That One May Smile, and Smile, and be a Villain
All banana republic jokes aside, Honduras’ government is not really all that different from the USAs. The politicians go by their first names because too many of them share the same last names, but that is only a matter of scale.
Any business owner of any size will eventually meet a local politician. There is no need to seek them out; they will come to you. The will show up at your site or you will meet them on the street or happen into them at a party. The first thing they will do is offer to help you out.
On the small island community here on Roatan, we managed to meet all three of the major elected executives within a week. Oh, the things they promised…road improvements, telephone service (there was none), a water cistern (also non-existent in our area) to name but a few.
We have been operating for one year as of the end of this month. Thus far, we have received the road improvement (as of three months ago.) That we received, not due to the politician himself, but as the result of a long conversation between my partner and the politician in question’s wife (never doubt the power of that particular play.)
Now, to be honest, we didn’t exactly bank on seeing these promised infrastructure improvement materialize, but it is easy to be taken in by the enthusiasm, excitement, and seeming sincerity that politicians inevitably seem to bring into every conversation. There is no sinister intent here, no cruelty, it is just that politicians live and die on other people’s opinions, and there is no faster way to improve another person’s opinion of you than promising him something he wants.
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