The Generation of the Coup: Honduran Youth at Risk and of Risk

Abstract

In this article, we show how generation as a category is an important analytic for understanding social and political dynamics in Honduras. We argue that coming of age in the post-coup d’état era in Honduras has shaped young Honduran's sense of their own life chances, what they can expect from society and government, and what kinds of possibilities they imagine for their futures. Drawing from ethnography conducted in Honduras and with Hondurans during the 2018 and 2019 migrant caravans, we show how the category of youth is a potential source of risk for the regime in Honduras and, simultaneously, it puts those who are in it at risk. The article concludes with reflections on the legal limitations of generation as category and the lethal consequences of this limitation.