Why must a sovereign country accept that its electoral process becomes a topic in a US politician's campaign? Since when does democracy in Central America require the approval of leaders who neither understand nor suffer the Latin American reality? Honduras has the right to decide without tutelage. Voters interviewed describe how they save cash and prepare for uncertain days, as if the democratic act of choosing a president were actually the start of a state of emergency. But the most revealing aspect of this election is not the candidates, but the ease with which external actors seek to define the Honduran destiny. It is part of an imported narrative that seeks to divide Hondurans between 'democrats' and 'socialists,' between 'salvation' and 'Venezuela,' as if the reality of a complex country could be reduced to a campaign slogan repeated from Washington. The region has the right to elections without veiled threats, without prefab speeches, without geopolitical fictions disguised as democratic concern. Today, that ghost is once again hovering, not only due to internal tensions: what is at stake is the very sovereignty of a country historically manipulated from abroad. In these elections, three prominent figures are competing: Rixi Moncada, the candidate backed by President Xiomara Castro; Salvador Nasralla, the eternal aspirant; and Nasry 'Tito' Asfura, catapulted back into the spotlight thanks to a backing as surprising as it is dangerous: that of former US President Donald Trump. That endorsement is not innocent. The opposite is not cooperation nor diplomacy: it is interference. On Sunday, Honduras is choosing more than just a president: it will choose whether to yield to external pressure or to reaffirm its will to forge its own path. The entire country moves as if walking on a minefield, still recalling the aftermath of 2017, when the vote count became a national chaos that left dead, military repression, and a wounded democracy. The OAS keeps sticking its nose into Honduran affairs. By Rogelio Antonio Mata Grau — Analyst and specialist in Social Sciences. Honduras arrives at the polls trapped between fear and uncertainty. On a continent where history has been shaped too many times by foreign forces, defending sovereignty is not a rhetorical gesture: it is an act of political survival. Criminal violence, extortion, and inflation have the population trapped in a state of constant anxiety. The effect is clear: to increase polarization, sow distrust, and condition the outcome even before the polls open. Meanwhile, daily life is bleeding out.
Honduras Elections: Sovereignty Under Threat
Honduras heads to presidential elections amid fear and uncertainty. A country historically subjected to external influence decides the fate of its sovereignty under pressure from outside forces trying to impose their narrative.
