año2022
Volumen33
Número2
Páginas118-132
Fecha de publicación2022-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of democracy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1045-5736 • E-ISSN: 1086-3214
EditorialProject MUSE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1353/jod.2022.0022
OpenAlexW4223959679
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14

Opposition parties in competitive authoritarian regimes rarely win elections by a landslide, especially where poverty, repressive security forces, and clientelism abound. Yet in November 2021, Honduras's opposition defeated the incumbent National Party against the odds. This essay argues that the opposition succeeded by "playing the long game": 1) building a mass-party organization, 2) continually participating in elections, and 3) forging unity through power-sharing. Paradoxically, the Honduran opposition's lack of international support incentivized these choices and became a blessing in disguise. Whether Xiomara Castro will rebuild democracy remains uncertain, but her coalition's route to power yields lessons for oppositions elsewhere

Authoritarianism · Clientelism · Democracy · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · International Relations in Latin America · Law · Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America