Congress Vote

Congress is moving toward approving a structural reform that would divide the state-owned ENEE into three separate commercial entities for generation, transmission, and distribution, with energy experts warning the changes open a path to privatization and could weaken the utility's financial stability.

The National Congress approved expanding a law that shields agroindustrial lands and investments to also cover energy and tourism projects, while adding a clause affirming the law's compatibility with indigenous peoples' right to free, prior consultation on communal lands.

Honduras, where a woman is killed every 32 hours, has approved sweeping Penal Code reforms raising femicide sentences to as high as 60 years and mandating specialized courts to handle gender-violence cases.

Elections for new leaders of Honduras's electoral bodies—the CNE and TJE—will likely slip from this year into January 2027 due to lack of consensus among congressional factions, says the head of Congress's Electoral Commission.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that Honduras's newly approved agroindustrial law could harm indigenous and rural communities' land and territorial rights and deepen social conflict, urging Congress to align it with international standards.

Congress passed legislation declaring legally registered agricultural properties exempt from seizure and ordering police and judicial authorities to respond immediately to illegal occupations affecting sectors such as palm oil, coffee, sugar cane, and citrus.

Congress approved a law prioritizing agroindustrial activity as a national interest, expediting evictions and broadening criminal penalties for land occupations and blockades, drawing warnings from Cespad, a democracy-studies center, that it criminalizes peasant land-defense organizing.

Congress is considering a proposal that would create a legal presumption protecting homeowners and business owners who use deadly force to repel intruders, aiming to prevent automatic criminal prosecution of property defenders.

Environmental and human-rights organizations are calling on President Asfura to veto a newly approved law strengthening agroindustry protections, arguing it weakens environmental controls, blocks land reform, and criminalizes peasant land claims under the guise of fighting land invasions.

A bill before Congress would raise femicide sentences to 25–30 years (or 30–40 for aggravated cases), create specialized courts nationwide to handle gender-violence crimes, and broaden the legal definition of power imbalance between men and women.

Congress is naming new members to Honduras's electoral bodies, the CNE and Electoral Tribunal, while the Electoral Affairs Commission plans initial reforms for July and deeper changes—including biometric voting—for October, pending agreement among political factions.

Congress is advancing a reform of Honduras's electricity sector that would reduce technical and non-technical losses—now running at 38% of the system, or about 1.3 billion lempiras monthly—and strengthen regulatory oversight to improve efficiency and financial sustainability.

President Asfura introduced a bill to modernize ENEE, Honduras's state electric company, through operational restructuring aimed at recovering more than 16 billion lempiras annually in system losses that could be redirected to health, education, roads, and social programs.

Congress approved a two-month amnesty allowing vehicle and motorcycle owners to settle outstanding tax debts without paying accumulated penalties, fines, or interest, covering obligations from 2025 and earlier years.

Congress approved legislation declaring agricultural and agro-industrial lands exempt from land reform and other seizure, mandating immediate police action against invasions and road blockades, and requiring streamlined permitting for the sector, which contributes roughly 6.5 billion lempiras to GDP.

Honduras's Supreme Court has submitted its legal opinion to Congress on proposed reforms to three Penal Code articles governing femicide, including a proposal to create specialized judicial bodies to handle such cases.

Honduras's Congress approved a deadline extension on a contract between the National Penitentiary Institute and a private firm to complete the supply and installation of body and object X-ray scanners at prisons nationwide.

Congress approved penal code changes on May 18 that formally classify gangs and drug-trafficking networks as terrorist associations, but legal experts and human-rights groups warn the expanded, vague wording could be used against protesters and social movements.