On day one, Honduras' first female president faces challenges

Xiomara Castro is expected to be sworn in at noon EST Thursday as Honduras’ first female president, facing high expectations to turn around the deeply troubled country amid uncertainty about whether an unfolding legislative crisis will allow her the support she needs.

Relatively smooth elections and a healthy margin of victory Nov. 28 came as a relief, but political maneuvering in the run-up to Ms. Castro’s inauguration has muddled the outlook and distracted from what was to be a hopeful new beginning after the two terms of President Juan Orlando Hernández.

In the days when Ms. Castro was supposed to be rolling out her Cabinet selections, Honduras has been engulfed by a dispute over who will lead the newly elected Congress. Two congressional leadership teams have been selected – neither legitimately according to experts – and their standoff threatens legislative paralysis at a time that Ms. Castro desperately needs to quickly get to work addressing Honduras’ problems.

Elected lawmakers from Ms. Castro’s own Liberty and Refoundation Party backed one of their own to be the legislative body’s new president Friday rather than support Ms. Castro’s choice, which had been agreed with her vice president to win his party’s support. Neither group backed down leading to surreal simultaneous legislative sessions Tuesday.

Luis Ruiz, a Castro supporter and fruit vendor near the Congress, said the political disagreement threatened to divide the country. “She [Castro] has to resolve this situation through dialogue,” Mr. Ruiz said. “She hasn’t taken power and she’s already having problems, she must show her leadership.”

High unemployment, persistent violence, corruption as well as troubled health care and educational systems are just some of the pressing challenges awaiting Ms. Castro.

The United States government, seeing an opportunity to gain an ally in a region with few friends, has strongly backed Ms. Castro and stands ready to provide support. In a possible sign of tensions in the region, presidents from neighbors El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua were not scheduled to attend.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was given the task of finding ways to address the root causes of Central American migration, leads the U.S. delegation at Thursday’s inauguration ceremony.

Washington sees areas for cooperation on Ms. Castro’s priorities of battling corruption and increasing economic opportunities in her country, two areas that could affect decisions by Hondurans on whether to stay or try to migrate to the United States.

“Honduras has been a very difficult partner for the United States, especially during the administration of Juan Orlando Hernández for a number of reasons, including the consistent swirl of illegal activity around him and his family,” said Jason Marczak, senior director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council.

“The anti-corruption agenda being front and center and her [Ms. Castro’s] pledges is music to the ears of the Biden-Harris administration, given its focus on rooting out corruption not only in Central America but its global efforts on corruption,” he said.

Ms. Castro has said she plans to formally invite the United Nations to set up an anti-corruption mission in Honduras.

Vice President Harris was scheduled to meet privately with Ms. Castro shortly after her inauguration. Ms. Castro and Ms. Harris spoke by phone Dec. 10.

In a call with reporters Wednesday, senior Biden administration officials said Ms. Harris expected to expand on that conversation about ways to deepen the bilateral relationship. “The topics will include expanding economic opportunity, combating corruption, and humanely managing migration,” a senior administration said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Taiwanese Vice President William Lai is also attending the inauguration in a bid to bolster ties with Honduras under Ms. Castro, Reuters reported. During her election campaign, Ms. Castro threatened to switch allegiance to Beijing from Taipei if elected president.

After meeting Mr. Lai on Wednesday, Ms. Castro said Honduras is grateful for Taiwan’s support and hopes to maintain their relationship. Mr. Lai had been due to hold formal talks with Ms. Castro and deliver materials to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was canceled, Taiwan’s Central News Agency said.

Ms. Castro won on her third bid for the presidency. She was previously first lady during the presidency of her husband, Manuel Zelaya, which was cut short by a military coup in 2009.

On Thursday, just hours before her inauguration, Ms. Castro announced her cabinet picks via Twitter. There were two women out of 16 announced positions. Her son Hector Zelaya, will be her private secretary and Manuel Zelaya's nephew, José Manuel Zelaya, is her choice for defense secretary.

Ramón Sabillón, a former National Police chief, who recently returned after years living in exile in the United States, was her pick for security minister.

Many voters this time said they were motivated above all by the possibility of removing Mr. Hernández’s National Party from power. Mr. Hernández was first elected in 2013 and a friendly Supreme Court allowed him to overcome a constitutional ban on re-election and run again in 2017 in an election plagued by irregularities.

Federal prosecutors in New York have repeatedly spoken of Mr. Hernández’s purported ties to drug trafficking, alleging his political rise was funded in part by drug profits. Mr. Hernández has not been formally charged and has repeatedly denied the accusations.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Material from Reuters and the Taiwanese Central News Agency was used in this report.