Xiomara Castro

Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsi.oˈmaɾa ˈkastɾo]), also known as Xiomara Castro de Zelaya (born 30 September 1959), is a Honduran politician who is the president-elect of Honduras,[2] due to take office on 27 January 2022.[3][4] She will be 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]

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.

Xiomara Castro
Castro in 2007
President-elect of Honduras
Assuming office
27 January 2022
Vice PresidentSalvador Nasralla (elect)
SucceedingJuan 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
Santa Bárbara, Honduras
Political partyLiberal Party (until 2011)
Liberty and Refoundation (2011–present)
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1976)​

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

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]

2013 presidential campaign

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 presidential campaign

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 presidential campaign

Castro was chosen as the 2021 presidential candidate for Libre and represented her political party in the 2021 Honduras 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.[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 is expected to become Honduras' first female president on 27 January 2022.[31]

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. "Xiomara Castro poised to become first female president of Honduras". The Guardian. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. "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. "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. Alberto Arce (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. Alberto Arce (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. Noé Leiva (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. Eric Sabo & Isabella Cota (31 October 2013). "Debut Honduran Bonds Rally as Polls Show Tighter Election". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  14. Ero Meyer (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" (in Spanish). La Nación. 28 November 2013.
  17. "Xiomara Castro, una política decidida a cambiar a Honduras" (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  18. "Xiomara Castro gana las primaris de Libre y apunta a la alianza" (in Spanish). El Heraldo. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  19. Karen N. Reyes (21 May 2017). "Salvador Nasralla encabeza la alianza opositora" (in Spanish). HRN. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  20. Lopez, Oscar (28 November 2021). "What's at Stake in the Honduran Presidential Election?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  21. "'She's the only option': Hondurans hope Xiomara Castro can lead the nation in a new direction". the Guardian. 24 November 2021. 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.
  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.
  28. "Xiomara Castro poised to become first female president of Honduras". the Guardian. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  29. "Honduras' ruling party concedes presidential election to leftist". Reuters. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  30. "Honduras elected its first female president, Xiomara Castro". NBC News. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  31. "Opposition candidate Xiomara Castro elected Honduras' first female president". UPI. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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