Revolución Hondureña: A Fictional Dictator TL

[Concerned Brazilian]

In 1936, Juan Mendez was elected President of Honduras with 100% of the vote.

By that year, there was no organized opposition left in the country.

In spite of growing economic issues caused by the withdrawal of the United Fruit Company, the average citizen and a good amount of the upper classes approved of Mendez for his social reforms and restoration of stability following two decades of coups and foreign interventions. This and the country being a dictatorship assured him an unanimous victory.

Juan was reelected with 100% of the vote again in 1940, but did not run for a fourth term due to his democratic reforms. Instead, his right-hand man Pablo Lopez (1888-1956) succeeded him.

 

[troosvelt_68]

Just 100% of the vote ??

Any dictator worth their salt can get several times the total population.

1927 Liberian general election - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Concerned Brazilian]

Just 100% of the vote ??

Any dictator worth their salt can get several times the total population.

1927 Liberian general election - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Juan Mendez won 325,478 votes.

 

[Concerned Brazilian]

Juan Mendez married Cristina Rodriguez (1895-1978) in 1918. They had five children:
- Juana (1919-1947), a nurse in the Tegucigalpa Hospital
- Ricardo (1920-1974), a Catholic priest
- Diego (1922-1993), an officer in the Honduran Army who reached the rank of major
- Teresa (1925-1954), an elementary school teacher

 

[Dude-a-Buck]

I only count four children.

 

[Aluma]

I only count four children.

IRS must have taken one

 

[Concerned Brazilian]

I only count four children.

He also had a youngest son, Emiliano (1929-2013) who was a farmer in Southern Honduras.

 

[Concerned Brazilian]

Honduras during World War II

After Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Honduras ended diplomatic relations with Germany, as it had close relations with Poland and there was a small Polish population in the country. Also, diplomatic relations with the Empire of Japan were downgraded.

Honduras took in thousands of Jews fleeing the Holocaust – according to historians, 15,000. They recieved full Honduran citizenship starting in 1941.

During this time, a medium-sized airport was constructed in Tegucigalpa by US technicians, and airfields in El Progreso and La Ceiba. The country continued to develop economically, and the Juan Mendez dictatorship was planning to double light industry by 1945. This goal was only partly accomplished, with the growth of textile and canned food industries during the war.

Honduras recieved some military aid as part of Lend-Lease, in the form of light tanks, fighter aircraft, small arms and transport vehicles.

After the attack against Pearl Harbor, Honduras declared war on Germany, Italy and Japan.

During this time, the productive property of German and Italian nationals in Honduras was confiscated and transferred to national businesspeople. Their rights were not restricted otherwise as in Brazil.

Honduras did not directly send troops to any front, but a battalion of 5,000 volunteers – possessing small arms and mortars – was incorporated to an US infantry division in the Italian Front. German submarines in the Caribbean were attacked by Honduran patrol aircraft, and Honduran tropical fruits exported as supplies.