Castro, a democratic socialist, won a landslide victory in last year’s presidential election after campaigning on a radical agenda to combat years of corruption and scandal-stricken rule. She promised to reduce poverty and liberalize abortion laws.
“two hundred Many years have passed since our independence was declared. We are breaking chains and breaking traditions,” Castro said in his inaugural address.
Castro’s party, the Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre), won the November 2021 vote with a lead of more than 14 points over its nearest rival, Nasri Asfura, the capital’s mayor and candidate of the National Party of outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández.
Winning a 51% vote share and 1.7 million votes, Castro garnered the most votes in the country’s history, underscoring the public’s appetite for change.
According to the Libre Party website, 62-year-old Castro devoted her early years to family life, marrying businessman and politician Manuel Zelaya at age 19 and raising her four children while managing her business.
Zelaya was elected President of Honduras but was ousted in a 2009 military coup. Castro’s political career began with her push to get her husband back in office, and in 2013 and 2017, she ran for the presidency.
Castro’s promise to stamp out the systemic problems behind poverty, including economic insecurity, inequality, corruption and violence – some of the root causes of migration to the North – not only popularized among voters, but made him an attractive ally for the US president. Is. Joe Biden’s Administration.
Harris publicly congratulated Castro on Thursday and highlighted how the two countries can work together to increase economic prosperity and combat corruption.
“I want to publicly congratulate you on your election,” Harris said during a bilateral meeting with the newly elected president. “I look forward to the many areas of partnership, including the work we can do to address Honduras’ economic prosperity.”
On Sunday, a group of Libre lawmakers revolted over Castro’s choice for Congress president, leading to a split in the newly elected Congress, which could potentially see the National Party taking back control of the legislature.
That fracture means that Castro now faces the reality of leading the country, but without the support of his party and some of his colleagues in Congress.
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, Kara Fox, Sam Fossum and Jasmine Wright contributed to this report.
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