The two right-wing candidates for the presidency of Honduras, businessman Nasri Asfoura, who is supported by US President Donald Trump, and television personality Salvador Nasrallah, are competing in an ongoing conflict. “Technical equalizer”I mentioned this Monday National Electoral Council (CNE).
the … The comedians represent punishment for the left led by President Xiomara Castro, who rules one of the poorest and most violent countries in Latin America, plagued by drug trafficking and corruption.
Castro LHe came to power in 2021More than a decade after the coup against her husband, Manuel Zelaya, after her approach to Venezuela and Cuba, which caused unprecedented polarization between the left and the right.
Asfoura, the 67-year-old former mayor of Tegucigalpa, leads Nasrallah, 72, by only 515 votes after the digital counting of 57% of voting records, said the head of the National Elections Commission, Ana Paula Hall, who asked for “patience,” without clarifying when the manual audit will end.
The United States also called on Honduran citizens to do so “Be patient while waiting for the official results.”.
Leading his election campaign, Asfoura, of the National Party, said: “The numbers will speak for themselves,” while Nasrallah, who was certain of his victory, announced to reporters that he would not lose unless they “deceived him.”
Each of them based his election campaign on the fact that the survival of the left would turn Honduras into a new Venezuela, mired in a deep crisis, and each of them demonstrated his willingness to get closer to Taiwan, at the expense of the relationship with China.
Trump waved the anti-communist flag, threatened to cut off aid to the country if his chosen man did not win, and called leftist Rexy Moncada a friend of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and “drug terrorists.”
The Republican doubled his bet on the brink of voting, announcing that he would pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was sentenced in the United States to 45 years in prison on charges of shipping hundreds of tons of drugs in alliance with Mexico’s King Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman.
According to the US justice system, Hernandez, who ruled from 2014 to 2022 with the Asfora party, turned Honduras into an independent state. “Drug state”But Trump He is considered to have been a victim of “machinations” by his predecessorJoe Biden.
The announced pardon runs counter to Trump’s deadly anti-drug campaign in the Caribbean, as part of his pressure on Maduro, an ally of Xiomara Castro.
Forgiveness for this “Drug lord” He was “manipulated” by local elites, and they denounced the leftist candidate, a 60-year-old lawyer, who was more than 20 points behind, according to a slow audit of this one-round election.
No expectations
By playing his cards in favor of Asfoura, Trump warned that he would not be able to work with Nasrallah of the Liberal Party, whom he described as… “semi-communist” Because he held a high position in the current administration, from which he later separated.
Nasrallah attributed Trump’s statements to A “Malignant misinformation” from their opponents. At the same time, Asfora said he was ready to cooperate with the United States, where two million Hondurans live and which is the country’s main trading partner.
Asfoura, known as “Tito” or “Papi,” received 39.91% of the votes, compared to 39.89% for Nasrallah, who admires the presidents of Argentina, Javier Miley, and El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.
“It is impossible to determine the winner with the data we have,” said political analyst Carlos Calix.
Asfoura is seeking the presidency for the second time after losing in 2021 to Castro, and Nasrallah for the third time.
“Only thieves rule us”
In a country where 60% of the 11 million population suffers from poverty and has a long history of fraud and social debt, politicians resort to smearing reputations.
Henry Hernandez, 53, a car guard, told AFP on Monday: “They do nothing for the poor. The rich are getting richer every day and the poor are getting poorer every day. Only thieves rule us.”
Michelle Pineda, a 38-year-old trader, hopes to see the winner of this close duel. The country is “beyond a bag of money to plunder.”
Nearly 6.5 million Hondurans were called to elect Xiomara Castro’s replacement, as well as representatives and mayors for four-year terms. The electoral body has not yet announced the participation number.
After a campaign that saw early complaints of fraud, the day passed quietly, according to the OAS observer mission.