Paper short abstract:

Changes to the Honduran national health system evince oft unexamined dimensions of neoliberal policy. I focus on changes following the 2009 coup that limited the obligation of the Honduran government towards citizens by qualifying “deservingness” based on the inevitability of poverty and suffering.

Paper long abstract:

I address the sustained/ongoing crisis within the Honduran national health system (NHS) that intensified over the last decade, following a coup in 2009 that led to a constitutional crisis. I argue that the deterioration of the Honduran NHS over the last 15 years should also be related to changes in laws and policies that outlined the overall intent behind the existence of the NHS. Specifically, following the coup in July of 2009, the subsequent democratically elected right-wing government enacted constitutional changes in 2010 that sought to redefine concepts such as “health,” “universal health,” “citizenship,” and the “human,” as well as a reinterpretation of the overall capacity (and obligation) of the Honduran government to intervene on behalf of poor populations to safeguard their health. These changes sought to spur the participation of public-private partnerships and reduce the role of the Honduran Ministry of Health in the direct provision of services and administration of public monies. Although the changes to the NHS have so far been incomplete, these changes appear to have had an impact on the overall quality of service delivery as evinced through some individuals’ experiences when accessing public health services. This has affected how individuals understand both their right to health and their standing as citizens and serves as evidence of how economic speculation is accompanied by dehumanization (Bear 2020). To construct my argument, I rely on a review of the constitutional and legal changes over the last 15 years and in-depth interviews with poor individuals.