Honduran presidential candidate Xiomara Castro headed for a landslide win in Sunday’s election, declaring victory yesterday as supporters danced outside her offices to celebrate the left’s return to power 12 years after her husband was ousted in a coup.
Castro, 62, has pledged to tax the rich, overhaul the nation’s “failed neoliberal model” and consider whether to end the nation’s alliance with Taiwan.
The election, set to give Honduras its first female president, seemed to have run smoothly, a contrast to four years ago, when a close outcome led to a contested result and deadly protests after widespread allegations of irregularities.
Photo: Bloomberg
With half the ballots counted, Castro, the wife of former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, held a nearly 20-point lead over Nasry Asfura, the capital’s mayor and ruling National Party hopeful, who won 34 percent, according to a preliminary tally yesterday.
Jubilant celebrations broke out at Castro’s campaign headquarters as the vote count poured in and her lead held up. The offices of Asfura’s ruling conservative National Party were deserted.
A self-proclaimed democratic socialist in a country where few women hold public office, Castro won support of a broad swathe of Hondurans tired of corruption and the concentration of power that grew under the National Party.
“We have turned back authoritarianism,” she told supporters late on Sunday, surrounded by her Libre Party faithful, aides and family, including her husband Zelaya, who was ousted when business and military elites allied against him, ushering in a dozen years of National Party rule.
Depending on her policy choices, Castro could reverse a weakening of the Honduran justice system that has benefited corrupt and criminal groups, a trend seen across Central America in recent years.
She has promised to enlist the help of the UN to strengthen the fight against corruption. She vows to legalize abortion in some cases. She might end diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing, an issue of concern to Washington.
In Taipei, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said the ministry has been in touch with the presidential candidates, as well as their key aides and advisers.
The ministry has been carefully following the election and is confident that the outcome would not have a major effect on Honduras’ foreign affairs, he said, adding that regardless of the outcome it would be good for Honduras’ diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.
“There won’t likely be any problems,” he said, adding that the ministry would continue to watch developments in the election.
Honduras is one of the 15 remaining countries that has full official diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than with the People’s Republic of China.
Additional reporting by CNA and Bloomberg
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