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In 2009, former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, standing in a Costa Rican airport and still in his pyjamas, protested to the international media, "I am the President of Honduras." The exasperated state figure had been dragged from his bed by the military and put on a plane out of the country....

In 2009, former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, standing in a Costa Rican airport and still in his pyjamas, protested to the international media, "I am the President of Honduras." The exasperated state figure had been dragged from his bed by the military and put on a plane out of the country. Fast forward to the last few days of May 2011, when Zelaya, back in Tegucigalpa after two years of exile, told his supporters, "We arrive full of optimism and hope to search for an exit to this crisis." Like Zelaya, many in the legal community are hopeful that the deleterious effects of the political crisis are over.

Although it is difficult to predict the full effect of Zelaya's return, for the moment, optimism has returned to Honduras. "In the past year, we resolved the political situation," says one lawyer. Market feedback suggests that the tumultuous political situation has been left behind and a much brighter future lies ahead for the Honduran economy. "People started to believe in the government and that's been positive," says one attorney.

Regaining popular support for the government has been an important development in a country which needs a stable hand to solve some challenging problems. The 2009 coup d'etat was met with fierce international criticism and ultimately led the Organisation of American States (OAS) to revoke Honduras' membership. Immediately after Zelaya's removal, the Honduran economy plummeted as foreign investment fled and real estate development stopped, due to the disastrous state of political affairs, both internationally and domestically.

However, with Zelaya's return, the OAS has since reinstated Honduras as a member state. And over the past year, President Porfirio Lobo's government has aggressively pursued an economic agenda seeking to regain investor confidence while reaching out to mend strained international relations. One partner claims that the government has put in "a lot of efforts to reclaim the name, polish the image, and to make Honduras an attractive destination for investment, for foreign capital."

Hoping to attract investors, the government launched "Honduras is Open for Business." Held in San Pedro Sula, one attorney describes it as a "big event" that detailed infrastructure opportunities and presented new investment laws. So far, to compliment the goals of the conference, lawyers cite the importance of the newly-passed Law for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), which in the words of one, could "propel a platform of investment".

Despite the government's progressive business agenda, one partner foresaw problems in the regulatory infrastructure for banks, a problem that may choke liquidity. "Banking is not necessarily moving in this direction," says one attorney in comparison to the government's business agenda. "It used to be the most active, flexible sector in Honduras." He cites a slew of new regulations aimed at consumer protection that burdened the banking sector. "They have gone overboard, as far as regulations."