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During the short-lived Constitution of the Republic of Central America of 1921, Tegucigalpa served as a Federal District and capital of then-newly formed as one nation: the states of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. After this failed attempt to maintain a Central American republic, Honduras returned to become an individual sovereign nation and on January 30, 1937, Article 179 of the 1936 Honduran Constitution was reformed under Decree 53 to established Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as a Central District. Tegucigalpa is located in the southern-central highland region of Honduras in the department of Francisco Morazán of which it is also the departmental capital. It is situated in a valley, surrounded by mountains and both Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela, being sister cities, are physically separated by the Choluteca River. The Central District is the largest of the 28 municipalities in the Francisco Morazán department. Tegucigalpa is Honduras' largest and most populous city as well as the nation's political and administrative center. Tegucigalpa is host to 25 foreign embassies and 16 consulates in addition to being the home base of several state-owned entities such as ENEE and Hondutel, the national energy and telecommunications companies, respectively. The city is also home to the country's most important university, the National Autonomous University of Honduras, as well as the national soccer team. The capital's international airport, Toncontín, is notorious around the world for its extremely short runway for an international airport and the unusual maneuvers pilots must undertake upon landing or taking off to avoid the nearby mountains. The Central District Mayor's Office (Alcaldia Municipal del Distrito Central) is the city's governing body, headed by a mayor and 10 aldermen forming the Municipal Corporation (Corporación Municipal). Being the department's seat as well, the governor's office of Francisco Morazán is also located in the capital. In 2008, the city operated on an approved budget of 1.555 billion lempiras (US$82,189,029). In 2009, the city government reported a revenue of 1.955 billion lempiras (US$103,512,220). (More than any other capital city in Central America, except Panama City) Tegucigalpa's infrastructure has not kept with the population growth. Deficient urban planning, densely condensed urbanization, and poverty are ongoing problems. Heavily congested roadways where current road infrastructure is unable to efficiently handle the over 400 thousand vehicles create havoc on a daily basis. Both current national and local governments have taken approaches at improving or increasing infrastructure as well as to reducing poverty in the city. |