Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano (30 June 1921 – 16 May 2010) was a Honduran politician who twice served as the President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 until 1975.

Early life

Lopez was born in Danlí to Enrique López and Carlota Arellano in the department of El Paraíso, an influential family. He joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

at eighteen and subsequently graduated as a pilot from the Honduran Air Force School. He then spent 1942-1945 in the U.S. state of Arizona studying mechanical aviation. López served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

for numerous years and eventually rose to the rank of

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Career

López briefly fought for on a military

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...

during 1957, which ended after democratic elections were secured. After a violent coup, he served as president for the first time from 3 October 1963 until 7 June 1971 before allowing further elections ( 1971 Honduran general election) to take place in April 1971. They ultimately resulted in

Ramón Ernesto Cruz Ramón or Ramon may refer to: People Given name *Ramon (footballer, born 1998), Brazilian footballer * Ramón (footballer, born 1990), Brazilian footballer *Ramón (singer), Spanish singer who represented Spain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest ...

coming to power. On 4 December 1972, López again seized power, in the 1972 Honduran coup d'état. During his second tenure as president, López oversaw a major land reform bill that sought to defuse tensions among peasants over their forced removal from uncultivated lands owned by landed elites or by US fruit companies. This plan was called the National Development Plan and went through two stages, the first in 1965 and the most significant ones between 1972 and 1975. The Agrarian Reform Law of 1972, a Minimum Wage Act in 1973, and a Land Reform Act in 1975 came in response to the peasant union pressure, such as the CTH, ''Confederación de Trabajadores Hondureños'' and the ANACH ''Associación Nacional de Campesinos Hondureños.'' The most important unions clamoring for reform were the

United Fruit The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

and Standard Fruit unions SITRATERCO and SUSTRAFSCO. These unions also had support among industrial workers. López led Honduran forces during the

Football War The Football War ( es, La guerra del fútbol; colloquial: Soccer War), also known as the Hundred Hours' War or 100 Hour War, was a brief military conflict fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countr ...

Resignation

In 1975, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission exposed a scheme by

United Brands Company Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce. The company operates under a number of su ...

bribe Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

President López with US$1.25 million, with the promise of another $1.25 million upon the reduction of certain banana export taxes. Trading in United Brands stock was halted, and on 22 April 1975 López was ousted in a military coup led by his fellow General Juan Alberto Melgar, in the

1975 Honduran coup d'état The 1975 Honduran coup d'état took place on 22 April 1975, with Oswaldo López Arellano being ousted in a military coup led by his fellow General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro. The coup was prompted in part by the "Bananagate" scandal, exposed by th ...

. This scandal is known in Honduras as " Bananagate".

Personal life

López owned several businesses in Central America, including TAN-SAHSA, the now defunct Honduran air carrier. His eldest son, Oswaldo, died in 2003. Lopez died on 16 May 2010 at the age of 88 while undergoing surgery for

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

References

* Pauly, David and Thomas, Rich (1975) "The Great Banana Bribe" ''Newsweek'' 21 April 1975, p. 76;
Obituary
*Acker, Alison. ''Honduras: The Making of a Banana Republic.'' 1988. *Morris, James. ''Honduras: Caudillo Politics and Military Rulers.'' 1984. ;Notes

Early life

Career

Resignation

Personal life

References

See also