The Party System in Honduras Following the 2009 Political Crisis. The End of Bipartisanship?

In this paper I analyze the changes in the Honduran party system after the political crisis that took place in 2009. I also examine both its causes and its consequences. Firstly, I show the problems regarding the political representation of the party system activated in 2009 during the proposal of the fourth ballot box. Secondly, I discuss the main and immediate results of this crisis: on the one hand, the internal division of the political parties, specially the Liberal Party, that underwent an internal division; on the other hand, the emergence of four new political parties (Libre, Faper, PAC, and Alianza Patriótica). The primary and internal elections in 2012 have shown the recovery of both traditional parties (PLH y PNH) but have also unveiled the electoral strength of the new party Libre, an element that preludes a scenario of significant changes for the Honduran party system.