General elections in Honduras polarized and exhausted in the face of violence
The Free Party candidate, Xiomara Castro, is leading the polls to win the presidential election this Sunday, November 28, 2021 in Honduras.
© Luis ACOSTA / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Nearly 5.2 million Hondurans are called to the polls this Sunday, November 28, for the general elections.
Thirteen candidates are running for the succession of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, suspected by the United States of being involved in drug trafficking.
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On the left, candidate Xiomara Castro, wife of former President Manuel Zelaya, overthrown in 2009 by a coup, is the favorite in the polls.
At the head of the Free Party, the 62-year-old candidate proposes, in this very conservative country, to legalize abortion and marriage for all.
For the first time in its history, Honduras could therefore elect a president.
In 2013, Xiomara Castro was beaten by a short head by the outgoing president.
This time, she benefits from strong support: several presidential candidates have chosen to withdraw to support her.
The objective is to regain power, which has been in the hands of the Partido Nacional for more than 10 years since the coup in 2009. At the head of this right-wing party, Nasry Asfura, 63, is the mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa.
A country facing violence, corruption and drug trafficking
The campaign was
particularly violent, with
the two candidates accusing each other of corruption and involvement in drug trafficking.
The list of challenges is immense: the country is plagued by gangs,
corruption
.
More than half of the 10 million people live below the poverty line and unemployment has almost doubled in a year due to the pandemic.
A situation that pushes thousands of Hondurans to flee each year, mainly in the direction of the United States.
►Also listen: Grand reportage - Honduras: living where gangs reign
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