After a year in power, what can be done as an assessment of the presidency of Xiomara Castro, the first president of Honduras? The one who came to power on January 27, 2022, under the banners of a program of “democratic socialism” for the “reshaping” of Honduras, is entering her second year in office. Has she succeeded in implementing the reforms promised during her election campaign?
Throughout his electoral tour, Castro had pushed a revolutionary leftist platform, promising an end to inequality and corruption. No one doubts that Hondurans voted overwhelmingly in favor of this coalition in the hope of change: his party, LIBRE, won the elections with a historic score of 51.12%.
A breath of fresh air?
Although presidential re-election is illegal in Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández (2014-2018), President of the Republic with the National Party and former President of the National Congress (2010-2014), managed to get re-elected in 2017, accentuating the political tensions in the country due to embezzlement of public funds, links in the drug trade, as well as the amendment of the Constitution to allow a president to run for re-election. Hernández was brought into local politics by former President of the National Congress (2002-2006) and former President of the Republic (2010-2014) Porfirio Lobo Sosa, who has also been involved in corruption cases.
Thus, after twelve years of National Party governments, the Zelaya-Castro program was understood as a desirable outcome in public opinion in the face of multiple crises in all areas of social life. His victory was also possible thanks to the integration behind his figure of a group of political actors who expressed their disagreement with nationalist governance, such as the Partido Salvador of Honduras, led by the popular television commentator Salvador Nasralla, the Partido Innovación y Unidad Social-Demócrata and the independent movement Honduras Humana.
A continuation of corruption
However, from the beginning of its mandate, the government showed its ability to fit perfectly into the traditions of the local and regional political culture of corruption, inefficiency, favoritism and nepotism around the implementation of undemocratic and authoritarian values in the exercise of power.
One of the main criticisms addressed to this government is precisely its dynastic character. The Zelaya-Castro family employed relatives and friends as close associates, enjoying all sorts of benefits in one of the most unequal countries on the planet. It should not be forgotten that the one who acts as the president’s main adviser is her husband and former president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya Rosales.
During his presidency in 2006 for the Liberal Party, the latter had begun a path of concentration of powers in the middle of his mandate, with the attempt to manipulate in his favor the election of the members of the Supreme Court of Justice and the controversial initiative to modify the Constitution of the Republic in order to be re-elected. In this context, and given his close friendship with the presidents of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America bloc, his main competitors for power cornered him in a coup led by the Liberal Party itself. even.
This nepotism and the close ties between friends and relatives of the president therefore come into contradiction with the campaign promises of a democratization of the management of public affairs as put forward barely more than a year ago. These links go even further: Castro has pardoned former members of Zelaya Rosales’ cabinet (2006-2009) involved in corruption cases. Some of them not only benefit from an amnesty decree, but have also been fully integrated into the government.
For the time being, the current administration continues to practice patrimonialism, a legacy that characterizes the Honduran political system. Thus, Xiomara Castro begins the second year of his mandate in a polarized and impoverished country. In addition, since the pandemic, GDP per capita has experienced a significant decline and fails to stabilize at what it was before. However, during Castro’s first year in office, the price of groceries rose 22%, failing to deliver on its promise to eradicate poverty.
Added to corruption are the problems of insecurity and violence — in general, but also against women and targeted groups, such as indigenous populations. Regarding questions on women’s rights, the cabinet is mainly composed of men, which is reflected in the lack of attention paid to women’s issues. For example, despite electoral promises to legalize the emergency contraceptive pill immediately after his election, nothing seems to be progressing in this file. Issues concerning indigenous communities also remain absent and megaprojects continue to be exploited, thus breaking several electoral promises.
The beautiful promises of change and reform have therefore not gone beyond words. Castro’s government remains a reflection of the practices that characterize Honduran politics. As the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.