Jaded Hondurans Face Presidential Elections
2009-11-24 9:8
Hondurans are preparing to go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president.
Presidential candidates are facing a tough battle against a loss of faith in the wake of the June coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
Elvin Santos is a wealthy businessman and presidential candidate for the Liberal Party. He’s hoping to win the upcoming presidential elections.
Santos is currently trailing behind the National Party's Porfirio Lobo by some 16 points. Santos was selected as Zelaya's vice-president. But, he openly criticized Zelaya's growing alliance with Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez.
He eventually resigned to run for the presidency, beating Micheletti to win the Liberal Party's nomination. Zelaya snuck back into Honduras in September and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy.
He has refused to return to the presidency as part of any negotiated deal, saying this would legitimize the coup and next week's presidential poll, which he says is illegal.
Latin American leaders have called for Zelaya's immediate reinstatement and have threatened not to recognize the winner if this is not done.
The U.S. sees the elections as the way out of Central America's worst political crisis in decades.
