The president-elect of Honduras Xiomara Castro greets her arrival at the headquarters of the National Congress this Sunday in Tegucigalpa. GUSTAVO AMADOR (EFE)
There will be no honeymoon for Xiomara Castro.
Four days before the scheduled date for her to take power in Honduras, the president-elect is immersed in her first crisis after congressmen elected two boards of directors of Parliament - one in the legislative building and the other in a social club on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa—in a move that reveals a confrontation with dissident members of his party.
The problems for the leader of the leftist Partido Libertad y Refundación (Libre) became apparent on Friday when what should have been the procedure for the election of the Parliament's board of directors ended in a brawl with blows and shoves after twenty deputies dissidents of the group opposed the election of Luis Redondo, the one appointed by the elected president. Those parliamentarians chose to support Jorge Cálix, one of the dissidents from Libre, who also had the 44 votes of the National Party, the political movement of current President Juan Orlando Hernández, who has been in power for twelve consecutive years. Castro, who won the November elections resoundingly, then described it as a "betrayal" by his fractious party colleagues and did not recognize that board of directors.
The differences between both factions of Libre were consummated this Sunday, the day scheduled for the election to become official, when two parliamentary directives were sworn in parallel.
While the seat of Congress in Tegucigalpa was surrounded since Saturday by Castro supporters who were holding a vigil called by the president-elect, at a social club in Zambrano, some 30 kilometers north of Tegucigalpa, Jorge Cálix was ratified in a session convened by the provisional board of directors elected on Friday.
In a speech after his appointment, Cálix said that he will work together with the president-elect despite their differences.
"Our legislative agenda has as a priority to make the plan of Castro's government a reality," she assured.
Shortly after, in the seat of Parliament, official and alternate deputies have elected a parallel directive headed by Luis Redondo, who has been recognized by Xiomara Castro.
“I invite you to my swearing in with the people on January 27.
I congratulate the deputies who reject 12 years of corruption networks of "Joh" (Juan Orlando Hernández): on my way to greet them at the CN (National Congress) We won!", he wrote on the social network Twitter.
I recognize the Presidency of the Congress headed by Deputy Luis Redondo, I invite you to my Swearing-in with the People on January 27.
I congratulate the deputies who reject 12 years of “Joh” corruption networks: on my way to greet them at the CN We won!
– Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (@XiomaraCastroZ) January 23, 2022
The appointment of Redondo as Castro's candidate to preside over Parliament was determined before the November elections in an alliance that the elected president and her husband, former president Manuel Zelaya —who is also the general coordinator of Libre—, signed with the Partido Salvador of Honduras (PSH).
One of the demands of Salvador Nasralla, the leader of that group that obtained 10 deputies, was to choose the head of Congress.
But part of the party rejected the proposed name in favor of Jorge Cálix.
This new political crisis creates uncertainty for Castro's investiture ceremony, scheduled for next Thursday the 27th. On Friday, after the incidents in Parliament, Castro said he would take his oath before a civil judge.
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América newsletter and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region
