Honduras arrives at the general elections this Sunday in a climate of anxiety, with citizen fears of riots after the results, such as those that were unleashed in 2017 when the president Juan Orlando Hernandez he was reelected amid allegations of fraud.
Here are some keys to understanding this contest.
1. War in networks
“As in various parts of the world, social networks they are being used in the campaign with manipulative messages, with messages inciting hatred, “the expert Eduardo Domínguez, in charge of verifying the newspaper’s data, told AFP. The Herald.
According to a Time magazine publication, which quotes the cybersecurity firm Nisos, coordinated waves of messages have been detected from fake Twitter accounts, with disinformation.
These messages are against the opposition candidate Xiomara Castro (Free Party, left), and favor the ruling party National Party (PN, right), who is running as a candidate for Nasry Asfura.
In April 2020, Twitter removed 3,104 fake accounts linked to the government.
2. Drug trafficking, corruption and violence
President Juan Orlando Hernández himself has been identified as a co-author in the crime of drug traffic, by a prosecutor in New York.
His brother “Tony “Hernandez serving a life sentence in USA for that crime. The president rejects the charges and assures that they are false accusations of drug lords that his government extradited.
A cartel boss The Cachiros He also assured that he bribed the former president Manuel Zelaya, husband of candidate Castro. Remarks that he denies.
And candidate Yyears Rosenthal, of the Liberal Party, applies after having served three years in prison in the United States for launder drug money.
Of the 13 candidates for the presidency, one was arrested less than a month ago, investigated for drug trafficking and homicides.
Meanwhile, the ruling party Asfura is investigated by embezzle funds of the capital municipality.
In one of the countries considered the most violent in Latin AmericaIn the last year at least 31 people have been murdered in crimes related to the political campaign.
“I am deeply concerned about what we are seeing in Honduras. Elections have not yet taken place, but political violence has already reached disturbing levels,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said recently, Michelle bachelet.
3. The ghost of “communism”
Castro She is the wife of former President Zelaya, who was overthrown in 2009 by a civic-military alliance, after his approach to the government of Hugo Chavez on Venezuela.
His opponents brand Castro a “communist” and have released a video from 2015 that records his participation and speech in Caracas, during a tribute to Chávez.
She assures that she promotes “democratic socialism” and wants to restore relations with China. Honduras currently recognizes Taiwan.
4. Abortion and equal marriage
In a conservative country and where the abortion it is totally prohibited, Xiomara Castro Problems are created by proposing that it be decriminalized in cases of rape, danger of the mother’s life or malformations.
“This campaign is endangering our lives, Xiomara walks with people who protect her but we, human rights defenders, no, and in the neighborhoods they attack us, calling us abortionists,” denounced Suyapa Martínez, coordinator of the Center for Women’s Studies of Honduras (CEM-H). “It is a call to kill us,” he lamented.
While the equality marriage it is not in his plan, Castro is open to a citizen consultation. And it raises a law of gender identity.
“Honduras continues to be a conservative, homophobic country, sexual references should not be a campaign issue. We blame it for being used as a flag of struggle,” he said. Sandra zambrano, activist LGBTI.
5. Fear: Stock up like a hurricane
In 2017, when President Hernández was re-elected amid accusations of fraud, protests broke out that left some thirty people dead and destroyed.
Against this background, on this occasion, some Hondurans have filled supermarkets to stock up, fearing that a social upheaval after the results will force them to stay home.
“Hopefully there are no riots (…), we are the ones affected,” says Wilson García, a vegetable seller in a capital market.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx