ABSTRACT
In large part this is a matter of political culture: Hondurans are less volatile and more flexible than Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans. The use of legal recognition, financial subsidies, and coercion to ensure union "moderation" were only the most obvious techniques of manipulation. Democratization reinforced stability by legitimating political arrangements that had previously been based largely on force. Honduran elites were able to combine positive and negative incentives—reform and repression—to maximize the prospects of stability. Political scientists have become increasingly aware of the critical role played by repression in the creation of revolutionary movements. In Honduras, clearly, the latter played an important role in ameliorating socioeconomic conditions that might otherwise have fueled revolutionary activism. The recent dramatic escalation of social violence is but the most alarming indicator of the extent to which this strategy has accelerated social decay.
