Honduras

The election of President Carlos Flores on November 30--the fifth democratic transfer of power since the end of military rule in 1982--helped solidify democracy in one of Latin America's poorest nations. Violence against journalists remains relatively rare, but the independence of the press has been compromised by political partisanship and allegations of widespread corruption in the media.

While the Honduran press has grown more professional in recent years, journalists in the capital of Tegucigalpa say continued progress is undermined by a system in which politicians pay journalists for positive coverage. In other instances, the measures are more subtle. President Flores, for example, is the owner of one of the country's major dailies, La Tribuna, and journalists for rival publications allege that the paper received preferential access during the campaign. They fear these practices will continue during the Flores administration.