How Erick Brimen Helped Launch a Honduran Charter City.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Q&A

IN 2017, HONDURAS granted a charter to a private company allowing it to operate a zone of separate governing policies, called Zones for Economic Development and Employment (ZEDEs), inside of Honduras' borders.

Advocates hope that the zones will, through regulatory and governance innovation, create greater security and prosperity than the rest of the troubled country, famously mired in crime and corruption.

The first ZEDE is run by a company called Prospera, which launched its website publicly in spring 2020 and began operating in a 58-acre area of the Honduran island of Roatan; the company is now also operating a ZEDE on the mainland, in La Ceiba. One of its big selling points is no tariffs or trade barriers for nonhazardous or nonillegal items.

In October, Reason's Brian Doherty interviewed Prospera's Venezuelan-born CEO, Erick Brimen, about the project via Zoom.

Q: Many have tried to get a ZEDE charter. Why was Prospera the first to succeed?

A: I think what did it was our ability to position the advantages of ZEDE law in theory and connect them with economic development instead of saying we are trying to create a libertopia; economic liberty creates prosperity and generates jobs, and that's why we want to do it. We shifted the conversation away from advancing a political ideology towards, yes, liberty, but as a tool to development.

Q: Why the island of Roatan?

A: We want to attract international entrepreneurs and investors and become a financial center for the country and region. In Roatan [residents] speak English, use the dollar. Roatan is a Caribbean paradise. Crime is not an issue here. It's beautiful, with an international airport with flights to Houston, Miami, and Atlanta. Roatan is a former British colony, while the rest of Honduras is a former Spanish colony, so they have very different cultures.

Q: Did the existing population have to agree to the ZEDE?

A: A referendum has to be carried out if there is a preexisting population, but with no population then there is no one to consult. That's for residents; if there are property owners, every property owner has to opt into the ZEDE. Prospera thus far has incorporated on lands with no residents, all privately acquired at fair market prices, with no government intervention.

Q: Why would a person or company value being in Prospera?

A: What...