Xiomara Castro

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This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Castro the second or maternal family name is Sarmiento, and, for married women, the optional marital name is de Zelaya.

Her Excellency
Xiomara Castro
Xiomara Castro 2022 (cropped).jpg
Castro at her inauguration, January 2022
56th President of Honduras
Assumed office
27 January 2022
Vice PresidentSalvador Nasralla
Doris Gutiérrez
Renato Florentino
Preceded byJuan Orlando Hernández
First Lady of Honduras
In role
27 January 2006 – 28 June 2009
PresidentManuel Zelaya
Preceded byAguas Ocaña
Succeeded bySiomara Girón
Personal details
Born
Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento

(1959-09-30) 30 September 1959 (age 62)
Santa Bárbara, Honduras
Political partyLiberal Party (until 2011)
Liberty and Refoundation (2011–present)
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1976)​
Children4, including Xiomara

Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsi.oˈmaɾa ˈkastɾo]; born 30 September 1959) is a Honduran politician who is the 56th president of Honduras.[2] She took office on 27 January 2022.[3][4] She is the country's first female president, as well as the first president not to be a member of either the Liberal Party or the National Party since democracy was restored in 1982.[5]

Castro has represented the left-wing Libre Party in the 2013, 2017 and 2021 Honduran general elections, running as the party's candidate for president of Honduras in 2013 and 2021, and for vice president of Honduras in 2017 – as Salvador Nasralla's running mate. As the country's former first lady, she was a leader of the movement resisting the 2009 coup d'état against her husband Manuel Zelaya, who was the president between 2006 and 2009. Castro was elected president of Honduras in the 2021 Honduran general election.[3][4]

Early life[]

The second of five children, Castro attended primary and secondary school in Tegucigalpa at the San José del Carmen Institute and the María Auxiliadora Institute. Following, she earned a degree in business administration without attending university.[6][7]

In January 1976, Castro married Manuel Zelaya. Immediately after the wedding, they made their home in Catacamas, Olancho.

Castro played an active part in the Association of Spouses of Members of the Rotary Club of Catacamas, as well as the activities developed within the group to take care of children in need in the Olancho department. She took part in the creation of the Centro de Cuidado Diurno para Niños en Catacamas (Children's Daily Care Center in Catacamas), with the aim of offering assistance to single-parent families led by women, including through the creation of projects of basic cleaning, sowing of vegetables, and floriculture as important projects of job development.

Political career[]

Castro in August 2007

In Catacamas, Castro organized the women's branch of the Liberal Party of Honduras and conducted a strong campaign in favor of her husband in the internal elections of February 2005, an occasion in which she was in charge of sub-political coordination of Catacamas.

As First Lady of Honduras, Castro was in charge of social development programs, and she worked with the United Nations in coalition with other first ladies to address issues faced by women with HIV.[8]

Following the removal of her husband in the 28 June 2009 coup d'état, Castro led the movement resisting the coup d'état, repeatedly joining thousands of Hondurans in the streets calling for Zelaya's return.[9] This movement became known as the National Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP) and formed the basis for the political party Libre.[9] Castro joined her husband in the Brazilian embassy, where he had taken refuge after returning to Honduras before reaching a negotiation with the de facto regime.[8]

Presidential campaigns[]

2013[]

On 1 July 2012, Castro officially launched her presidential campaign at an event in the department of Santa Barbara.[6] She then won her party's primary on 18 November 2012,[10] and on 16 June 2013, Castro was officially chosen to represent Libre in the 2013 presidential election.[9] Castro expressed opposition to neoliberalism and the militarization of society, and she campaigned for a constituent assembly to write a new constitution.[9]

Leading up to the election, Castro was first in the polls among all eight candidates during the months of March through October.[9][8][11] However, in the final poll before the election, Castro fell to second place, behind the President of the National Congress, Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party of Honduras.[12][13] Castro and Hernández were widely seen as the two leading candidates going into the election.[14][13] Castro came in second behind Hernández with 896,498 votes (28.78%) to Hernández's 1,149,302 (36.89%).[15] Even though she didn't win the presidency, she was widely seen as provoking a rupture in Honduras's bipartite system, as the support for her Libre party eclipsed that of the Liberal Party, with Libre winning the second most seats in Congress.[16]

2017[]

Castro in 2013

For the 2017 presidential election, Castro again sought to be Libre's nominee.[17] She easily won the primary,[18] but when Libre formed an alliance with the Innovation and Unity Party, she agreed to step aside and let Salvador Nasralla lead the alliance's presidential ticket.[19]

2021[]

Castro was chosen as the 2021 presidential candidate for Libre and represented her political party in the 2021 Honduran general election.[20][21] Salvador Nasralla, a presidential candidate for the Savior Party, later dropped out and became Castro's running mate.[22] Polls showed a tight race between Castro and her right-wing opponent Nasry Asfura, of the incumbent National Party, a two-term mayor plagued by allegations of corruption.[23][24] During her presidential campaign, she suggested the diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China in Beijing over the Republic of China on Taiwan (see One-China policy), the establishment of an anti-corruption commission backed by the United Nations similar the one active in Guatemala and an update to the Honduran Constitution.[25][26] Castro has proposed a constituent assembly to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras.[27] She has also suggested easing the country's complete prohibition of abortion, under limited circumstances, and allow the use and distribution of emergency contraception.[3][28]

Following the release of the preliminary results of the election, Castro declared victory, and was described by international media as the apparent victor of the election, pending full results.[3][4] On 30 November, Asfura's party conceded defeat.[29][30] He then met with Castro and congratulated her. Castro became Honduras' first female president on 27 January 2022.[31]

2022 congressional leadership dispute[]

Before the 2021 election, Castro had promised Salvador Nasralla that his Savior party would hold the leadership of the national congress should they win the election. This promise was one of the conditions that persuaded Nasralla to end his presidential campaign and join Castro’s. However, on 21 January 2022, 20 deputies from Libre refused to follow suit. They voted for Libre deputy Jorge Cálix to be the congressional president. The rest of the Libre deputies and allied parties voted for Luis Redondo of the Savior party. A fight then broke out on the floor of Congress, and Castro refused to recognise Cálix's election. She subsequently denounced the 20 deputies (two of whom later retracted their support for Cálix) as "traitors" and expelled 18 from Libre. The following evening Castro held a vigil with Libre supporters outside congress; she stated that the purpose of the event was "...to prevent the kidnapping of the National Congress and to reject the bipartisanship led by the dictator Juan Orlando Hernández with the direct complicity of a few traitorous deputies, elected by the people under our banner".[32][33] The dispute ended when Calíx and the expelled Libre deputies agreed to support Redondo. Castro subsequently had their party membership restored.[34]

Presidency (2022–present)[]

Castro with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris after her inauguration, January 2022

Castro was inaugurated as president on 27 January 2022.[35] She was sworn in at a soccer stadium in Tegucigalpa, with thousands of individuals present. Among the attendees were King of Spain Felipe VI, Vice President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Vice President of Argentina Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Vice President of Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa and President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada.[36] Castro is the first female President of Honduras and the first to not be a member of the National or Liberal parties since the restoration of democracy in 1982. During her inaugural address, Castro said, "the economic catastrophe that I'm inheriting is unparalleled in the history of our country." She also promised to combat corruption and inequality which she said was 'rampant' during the rule of the previous National government.[37][38][39]

Economic policy[]

Castro, in her inaugural speech vowed to re-found a democratic socialist state, stating she had a duty to restore an economic system based upon transparency, efficiency of production, social justice in the distribution of wealth and in national income, and that her vision of her world puts the human being before the rules of the market.[40][41]

She baned open-pit mining in March 2022 due to the extensive damage to the environment.The government also promised to intervene "immediately" to conserve areas of "high environmental value" for the benefit of the population.[42]

Energy[]

In a bid to combat poverty, Castro announced during her inauguration that the poorest families in Honduras; those that consume under 150kWh per month of electricity, will no longer pay electricity bills, and that the additional cost of this policy will be paid for by the biggest consumers assuming an extra charge on their bills.[43] In addition, Castro also announced that her government would send a decree to the National Congress of Honduras to achieve a fuel subsidy, and vowed no more concessions in the exploitation of rivers, hydrographic basins and national parks.[44]

Fiscal policy[]

In her inaugural address, Castro announced to the nation that the largest base of the budget she will present to parliament is dedicated to salaries and wages.[45] In-addition, Castro stated that she had ordered her Minister of Finance and the Central Bank to take action to reduce interest rates for production.[46]

Foreign policy[]

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[]

In February of 2022, Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Torres Zelaya held a meeting with Saharawi President Brahim Ghali, which concluded with an announcement that diplomatic relations between the peoples and governments of Honduras and the SADR had been restored and would be deepened.[47]

Taiwan[]

Castro has reassured that she has no plans of changing recognition from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the People's Republic of China, and vowed to vice president Lai Ching-te to strengthen the relationship with Taiwan. Furthermore, a spokesperson for Castro said that she has "no immediate intention to change or shift the One-China policy."[48][49]

Venezuela[]

Shortly following Castro's inauguration, an event attended by representatives of the Nicolás Maduro government,[50] the Venezuelan embassy in Honduras's capital of Tegucigalpa was vacated by representatives of Juan Guaido,[51] who had been recognised as the President of Venezuela by outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernandez since the Venezuelan presidential crisis.[52] As a result, the embassy was recovered by the Venezuelan delegation sent by the Maduro government.[53] Former President and First Gentleman Manuel Zelaya responded to the news by sending a tweet welcoming Maduro, Latin American unity and the Bolivarian Revolution.[54] Soon after, the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Félix Plasencia and newly appointed Foreign Minister of Honduras Enrique Reina announced the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations for the first time since 2009,[55][56] when they were severed shortly after the coup.[57] The restoration of diplomatic relations was followed by Honduran accreditation of the Venezuelan ambassador Margaud Godoy by Foreign Minister Reina,[58] who said that if the United States had any uncertainty about Honduras' position, reestablishment of relations with Venezuela "for Honduras is a matter of sovereign foreign policy".[59]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Elecciones Nacionales de Honduras 28 de Noviembre 2021 – Escrutinio Provisorio". Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Honduras elects democratic socialist as its first female president, unseating conservative ruling party". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Ernst, Jeff (29 November 2021). "Xiomara Castro poised to become first female president of Honduras". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Honduras set for first female president as Castro holds wide lead". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  5. ^ Díaz, Bastián (29 November 2021). "Xiomara Castro, la izquierdista que se perfila como la primera mujer Presidenta de Honduras". La Tercera.
  6. ^ a b "Xiomara Castro Sarmiento". Proceso Digital. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Xiomara Castro: Gobierno fracasó en su política de seguridad". El Tiempo. 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013. (Spanish)
  8. ^ a b c Arce, Alberto (22 June 2013). "Deposed Honduran Leader's Wife Leads in Polls". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e Arce, Alberto (16 June 2013). "Xiomara Castro lanza candidatura en Honduras". Nuevo Herald. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2013. (Spanish)
  10. ^ "Abogados de derecha disputarán la presidencia a Xiomara Castro, la esposa de Mel Zelaya". El Faro. 18 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2013. (Spanish)
  11. ^ Leiva, Noé (24 October 2013). "A un mes de las elecciones, la izquierdista Xiomara Castro encabeza las encuestas". El Faro. Retrieved 10 November 2013. (Spanish)
  12. ^ "A un mes de las elecciones, JOH aventaja por cinco punto a Xiomara Castro". La Prensa. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013. (Spanish)
  13. ^ a b Sabo, Eric; Isabella Cota (31 October 2013). "Debut Honduran Bonds Rally as Polls Show Tighter Election". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  14. ^ Meyer, Ero (30 October 2013). "Election Update . . Chile, Honduras, and Venezuela". TransAtlantic Magazine. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  15. ^ "TSE official results". Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  16. ^ "Candidata opositora Xiomara Castro denuncia 'robo' de su triunfo en Honduras". La Nación (in Spanish). 28 November 2013.
  17. ^ "Xiomara Castro, una política decidida a cambiar a Honduras". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 7 March 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Xiomara Castro gana las primaris de Libre y apunta a la alianza". El Heraldo (in Spanish). 12 March 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  19. ^ Reyes, Karen N. (21 May 2017). "Salvador Nasralla encabeza la alianza opositora" (in Spanish). HRN. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
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  21. ^ Ernst, Jeff (24 November 2021). "'She's the only option': Hondurans hope Xiomara Castro can lead the nation in a new direction". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  22. ^ "Last Minute Alliance Shifts Honduras Election Scene". Havana Times. El Faro. 18 October 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  23. ^ Palencia, Gustavo (26 November 2021). "Honduran ruling party hopeful Asfura faces uphill climb". Reuters. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  24. ^ García, Jacobo (28 November 2021). "Los modelos antagónicos de Xiomara Castro y Asfura se enfrentan en las urnas de Honduras". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  25. ^ O’Boyle, Brendan (14 October 2021). "Could Honduras Shift Left? A Look at Xiomara Castro". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "Honduras president-elect's China pledge puts Taiwan and US on edge". The Guardian. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  27. ^ Olson, Jared (6 December 2021). "Honduras Elects a Socialist—but Will She Be Allowed to Govern?". The Nation. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
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  29. ^ "Honduras' ruling party concedes presidential election to leftist". Reuters. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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  33. ^ "Honduran Congress begins term mired in factional fighting". La Prensa Latina Media. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  34. ^ "Honduras political dispute resolved, paving way for president's anti-corruption agenda". Reuters. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  35. ^ "Xiomara Castro: Honduras' first female president sworn in". BBC News. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Xiomara Castro toma posesión como nueva presidenta de Honduras". La Nueva España. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  37. ^ "Honduras swears in Xiomara Castro as first female president". Al Jazeera. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  38. ^ "Honduras inaugurates first female president, Harris vows closer U.S. ties". Reuters. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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  40. ^ "Toma de posesión de Xiomara Castro". Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via CELAG.
  41. ^ "Xiomara Castro asume la presidencia y propone refundar un Honduras socialista y democrático". Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via IFM Noticias.
  42. ^ https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220301-honduras-bans-open-pit-mining
  43. ^ "Honduras: Xiomara Castro juró como presidenta y anunció gratuidad de la luz para familias pobres" (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via Radio France Internationale.
  44. ^ "Va con todas sus fuerzas: las promesas de Xiomara Castro tras convertirse en la primera Presidenta de Honduras" (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via Diez (Honduras).
  45. ^ @radioamericahn (27 January 2022). "#AméricaNoticias #Honduras "La mayor base del presupuesto se designa a sueldos y salarios": Xiomara Castro, presidenta de Honduras. #RadioAmérica" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  46. ^ "Toma de posesión de Xiomara Castro". Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via CELAG.
  47. ^ "Honduras restablece relaciones con la República Saharaui. Declaración oficial del alto representante de Honduras luego de reunirse con el Presidente Saharaui" [Honduras reestablishes relations with the Saharawi Republic. Official declaration of the high representative of Honduras after meeting with the Saharawi President.]. Werken Rojo (in Spanish). 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  48. ^ "Xiomara Castro asume como la primera presidenta de Honduras, con foco en lazos con Taiwán" [Xiomara Castro assumes as the first president of Honduras, with a focus on ties with Taiwan]. La Nación (in Spanish). Thomson Reuters Foundation. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via Reuters.
  49. ^ AFP (28 January 2022). "Castro está dispuesta a fortalecer los lazos de Honduras con Taiwán" [Castro is willing to strengthen Honduran ties with Taiwan]. France24 (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  50. ^ "Foreign Minister heads Venezuelan delegation in Xiomara Castro's investiture". Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via Últimas Noticias.
  51. ^ "Venezuela restores relations with Honduras, reopens embassy". Retrieved 29 January 2022 – via Al Mayadeen.
  52. ^ "OAS Member States Issue Joint Statement on Venezuela". US Mission to the Organization of American States. United States State Department. Retrieved 14 August 2019. The delegations of Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic reaffirm the right to democracy enjoyed by the peoples of the Americas ... In this context, we recognize and express our full support to the President of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, who has assumed the role of President in charge of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in accordance with the constitutional norms and the illegitimacy of the Nicolás Maduro regime.
  53. ^ "Venezuela restores relations with Honduras, reopens embassy". Retrieved 29 January 2022 – via Al Mayadeen.
  54. ^ @manuelzr (28 January 2022). "Bienvenida la Unidad Latinoamericana y la Revolución bolivariana. @NicolasMaduro" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  55. ^ @EnriqueReinaHN (29 January 2022). "Recibimos las copias de estilo de la Embajadora @MargaudGpsuv en compañía del Canciller @PlasenciaFelix para el restablecimiento de relaciones diplomáticas con la República Bolivariana de Venezuela" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  56. ^ @CancilleriaVE (28 January 2022). "#EnVideo