In Honduras, a promise kept
Since Xiomara Castro was elected president of Honduras last November, one persistent question has been whether she will be able to govern once she takes office. Honduras is one of the most violent and corrupt places on earth. For the past eight years it has been run by a president with deep family ties to cocaine trafficking. “Impunity,” according to Human Rights Watch, “remains the norm.”
Ms. Castro vowed during her campaign to change that. Now, on the eve of her inauguration on Thursday, citizens in this Central American country are getting a glimpse of what integrity in government might look like under their first female president.
To form a majority alliance in the Congress, Ms. Castro promised the leadership of the legislature to a smaller party. A faction within her party broke ranks on Friday and tried to install one of their own instead. To do so, they joined sides with the outgoing ruling party. “The Lady,” as Ms. Castro is known, said no. A scuffle ensued on the floor, and she expelled the rebellious members from her party.
The split has caused a constitutional crisis. With lawmakers backing two different leaders of Congress, neither legitimately installed, Ms. Castro’s reform agenda faces stiff head winds. But observers see an upside. The incoming president is standing up to the kind of political pacts that have enabled corruption to thrive, says Roberto Herrera Cáceres, former state commissioner for human rights. That offers hope that “we will return to constitutional norms so we can realize the common goal of dignity, common welfare, and social justice,” he told reporters Sunday.
A former first lady whose husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, was ousted in a military coup in 2009, Ms. Castro has promised “a government of reconciliation” following years of violent repression under the outgoing president, Juan Orlando Hernandez.
“I extend my hand to my opponents because I have no enemies,” she said after winning the election. “I will call for a dialogue … with all sectors.”
She vowed to abolish the military police and restore judicial independence and has invited the United Nations to set up an independent anti-graft unit. Her social priorities include protecting the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, and Indigenous groups.
Those intentions have endeared Ms. Castro to the Biden administration, which seeks a more stable partner in addressing the root causes of emigration from Central America. From 2015 to 2020, according to the United Nations, emigration from Honduras increased by 530%. Between 2012 and 2021, food insecurity in Honduras rose 35% – the fastest in Central America.
The latest AmericasBarometer report from Vanderbilt University found that people in the region say the motives of migration include violence, corruption, and a lack of economic opportunity and education. But the 2021 report also found a silver lining: a resiliency in public support of democracy.
“The public strongly asserts its desire to have a voice in politics. Yet, people are skeptical of electoral democracy’s capacity to deliver,” the study said. “What would it take to increase confidence in electoral democracy? ... Clean governance.”
In a country where people are accustomed to distrusting politicians, Ms. Castro’s refusal to renege on a promise may help shift a culture of corruption and impunity. To those worried that she may have put her presidency at risk before it even starts, she has a response: Without integrity there is no governance.
