Honduran President-elect hopes to have a small majority in Congress Politics News

Honduran President-elect Xiomara Castro, the first woman to lead the Central American nation, is waiting for the results of close competition to see if her left-wing party will gain control of Congress a day after its main rival. he accepted defeat.

Holding on to the 12-year power of the right-wing National Party when Castro was inaugurated in January, attention was paid to the fate of the 128-member Congress on Wednesday.

The balance of power in Congress is in the air, but preliminary results showed the possibility of a simple majority. Castro’s party and his allies – if the current number of votes is maintained.

This would make it easier for some to pass Castro’s legislative priorities, but the commitment to convene an assembly to rewrite the Honduran constitution could still be blocked, as it would require a two-thirds majority.

Former Electoral Council member Denis Gomez estimated that Castro’s Free Party would win 51 seats, while his main ally, Vice President Salvador Nasralla’s party, would win 14, giving the governing coalition a one-member majority.

But Gomez stressed that this composition of the single-chamber legislature could still change if the counting trend changes.

It is unclear when the final vote count will be announced.

“If that majority does not hold, they should negotiate,” he said, probably with the center-right Liberal Party, which is expected to form the third largest bloc in the next Congress after the National Party.

Political analyst Raul Pineda was less cautious about Castro’s influence on incoming lawmakers. His party, working with the vice-president’s party, “will have a simple majority to reform or repeal the law.”

But Castro and his allies would have to cut nearly 20 more votes, most likely from the Liberal Party, to get a two-thirds majority in constitutional reform, Pineda added.

The same super-majority would also be needed to elect new members of the Supreme Court and a new chief prosecutor.

Challenges and opportunities

In addition to the political clashes in Congress, Castro will face other major challenges as he takes office as president of the Central American country.

Unemployment is over 10 percent, northern Honduras was devastated by two hurricanes last year, and street gangs have slashed the economy with extortion and violence. Encouraging migration to the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken congratulated Castro on his victory on Tuesday night and said he hopes to work with him to “strengthen democratic institutions, promote inclusive economic growth and fight corruption.”

The people of Honduras used their power to vote in free and fair elections. We would like to congratulate them and the President @XiomaraCastroZ and we hope to work together to strengthen democratic institutions, promote inclusive economic growth, and fight corruption.

– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 1, 2021

The Castro government may present challenges, but also opportunities for the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who wanted to keep his predecessor away from concerns about corruption and links to drug groups.

Many supporters of Castro remember the initial slowness that the US government called for the removal of Castro’s husband Manuel Zelaya from the presidency in 2009. Suddenly, and then continued to work closely with the presidents of the National Party.

From a U.S. perspective, Washington remembers how Castro and Zelaya got along with then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

But analysts say the consensus between Castro and the U.S. government lies in at least three areas: immigration, drug trafficking, and corruption. And as relations between Washington and the leaders of El Salvador and Guatemala prevail, the U.S. government can use its productive relationship with Honduras.

Despite his efforts to paint Castro as a communist, experts expected him to rule as a centrist, while attracting foreign investment to raise the poor in Honduras.

In a statement in June, Castro pledged to propose a plan to the Biden administration to “address and address the real causes of migration.”

Castro describes Honduran emigration as an escape from inequality, corruption, poverty, and violence. This is no different from where Biden administration officials have raised the issue and want to focus on US aid.

But Castro also blames the US government.

“I think the Biden administration has a tremendous opportunity to address the issue of migration,” Castro said in a June speech. “First, by acknowledging that they are partly responsible for what is happening in our country,” he added, highlighting the 2009 coup.

Castro has sacked the administration of outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernandez for corruption.

It was Hernandez’s administration that ended the United States Organization’s anti-corruption mission in Honduras in 2020 after its work touched some National Party lawmakers for alleged misuse of public funds.

He said he was interested in returning an international anti-corruption mission to Honduras. That, along with a strong and independent attorney general, could start to address one of the country’s deepest problems.

U.S. federal prosecutors have put corruption under the microscope in drug trafficking cases that have reached out to top Honduran politicians. Most notable was Hernandez’s brother, a former federal lawmaker who was convicted of drug trafficking charges. life imprisonment in the US.