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Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé
UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography, (2003)
Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé
It was his "New Agenda" platform that helped to sweep Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé (born 1950) into the presidency of Honduras in December of 1997.
Oscar A. Flores and his wife Margarita Facusséde Flores became parents for the first time on March 1, 1950. They named their son Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé. As was the custom in Honduras, he would have both his father's surname, Flores, and his mother's, Facussé. The future political leader of Honduras was born in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Almost a half a century later, thousands would cheer for him in the same city as he took the presidential oath of office.
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Like most of his nation, Flores was born into a Catholic family. He was not born into the same poverty, however, that had much of Honduras in its grip. Even by the 1990s, the average annual income for Hondurans was estimated at $650 in U.S. currency-one of the lowest in the western hemisphere. An estimated 80 percent of the population was reported to be in poverty in the 1990s.
The poor economic conditions of Honduras spawned a history of political unrest. Flores' father, Oscar, was part of that turmoil. Ruling in the 1950s was Julio Lozano Diaz. In 1956, despite a democratic process, Diaz did not want to turn control of the government over to new president Ramon Villeda Morales. The newspapers, including El Pueblo of which Oscar Flores was editor, recognized Villeda as the rightful president. Flores, Villeda, and another Liberal Party official were rounded up the next day without warning and exiled to Costa Rica. Later in the year, Diaz was himself deposed by the military, and Villeda was made president in 1958.
The incident left its mark on both Oscar Flores and young Carlos Flores. As Carlos Flores remarked in World Profile, the Making of a President, an alumni report for Louisiana State University, "Because of the hardship that [my father] had been through in leaving us when we were little-these were difficult times for us-he got the sense afterwards that politics wasn't worth it." Oscar Flores eventually abandoned the political arena and co-founded what became the popular Honduran newspaper, La Tribuna.
A Tiger in College
Carlos Flores was educated in the American school system in Honduras. The combined influence of the American schools and his mother had Flores speaking English from an early age. When it came time for college, Oscar Flores encouraged his son to go to school in the United States. Carlos Flores selected Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The school had drawn Central American students for decades, partly because of its agriculture department. Flores chose to study industrial engineering.
Flores' leadership abilities started to emerge when he began his studies at LSU in the late 1960s. The school, nicknamed the Tigers, heard a roar from Flores as he chartered the school's first and only fraternity for Hispanic students, Phi Iota Alpha. He was also an active president of the Honduran Student Association.
In 1970, while still an undergraduate, Flores met fellow student Mary Carol Flakes. Also a senior at LSU, she had a roommate who had visited Honduras over the summer and had met Flores. When school resumed in the fall, Flores went to see the roommate in the dormitory. He instead made the acquaintance of Flakes. They began dating and were married in 1974. The couple eventually had two children, Mary Elizabeth and Carlos David.
Before Flores married Flakes, however, he completed his education. After earning his bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering, Flores entered graduate school at LSU. In 1973, he earned a masters degree in international trade and finance. During this time, Flakes had also earned a bachelor's degree, although her field was textiles and marketing.
Business and Political Leader Emerges
Flores and his wife returned to Honduras after their marriage in 1974. At that time, Flores became involved in the private sector by serving on various boards of directors, including the Central Bank of Honduras. He also taught part-time at the National University. In 1979, Flores joined with his father in founding the newspaper, La Tribuna. Flores took over as president and chief executive officer of the newspaper after his father's death. The publication was sympathetic to the Liberal Party of Honduras. Unlike many Central American countries, the Liberal Party, along with its main rival, the National Party, had survived since early in the century.
Although the parties had endured, there had been military regimes until 1982 when a new constitution was drafted. Flores was instrumental in the writing of the document, beginning in 1980. In the years following, he was elected to the national congress as a Liberal Party candidate for three terms. Flores became a prominent figure in political circles, serving in the ministry of president Roberto Suazo Córdoba from 1982 to 1984.
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