HONDURAS · TRANSPARENCY
Key Facts
- What happened Article 109 of the draft 2027 national budget classifies the allocations and spending of Congress, the Presidency and Condepor as reserved information, Criterio reported on 30 September 2026.
- Not the first time The approved 2026 budget, published in La Gaceta on 23 April 2026, already carries the same clause in Article 105; the September 2025 draft did not.
- The money Congress would get 2 billion lempiras (about US$74 million) and the Presidency 1.97 billion (about US$73 million) in 2027, up from 1.53 billion and 833 million.
- What Condepor is Condepor is the National Commission for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation; its budget would fall to 1.13 billion lempiras (about US$42 million) from 1.79 billion.
- Still open Congress has not set a date to vote on the budget, and the Finance Ministry has not explained the secrecy clause.
The Honduras 2027 budget draft would keep spending by Congress, the Presidency and the sports commission secret for a second year.
The draft Honduras 2027 budget classifies spending by Congress, the Presidency and sports body Condepor as reserved, the news site Criterio reported. The same clause already applies this year under the approved 2026 budget, official documents show.
What Article 109 says
The clause sits in Article 109 of the general provisions, the rulebook attached to the Finance Ministry’s 2027 draft. It covers “the budget allocations and spending” of institutions 1, 20 and 413.
In the budget’s numbering, those are the National Congress, the Presidency of the Republic and Condepor. The clause classifies their information as reserved under Article 17 of the Transparency and Access to Public Information Law.
The same article ratifies direct contracting, meaning purchases without a public tender, by the three bodies for duties linked to fundamental rights. For salaries, allowances and per diems, it promises rules on sworn declarations to the state audit court (TSC).
A clause that is already in force
The 2027 draft does not start this practice. Article 105 of the approved 2026 budget, Decree 62-2026, contains the same wording.
That decree appeared in the official gazette La Gaceta on 23 April 2026. It governs spending for the current year.
The draft 2026 budget that the previous government of Xiomara Castro sent in September 2025 had no such clause. It was added before Congress approved the budget in April, under President Nasry Asfura, who took office in January 2026.
If Congress passes Article 109 unchanged, the secrecy would run for a second fiscal year. Budget laws in Honduras apply for one year, so each renewal needs a new vote.
Who the three institutions are
Congress is the single-chamber parliament of 128 deputies. The Presidency covers the offices of the president at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa, the capital.
Condepor, the National Commission for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, is the state body for public sport and recreation programmes. Lawyers quoted by Criterio questioned why a sports body needs secrecy at all.
The draft gives Congress 2 billion lempiras, about US$74 million, up from 1.53 billion in 2026. The Presidency would receive 1.97 billion lempiras, about US$73 million, against about 833 million this year.
Condepor moves the other way. Its allocation would fall to about 1.13 billion lempiras, some US$42 million, from about 1.79 billion in 2026.
What the transparency law allows
Article 17 of the transparency law, Decree 170-2006, allows secrecy only when disclosure would harm more than it serves the public. The grounds include state security, a person’s life or health, humanitarian aid, child protection and personal data.
Normally an institution must ask the Institute for Access to Public Information (IAIP), the transparency regulator, to classify specific records. Article 109 cites Article 17 but gives no specific reason for the reserve.
What the lawyers say
Alex Navas Álvarez, a lawyer who worked for MACCIH, a former OAS-backed anti-corruption mission, spoke to Criterio. He said the law does not allow public funds to be made secret wholesale, and a one-year budget law cannot override it.
Luis Urbina, a former investigator at the National Anti-Corruption Council (CNA), said the clause risks “taking us back” to a Secrets Law. He warned that such practices become hard to reverse.
Transparency lawyer Henry Salinas said it is the IAIP’s job to judge each request. Criterio asked Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules to explain the clause and received no reply by publication.
The longer arc of secrecy
Congress repealed the so-called Secrets Law, which let officials classify security and defence documents, in March 2022 through Decree 12-2022. That decree says any new restriction on public information must follow the transparency law’s procedure.
Since then, institutions have used case-by-case reserve requests instead. Criterio counted 45 such requests to the IAIP between 2019 and March 2025, of which 11 were fully granted.
What it means for residents and investors
The whole 2027 draft totals 455.37 billion lempiras, about US$17 billion, 2.5% more than the approved 2026 budget, the Finance Ministry said. It targets a fiscal deficit of 1% of gross domestic product.
The three secret lines add up to about 5.1 billion lempiras (about US$189 million), roughly 1% of the total. For citizens, donors and lenders, the question is less the size than the precedent for oversight of public money.
Congress received the draft on 14 September and will now debate it, including Article 109.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Condepor in Honduras?
Condepor is the National Commission for Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, the state body for public sport programmes. The 2027 budget draft gives it about 1.13 billion lempiras, some US$42 million. Its spending would be classified as reserved, together with that of Congress and the Presidency.
Is the secrecy clause new in the 2027 budget?
No. The approved 2026 budget, published on 23 April 2026, already contains the same clause in Article 105. The 2027 draft repeats it in Article 109, so Congress would extend it for another year if it approves the text unchanged.
Can a budget law make public spending secret in Honduras?
Lawyers quoted by Criterio say no. They argue the transparency law requires case-by-case classification through the IAIP, and that a one-year budget cannot override it. No court has ruled on the clause.
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What is the background to Honduras 2027 Budget?
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Congress has not set a date to vote on the budget, and the Finance Ministry has not explained the secrecy clause.
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Sources: Criterio.hn · Secretaría de Finanzas (SEFIN): 2027 draft budget, general provisions · Secretaría de Finanzas (SEFIN): approved 2026 budget, general provisions · Secretaría de Finanzas (SEFIN): September 2025 draft 2026 budget · Secretaría de Finanzas (SEFIN) · Criterio.hn
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