Honduras

The return to democracy in Honduras occurred in 1980, with the Constituent Assembly and the Presidential Assembly. From this year, and for nearly three decades, the representative democracy of the Central American country was characterized by strong bipartisanship and a strong neoliberal agenda. The institutionalization of citizen participation began to appear only after Decree 295 was passed in 1993, which amended the 2nd Article of the Constitution. From this reform, the sovereignty of people was understood not only through the exercise of representative democracy but also through direct democracy

This, however, included only the referendum and the plebiscite, and it was not until 2006, during the presidential period of José Manuel Zelaya, that the Citizen Participation Law was promulgated. The law intended to regulate and establish the mechanisms that would allow the organization and full operationalization of citizen participation. Following the coup that overthrew Manuel Zelaya in 2009, citizens have been demanding greater participation in the government's policy processes. This pressure has made the different powers of the state design mechanisms for participation to involve Hondurans in the political, economic and social duties of the country.

In Honduras, the Government has played the leading role in the design of democratic innovations, and most of them have been formalized through national laws. Among the most common democratic innovations found in the national legislation are councils and committees, which are often represented by government officials and representatives of civil society.

Among the most important cases that can be mentioned are the Water Boards, which have been replicated around 5000 times in Honduras. The Water Management Board is a mechanism for citizen participation and self-management of public services at the village and municipal level.

Likewise, the National Anticorruption Council, which is made up of representatives of civil society organizations and two members appointed by the President of the Republic, supports the Government and Civil Society. The purpose of this initiative is to promote transparency and social audit processes, as a mechanism for preventing, monitoring and combating corruption, through networks of volunteers and partnerships with other national organizations and international organizations.