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Summary
On November 28, almost 70% of Hondurans eligible to vote went to the polls and elected Xiomara Castro as their next President. The victory represents a slam dunk win for the LIBRE party but also for the Honduran people, who voted in masses to end the 12-year U.S.-backed narco-dictatorship.
Host Karen Spring interviews Honduran women in the social movement and human rights organizations about their responses to Xiomara’s victory. She gives an overview of election celebrations, the results of the Congressional level, and outlines some of the difficulties facing the new government that takes power on January 27, 2022.
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Transcript
Karen Spring:
On election night on November 28 [2021], Xiomara Castro Sarmiento and the LIBRE Party made history. The president-elect broke historical records, receiving the most votes in the history of the country, becoming the first president in recent history to not come from the countries’ two traditional parties. And also Xiomara will become the first woman president of Honduras.
But on November 28, Xiomara wasn’t the only one that made history. With a 68.58% participation rate, Hondurans flooded the polls and voted to end 12 years of National Party rule. That night, Hondurans started the beginning of the end of the corrupt neoliberal narco-dictatorship that took shape following the US and Canadian backed 2009 military coup. It would be a mistake to attribute the result solely to the LIBRE Party. The election result was due in large part thanks to 12 hard years of struggle led by the Honduran social movement and grassroots community groups.
Welcome to the Honduras Now podcast. This podcast shares human rights stories from Honduras and connects them with global issues and North American policy. I’m your host, Karen Spring, a longtime human rights activist that has lived in Honduras for over a decade. Thanks so much for listening.
On election night, with an expected victory that was highly unlikely to be reversed, except of course with another massive fraud, like there was in 2017, and maybe another systems crash, again like 2017, Xiomara took the stage and delivered her victory speech.
Xiomara Castro (interpreted):
We won, we won, 12 years of the people in resistance. And those 12 years were not in vain. Because today, the people showed up and gave meaning to the slogan, “Only the people will save the people!” Thank you to the resistance. Thank you to the alliance that we have built with Salvador Nasralla and the Salvador de Honduras Party, with Doris Gutiérrez, the PINU Party [Innovation and Unity Party], with the Honduras Humana, with Milton [Benítez], with the Liberals in opposition. Thank you for the unity that we have built together with the Honduran people who showed up today, as we held a civic celebration in our country. I also want to send, from the depths of my heart, an enduring salute to our martyrs who offered their lives, so that today our people can have freedom, democracy, and justice.
God may take a while, but does not forget. And today, the people have created justice. We stopped authoritarianism and stopped them from staying in power. Throughout the campaign that we developed, we never made a video or released an attack message, or any message that could generate hate or division amongst our people.
We dealt with a lot, but the author of the history, the people, awarded us with their support. We will form a government of reconciliation in our country, a government of peace and a government of justice. We are going to initiate a process throughout all of Honduras to guarantee a participatory democracy, a direct democracy, because we are going to be consulting the people. That will be a norm of governance at the level of local governments, mayors, Congress, and the executive branch. Never again, Hondurans, will there be abuse of power in this country. From this moment on, the people will prevail eternally, onward towards a direct democracy, onward towards a participatory democracy.
I am extending a hand to my opposition, because I don’t have enemies. I will call for a dialogue starting tomorrow with all sectors of the Honduran nation so that we can find points we coincide on that allow us to build the minimal foundation for the next government.
I want to say to the Honduran people, the people who listened to us as we went throughout the country, that all the promises that we made, you should know and trust that we will keep them. We will not rest one moment. We will give our soul, life, and heart to be able to guarantee a different homeland, a just homeland, an equitable homeland, a free, independent Honduras, able to respond to the many needs of the people.
We will have a permanent dialogue with the Honduran people. And, starting tomorrow, we are going to sit down to meet not just with those social movement organizations, the business people, and sectors of our country, but also with the international organizations to seek the answers that our homeland needs. We are going to build a new era, we are going to build a new history for the Honduran people together.
Today I want to say from the depths of my heart, so that the Honduran people feel it: No more war! No more hate! No more death squads! No more corruption! No more drug trafficking and organized crime! No more ZEDEs! No more poverty and misery in Honduras! Until the final victory, united people, together, we are going to transform our country! Thank you very much.
Karen Spring:
In front of the LIBRE Party headquarters on the night of the election, and throughout the streets of the capital, thousands of people celebrated. The celebrations turned into street parties and caravans. As I drove home that night after a long day of election observation, I passed dozens of vehicles with LIBRE flags hanging out the windows. In some areas, there were so many people partying together, that the parties spilled out onto the roads, blocking the streets. For once in a very long time, you could feel the excitement and relief in the air.
Being in Honduras that evening, I didn’t feel like there was much of a chance for electoral funny business or a fraud that evening, at least on the presidential level. But I know that, as many watch the elections from outside the country, people were on guard, and standing by, totally skeptical. For me, on election night and the few days following it, it was nice to feel hope in the air, a hope that had been missing for years, a hope that allowed people to consider the possibilities, all the possibilities, about what a different Honduras could be and could feel like.
Outside the LIBRE headquarters, as the celebrations went on, this song, playfully claiming that Juan Hernando Hernández will soon be sent to New York to face drug trafficking charges, blasted from the loudspeakers, over and over again, as the crowd danced and cheered.
[Excerpt from the song, “Juanchi Va Pa’ Nueva York”]
Despite the hesitation by many people watching Honduras from outside, in Honduras it didn’t feel like Xiomara’s victory could be overturned. Her lead was too strong. Then on December 21, after all votes were counted and verified, Xiomara Castro’s victory was officially confirmed by the National Electoral Council, and she was declared the next president of Honduras.
As part of today’s episode, I wanted to share some responses to the elections by Honduran women that are part of the social movement and have worked on human rights and Indigenous rights over the last 12 years. With many happy that Xiomara won the presidency, there seems to be a general overall feeling that nothing that the new government faces will be easy. Even though people feel relief and hope, many people in the social movement are aware that the government faces serious economic and social challenges after the end of a 12-year dictatorship. The road ahead will be nothing but difficult. That’s not even to mention the internal difficulties that Xiomara will face within the coalition that formed around her and that contributed to her electoral victory.
For years, the Coordinator of Popular Organizations of the Aguán, or COPA, along with several campesino or small farmers’ movements, have been fighting against large-scale African palm plantations, owned by wealthy elite families like the Facussé family. Between 2010 and 2012 alone, over 120 small farmers were killed in the Aguán Valley, as part of the land reclamation struggles. COPA has also been very involved in land struggles in the Aguán Valley, including the global campaign to free the eight imprisoned Guapinol water defenders. This is Esly Banegas from the Coordinating Committee of Popular Organizations of the Aguán (COPA), located in the Aguán Valley.
Esly Banegas (interpreted):
We have recently gone through the entire electoral process, where the Honduran people achieved an overwhelming victory. We are tired of the narco-dictator’s tyranny. These elections reflected the need for the people to take power, for the need to change living conditions in the country, and for the misery that began after the coup d’etat.
The new government of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya can respond to the Honduran people’s most felt needs. Justice can be now achieved for the many murders, for the comrades who have been and who continue to be political prisoners, following the different frauds that we have also experienced in previous electoral processes. There can now be justice in this country. It will be possible for the government to really look at us, the people, with human eyes, not like competition, as they have seen us in the past.
We were seen as the enemies of a political class that was taking advantage of and selling our territory, giving up our country, enriching themselves through drug trafficking with extreme corruption. This electoral process showed everyone that we are, were, and continue to be tired, tired of the situation that we have lived and experienced.
Karen Spring:
The election victory, like Esly said, wasn’t just an end to a narco-dictatorship. Hondurans also clearly voted against many of the policies that the National Party had put in place over the 12 years of rule. One of these being neoliberal policies, like handing over territory to the highest bidders, and favoring the economic interests of a few over the land rights of whole communities.
Some saw this election as saying no to the extreme neoliberal projects, one being the ZEDEs, or Zones for Employment and Economic Development. The ZEDE project has grown and evolved over the last 12 years, and their fierce promoters are key figures inside the National Party. ZEDEs are projects, neoliberal logic taken to its extreme. They basically carve off a portion of Honduran territory and then auction it off to the highest bidders. A wealthy individual or company from anywhere in the world can invest in creating a ZEDE in Honduras. They can decide where they want to build the ZEDE. The land can then be expropriated to them. And the investors can basically create their own nation within Honduras as borders. They can build a nation or city and create their own court system, their own laws, police, national anthem, social services, and basically anything they want. It’s like wealthy people having the opportunity to build their own country. Honduran communities have been fighting against ZEDEs for years. As part of her government plan, Xiomara has said she will overturn the legislation that gave birth to the ZEDEs.
Marianela Mejía Solórzano, from OFRANEH, has been accused of various crimes and criminalized for defending her community’s land rights in Trujillo Bay in northern Honduras. This beautiful bay on the Caribbean coast is the location of interest to some international investors interested in building a ZEDE. This is Marianela Mejía talking about what the recent electoral victory means to her.
Marianela Mejía Solórzano (interpreted):
My name is Marianela Mejía Solórzano. I am from Trujillo, Colón. I’m Garifuna. And I am a human rights defender with the organization, OFRANEH. From my point of view, I think this government will bring change. The entire population, different sectors of society, have been waiting for a change of government, as we’ve been forced to live under a narco-state. This change will help calm the population. It’s been 12 years since we’ve been under constant attack. And the main attack against us right now are the ZEDEs. If this law could be overturned, it would be the most important for us as an organization, as Garifuna, because we must defend our ancestral territories.
Karen Spring:
Even though the election victory has sparked hope for change, the new government will face demands from many sectors. Xiomara’s government will have to perform a balancing act. During her campaign, Xiomara proposed to side with the Honduran people. She has said that she will overturn many of the laws that maintain the structure of the dictatorship. But despite this, many organizations are clear that they will need to keep pushing, keep demanding, and that structural change will not come easy, even under a progressive government.
This is Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, from the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), in an interview she did with People’s Dispatch.
Bertita Zúñiga Cáceres (interpreted):
We are hopeful because Xiomara has had positions and a discourse more related to people’s interests. We know that we are going to have to fight as organizations, movements, and people. If we lose the clarity that it is us, the organizations, the people who have suffered these hardships, that we have to begin or resume the dialogues for the structural transformation of Honduras, then there is not going to be any substantial or significant change. I think it’s an important victory that inspires a lot of hope. I think it’s going to be a breath of fresh air, also to the organizations, to deepen their organizing, to position strategic issues in the midst of a very unfavorable political and economic situation in our country. And so this is the country that will be handed over to this new government that we, the people, will have to rebuild together.
Karen Spring:
Xiomara’s government will take power on January 27, 2022. Plans are already in place for her inauguration in the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa. Now, we still haven’t talked about the results of the Congressional or municipal level elections. But before I get into that, I want to share one more brief interview with a long-term human rights defender, Dunia Pérez Rodríguez.
Dunia Pérez Rodríguez (interpreted):
I’m Dunia Pérez Rodríguez, a lawyer and a human rights defender. I work with the Reflection, Investigation, and Communication Team for the Society of Jesus in Honduras. I’ve been working in human rights defense for approximately 20 years.
About the results of the general elections in Honduras, I think they were a surprise to everyone, because we all thought that the context would end up in violence. So we were surprised that that didn’t occur and we are thankful for that. The Honduran people went out peacefully to vote and it ended up being a victory for Xiomara Castro Sarmiento, which the people are still celebrating.
Now, how do I see the next four years in terms of human rights defense, including the defense of natural resources and territory? I don’t think it’s going to be easy. Everything will depend on how power is formed in the National Congress. Because we must remember that different territories and rivers were concessioned and handed over through many laws passed by the National Congress. So to overturn all of those laws that did that will not be easy for organizations that defend human rights in this country. Maybe Xiomara Castro will be more open to hear from these organizations. I think that she has an obligation, a commitment to do this, because many people went out to protest in support of these struggles since the military coup, and they have been criminalized and subjected to unfair and illegal charges.
Karen Spring:
Just like in the United States, things get complicated when the party that holds the presidency doesn’t also hold majority power in Congress. In the days following the elections, allegations of fraud on the congressional levels surfaced, but mostly by Salvador Nasralla. Nasralla had formed a presidential coalition with Xiomara of the LIBRE Party, but his party still maintained its structure on the congressional level, and the party had several congressional candidates that ran in the elections. Nasralla began denouncing irregularities with vote tally sheets on the congressional level. Some of these irregularities favored some National Party candidates, like Juan Orlando Hernández’s right-hand man, Ebal Díaz, but these allegations surfaced and the modified tally sheets were posted on social media.
Now, in theory, these materials are flagged because of the irregularities and then passed to an area for special revision by the National Electoral Council authorities. It’s not fair to say that this election was without fraud. There are several congressional candidates, largely from the PSH and the National Party, that claim that the CNE has not taken allegations seriously. Without access to ballots, congressional candidates have to rely on the CNE to flag the right ballots and call for a recount.
But, surprisingly, there has been an increased demand across various sectors to punish those that committed electoral crimes. The outcry possibly stems from the bad experiences from the 2017 elections. Or it’s possible that the high-level US State Department delegation that visited Honduras in the week before the elections also expressed their concern that fraudulent acts could not remain in impunity, at least this election. For more about the US visit to Honduras before the elections, check out Episode 27.
It’s now over three weeks since the elections. Special vote counting processes that involved opening and recounting contested ballot boxes and recounting votes are almost complete. As of December 21, with 95.2% of all vote tally sheets counted and verified, it looks like the LIBRE Party won the most seats in Congress, but not enough to have a majority on its own. This means it will need to negotiate with other parties to pass legislation.
The LIBRE party won 50 seats, the PSH [Partido Salvador de Honduras] party won 10 seats. Now it’s expected, although not fully certain, that these two parties will vote together. But, together, their votes total 60 out of 128 seats in Congress. That means they’re still four votes short of a simple majority. Now to get a majority, the LIBRE Party and PSH could rely on some of the 22 votes won by the Liberal Party. But again, that isn’t necessarily guaranteed. Some believe that approximately 10 Liberal Party seats are more likely to vote in favor of the LIBRE/PSH congressional coalition. But dynamics can shift and change once the new government takes power.
So I’ve accounted for the 50 seats won by the LIBRE Party, the 10 won by PSH, and the 22 won by the Liberal Party. I should also mention that two small parties, that have traditionally voted with the National Party, also won one seat each. Now the National Party that dominated this current Congress, that is still sitting, won 44 seats in this election. They are now the second largest party in Congress.
The good news here, at least in my opinion, is that many of the corrupt National Party Congressional Representatives did not get reelected, and the National Party lost 17 seats this election compared to the last one. So despite Xiomara taking the presidency, the dynamic in Congress could make or break several initiatives that Xiomara has promised to push forward.
On a municipal level, there were some surprising and promising results as well. Two of Honduras’s largest cities, Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, that have been under National Party rule for several years, were won by candidates with ties to the LIBRE Party.
With a little over a month away from the inauguration of the new government on January 27, there is a looming issue that remains one of the main topics on the minds of many people in the social movement, and that is the case of the eight imprisoned water defenders from Guapinol, discussed in Episode 14 of this podcast. Xiomara has made a public commitment to free the Guapinol defenders. They have been unjustly imprisoned for over two full years. Their trial was set to start a few days after the November 28 elections, but was postponed again.
As I stood outside the courthouse on December 9 and 10, waiting for the Guapinol trial to start, I couldn’t help but think that the pleas for their release, and the situation that Guapinol as a community faces, transcends their particular situation. The pleas for their release almost sounded like a summary of the general position of the Honduran social movement, as we move into a new political context, under a new government, in January of next year.
Esly Banegas (interpreted):
Our comrades are firm in their position. They’re clear and convinced of the struggle that exists. This was never going to be easy. And this was never easy. So today, we will continue to be firm in our positions, we will continue to be strong, and we will continue to move forward with our heads held high.
Karen Spring:
Before I close the episode for today, I just want to say that the defeat of a 12-year narco-dictatorship was also partially because of the solidarity that has happened with Honduras from outside of Honduras’s borders. Many of you contributed to this victory. Make sure you celebrate it.
I personally am looking forward to the day I get to attend Juan Orlando Hernández’s narco trial, either in New York City or in Tegucigalpa. I also joined the dances on the streets the night of Xiomara’s victory, not because I’m a huge supporter of the LIBRE Party, but because it’s been a hard 12 years of struggle. I look forward to accompanying all Honduran organizations and groups as they begin the process to rebuild and refound their country and their communities, starting January 27, 2022.
So that’s the show for today. Please, as always, check out our show notes at Honduras.now.org. Also check us out on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Wishing you all the very best this holiday season wherever you are in the world. Thank you for listening and thank you so much for supporting this podcast. That’s it for today. This is your host, Karen Spring, signing off. Happy Holidays and hasta pronto.