The National Party of Honduras recognized this Tuesday (30) the defeat in the presidential elections and congratulated the leftist Xiomara Castro. With 52% of the ballots counted, the candidate for Libre (Liberty and Refoundation Party) is 20 percentage points ahead of the ruling Nasry Asfura.
“Today you can see the climate of peace and tranquility that exists in the country, although the National Party has not been elected to head the government,” Kilvett, secretary of the party’s central committee, told radio América, one of the most traditional in the country. Bertrand. “We wish the election winners the best.”
International observers criticized the delay in counting and the stoppage of counting for more than 24 hours. “I hope there isn’t a delay of many days [até o resultado oficial]”, said Luis Guillermo Solis, head of the mission of the OAS (Organization of American States), who praised the absence of violent political demonstrations.
According to European Union delegates, however, the National Party, the legend of the current president, Juan Orlando Hernández, used state resources in the campaign. “The state media visibly favored the ruling party and its presidential candidate,” said the head of the mission, Zeljana Zovko, who also highlighted the increased distribution of resources in social programs.
Wife of Manuel Zelaya, ousted in a coup in 2009, Xiomara is expected to be the first woman to govern the country, if the result is confirmed —Honduras has no run-off in the presidential election.
Her coming to power, with promises of conciliation, will end the 12-year hegemony of the National Party. Right-winger Hernández ends his second term involved in allegations of drug trafficking in the United States — he denies any wrongdoing.
Libre also won in this election the city halls of the two largest cities in the country, the capital Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
Xiomara’s team is already preparing the transition of government, and one of the first actions should be to try to negotiate a new agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the payment of debt with the organ, said on Tuesday Hugo Noe, one of the leaders of the leftist campaign.
“A dialogue with the IMF has begun,” he told the Reuters news agency. “Obviously, it will depend on the conditions. If there is some degree of flexibility that aligns with Libre’s policies, there is a possibility of an agreement.” Noe, former finance minister and former head of the central bank, emphasized that a government led by Xiomara would not “raise or create new taxes”.
The Honduran economy shrank 9% last year, hit by the coronavirus pandemic and two hurricanes that affected the industrial heartland of the north of the country. The country’s external debt currently reaches US$15.2 billion (R$85.7 billion), equivalent to 57% of local GDP. Payments consume more than 30% of the government budget, reducing the scope for spending on education and health.
Another measure expected from Xiomara is to establish diplomatic ties with mainland China, no longer with Taiwan —Honduras is one of 15 states in the world that maintain an embassy on the Asian island, considered a rebel province by the communist government in Beijing.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said on Tuesday that the island “continues to strengthen communication at all levels of society and with important friends to explain the positive intentions of deepening friendly ties and good relations bilateral cooperatives”.
Last week, the Chinese regime accused the United States of putting pressure on the Honduran government for the country to maintain relations with Taiwan. In response, the island urged the Caribbean country not to be taken in by Beijing’s “fuzzy and false” promises.
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