ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the impact of public policy—both Honduran and that of the U.S.—on economic security in the countryside. It begins by documenting the extent of the expansion of export agriculture and the impact of this expansion on rural economic security—that is, access to a land, income, and food. The chapter examines public policy concerning export agriculture and land redistribution and other aspects of rural development programs. Reinforced by population growth, rural insecurity has in turn lead to peasant organization, land invasions and occupations, and an agrarian reform program. Agrarian change and population growth have heightened economic insecurity for many rural Hondurans over the last three decades. Agrarian reform first came to Honduras in the early 1960s, largely in response to the external stimuli of the Cuban Revolution and the Alliance for Progress. Despite its achievements, however, the Honduran agrarian reform has fallen far short of both its stated goals and the country’s needs.
