What is The Future for Cities?
Fanni Melles
385R_The Honduran ZEDE Law, from ideation to action
DEC 15, 202517 MIN
385R_The Honduran ZEDE Law, from ideation to action
DEC 15, 202517 MIN
Description
<p>Are you interested in new forms of governance? </p><p>Debate of the article titled The Honduran ZEDE Law, from ideation to action from 2021, by Jeffrey Mason, Carl Peterson, and Daniela Ivette Cano, published in the Journal of Special Jurisdictions.</p><p>This is a great preparation to our next interview with Niklas Anzinger in <a href="https://wtf4cities.com/2025/12/18/386i_niklas-anzinger-founder-ceo-of-infinita-city-general-partner-of-infinita-vc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">episode 386</a> talking about the opportunities in the Prospera Honduras governance experiment. </p><p>Since we are investigating the future of cities, I thought it would be interesting to see how new forms of governance in special economic zones could work. This article presents the legal framework for the Honduran special economic zone, highlighting and contrasting economic and governance models within this innovative legal framework.</p><p>Find the article through <a href="https://journalofspecialjurisdictions.com/index.php/jsj/article/view/25/13" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this link</a>.</p><p>Abstract: Honduras has struggled to attract the investment needed to spur sustained economic growth in recent decades, and as a result remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. To attract greater foreign investment, the Honduran government passed a groundbreaking special economic zone (SEZ) law in 2012 creating Zonas de Empleo y Desarrollo Económico (Zones for Employment and Economic Development) or ZEDEs. Among the most innovative special jurisdictions in the world, ZEDEs grant sweeping legal and regulatory autonomy to allow for improved governance and economic competitiveness, in order to attract greater investment in Honduras. In this paper, we detail the political and legislative history of the ZEDE law, offer a textual analysis of the ZEDE statute, discuss the principal objections to the ZEDE law and responses to those objections, and provide case studies of the first two ZEDEs.</p><p>Connecting episodes:</p><ul><li><a href="https://wtf4cities.com/2025/01/28/293r_rethinking-the-governance-of-urban-infrastructural-transformations-a-synthesis-of-emerging-approaches/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No.293R - Rethinking the governance of urban infrastructural transformations: a synthesis of emerging approaches</a></li><li><a href="https://wtf4cities.com/2025/01/30/294i_erick-a-brimen-ceo-of-honduras-prospera-and-neway-capital/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No.294 - Interview with Erick A. Brimen</a> about Prospera Honduras</li></ul><p>You can find the transcript through <a href="https://wtf4cities.com/2025/12/16/385r_transcript_the-honduran-zede-law-from-ideation-to-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">this link</a>.</p><p>What was the most interesting part for you? What questions did arise for you? Let me know on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/WTF4Cities">@WTF4Cities</a> or on the <a href="https://wtf4cities.com/">wtf4cities.com</a> website where the<a href="https://wtf4cities.com/2025/12/16/385r_the-honduran-zede-law-from-ideation-to-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"> shownotes </a>are also available.</p><p>I hope this was an interesting episode for you and thanks for tuning in.Episode generated with <a href="https://www.descript.com/">Descript</a> assistance (<a href="https://get.descript.com/t8h92ehcqryz">affiliate link</a>).</p><p>Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/?tab=audio&utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=audio&utm_content=7299">Lesfm </a>from <a href="https://pixabay.com/music/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=7299">Pixabay</a></p>