General strike of 1954
The general strike of 1954 was a watershed political and economic event in the history of Honduras that ushered in widespread change.
When former United Fruit Company lawyer Juan Manuel Gálvez became president in 1954, following the contested election of 1953, he surprised everyone by adopting a pro-labor stance, introducing, among other things, an 8-hour work day, including extra pay for work on holidays. This has been widely interpreted as an attempt by Gálvez to build a larger electoral base.
In April 1954, banana workers employed by United Fruit began a
In fact, modern scholars have presented evidence that the Communist party was as much born of the strike, out of dissident left-wing members of the
The strike was resolved in July after 69 days, and as a result workers' pay increased substantially and the banana workers syndicalist labor union was recognized. The Communist party also gained stature, and the government moved to incorporate some of the demands of the workers into reform programs that continued until the 1970s.[4]
References
- ^ Brett, Edward T. "Hondurans General Strike of 1954". Blackwell Reference Online. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.
- ^ "Honduras: General Strike". Time. 24 May 1954. Archived from the original on 16 November 2010.
- ^ Darío Euraque, Reinterpreting the Banana Republic: Region and State in Honduras, 1870-1972, pp. 95-96.
- ^ Euraque, Banana Republic, pp. 96-98.
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