By Satyaki Chakraborty
Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro raced to an early big lead in the Honduran presidential election on Sunday November 28 positioning her to become the first female head of the Central American country. The wife of the former President Manuel Zelaya secured 53 per cent support as against 33 per cent by the ruling National Party’s candidate Nasry Astura, as per the latest counting figures. The poll watchers projected her big win at the end of the final counting.
Castro’s victory, if it finally takes place, will be a big boost for the Latin American Left. It will end a dozen years of right wing rule by the National Party in this small nation of less than 10 million population. What is significant that Castro’s husband was thrown out in 2009 from the presidential position by a coup which was backed by the American intelligence agency CIA. So that way, the present win of the Left candidate will be a fit rebuff to that American action.
The incumbent president Juan Orlando Hernandez is most discredited due to his close connections with drug mafia though he has been consistently denying the connections. Castro has unified the opposition parties on the basis of a programme including the intensification of battle against the drug cartels having links with the ruling party.
Honduras is among the world’s most violent countries and most of the incidents are related to drug trade. Young people have very little local jobs, so they get attached to drug mafia or try to flee to the United States for jobs. Castro has offered a major programme for creating jobs for youth within the country and steps for improving the standard of living of the poor people.
As soon as the polling was over, Castro promised a permanent dialogue with the Honduran people and said beginning Monday she wanted to open conversations with all sectors of Honduran society and international organizations to seek solutions for the Central American country, which is recovering from two major hurricanes, troubled by gangs and enduring corruption and high poverty.
Honduras is bordered by Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. On the north, the country shares a vast stretch of coast with the Caribbean Sea. On the south, it shares a small stretch with the Pacific Ocean. Several islands are also found off the country’s coasts. Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, following Nicaragua.
Honduras has four distinct regions: the central highlands, Pacific lowlands, eastern Caribbean lowlands, and northern coastal plains and mountains. Mountains are plentiful in Honduras, with peaks as high as 9,347 feet (2,849 meters), though Honduras is the only country in Central America without volcanoes.
If finally Castro takes over as the president of Honduras that will act as a fresh boost to the Latin American left in the recent months. The left won in Bolivia, Peru, Nicaragua and now in Honduras. Earlier the left was defeated in Ecuador presidential elections and in Chile, the left candidate became second and the run off for President’s post is on December 19.
Recently, in Venezuela, President Maduro’s Socialist Party won the national elections in Parliament despite virulent campaign by the right wing parties backed by the American corporate interests.
The recent positive trends in favour of the Left in Latin America will be having its impact on the presidential elections in Brazil next year when the Workers Party leader Lulla is supposed to challenge the present rightwing president J Bolsonaro. The incumbent president’s popularity level has reached all time low and he has made a mess in dealing with the covid epidemic. Opinion polls have made the former p[resident Lulla as front runner but the rightwing parties are also preparing well for the final battle. (IPA Service)
Narendra Modi’s Four Labour Codes Are Substandard 