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On the Prospects of Political Change in Honduras
The rise of Xiomara Castro could signal an end to the corrupt right-wing governance of the country since the 2009 coup d’etat, but what is the forecast regarding a revived left?
This November, Hondurans will be voting in a historic election that could possibly result in the removal of the right-wing National Party of Honduras — currently led by President Juan Orlando Hernández. Since the 2009 military coup d’etat that ousted the democratically elected left-leaning leadership of Manuel Zelaya that was supported by the United States, Honduras has suffered greatly at the hands of subsequent conservative administrations.
The National Party has ruled the country in a manner that has run completely contrary to the relatively progressive visions of Zelaya and the partnerships that were fostered with other left-leaning leaders during the Pink Tide in the mid to late 2000s. After over a decade, the country has become fully embroiled in corruption scandals, as well as a worsening poverty and unemployment rate.
Like many other states in Central America, Honduras has been consistently under the political and economic boot of the United States — often having their natural resources and land be mostly or…
