Zone_for_Employment_and_Economic_Development_(Honduras)
Zone for Employment and Economic Development
Hondoras Governmental Administrative system
A Zone for Employment and Economic Development (Spanish: Zonas de empleo y desarrollo económico, or ZEDE, colloquially called a model city) is a type of administrative division in Honduras that provides a high level of autonomy, with its own civil code, while still subject to the criminal code of the Honduras government.[1]
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2021) |
ZEDE cities were planned in conjunction with Nobel Laureate Paul Romer[2] to attract investment in currently uninhabited parts of the country, or in municipalities that agree to be converted into ZEDE zones. Every zone was to be governed by a technical secretary, elected by a committee appointed by the president of Honduras.[3] ZEDEs were inspired by free trade zones in China (Hong Kong, Macao,[4] Shenzhen, Shanghai),[5] South Korea (IFEZ), Singapore and in part the Free Private City model.
ZEDEs originated in the government of Porfirio Lobo Sosa; the first draft of the law was in 2011, but the necessary legislation was not passed until 2013. The ensuing Juan Orlando Hernández administration continued them.
In 2022, Honduran president Xiomara Castro began proceedings to repeal the 2013 legislation that enabled them.[6] However, ZEDEs were created within a framework of 50 year sunset clauses and internationally binding agreements, to make them functionally unrepealable.
Próspera takes the legal position that ZEDEs are "Built to Last",[7], and have threatened to sue the Honduran government for $11 billion if it reneges on its legally binding commitments,[8]. It has also written to the US State Department requesting that the US "encourage" Honduras to respect its legal commitments.[9]