Figueroa led the marches of teachers, doctors, students and other social sectors in the occupation of highways in the country during the course of 2019, denouncing the neoliberal drifts of the government in matters of health and education, demanding their guarantees as universal rights, « without restrictions, with quality, but above all warmth»31. The failure of neoliberalism in Honduras is unequivocal, and the collapse of health and educational structures is its maximum expression. As a consequence, citizens are abandoned to their fate in the face of the outbreak of epidemics and pandemics.

The recent dengue crisis put the health model to the test – 2019 closed with 180 deaths, of which 58% were under 15 years of age32–. With almost 2,000 confirmed cases of covid-19, many doctors believe that to date the government has not taken Whatsapp Mobile Number List measures, there are even reports that land is being sought for possible mass graves. In the general absence of basic sanitary equipment and biosafety measures for health personnel, with an informal economy and the majority of the population living from day to day, the Honduran panorama is not encouraging at all.

Like other countries in the world, Honduras is facing the terrible pandemic unleashed by the coronavirus, but it is doing so in the context of a crisis for the State as a whole. The country is led by a political leader linked to drug trafficking who relies on the military to stay in power, an unpopular president who leads a militarized and incompetent state. Honduras lacks credible leadership to confront the health crisis. State responses characterized by authoritarianism, improvisation and clientelistic distribution of food are a clear example of the crisis of the State. The days of the coronavirus will represent a large-scale challenge for the impoverished Honduran nation.