Abstract

This article addresses the problematic formation of Honduran elites prior to the Coup d'etat in Honduras that in 2009 overthrew the government of PresidentManuel Zelaya Rosales. That and subsequent events generated one of the most important political and social crises in Honduras during the last 50 years. The coup of 2009 destroyed almost thirty years of democratic governance established after a National Constituent Assembly in 1982 forced the transition to civilian rule after almost twenty years of military regimes. Two months after the 2009 coup a focus of interpretations of its key events profiled the protagonists who were evident members of a so-called capitalist ''oligarchy'' composed of 10 to 12 elite families. This article contextualizes this interpretation in historical context, and it offers an argument and hypothesis about said interpretation.

Keywords elites; oligarchy; capitalism; etnoracial; ethnohistory; arab-palestinians