TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) 鈥� Honduras ruling party conceded defeat Tuesday in presidential elections held two days earlier, giving victory to leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro and easing fears of another contested vote and violent protests.
Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asfura of the National Party said in a statement that he had personally congratulated Castro, despite only about half the voting tallies being counted from Sunday's election.
Castro had 53% of the votes and Asfura 34%, with 52% of the tallies counted, according to the National Electoral Council. The council has 30 days from the election to declare a winner.
Asfura said he had met with Castro and her family.
鈥淣ow I want to say it publicly," the conservative candidate said. 鈥淭hat I congratulate her for her victory and as president elect, I hope that God illuminates and guides her so that her administration does the best for the benefit of all of us Hondurans, to achieve development and the desires for democracy.鈥�
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Castro minutes later.
鈥淭he United States congratulates the people of Honduras on their election and Xiomara Castro on her historic victory as Honduras鈥� first female president,鈥� Blinken said in a statement. 鈥淲e look forward to working with the next government of Honduras. We congratulate Hondurans for the high voter turnout, peaceful participation, and active civil society engagement that marked this election, signaling an enduring commitment to the democratic process.鈥�
Asfura鈥檚 recognition of the outcome was a relief to many Hondurans who had feared a contested election after a debacle in 2017 led to street protests that left 23 people dead.
Castro rode a wave of popular discontent with 12 years of National Party governance, which peaked in the second term of outgoing President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez.
Expectations of a Castro victory drove thousands into the streets of Tegucigalpa Sunday in celebration. On Monday, the capital鈥檚 streets were quiet as if it were a holiday and on Tuesday Hondurans exhaled in relief that the election had not taken a violent turn.
But Castro will face major challenges.
Unemployment is above 10%, northern Honduras was devastated by two major hurricanes last year and street gangs drag down the economy with their extortion rackets and violence.
On Tuesday, Vielka Yossira L贸pez folded jeans at a stand in the sprawling Comayaguela street market.
The 24-year-old single mother of two said she didn鈥檛 vote, but hoped for change.
鈥淗ow am I going to lose a day of work to go vote,鈥� L贸pez said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 work, I don鈥檛 eat.鈥�
When L贸pez contracted COVID-19, she wasn鈥檛 able to work for two months. In that time she sold her bed, her refrigerator, television and cellphone so she could buy food and diapers for her children, ages 3 and 6.
L贸pez makes 200 lempiras, about $8.25 per day. She pays $1.60 of that just for transportation to and from work each day.
Her 6-year-old has been out of school for more than a year. Initially, it was the pandemic, but then it was the cost of getting him there. She said he鈥檚 smart and she wants him to resume her studies, but for now it works better to pay the babysitter to keep an eye on both kids.
L贸pez is hopeful that if Castro becomes president she will bring with her a better understanding of what it takes to raise a family.
鈥淗opefully there will be a change by having a woman,鈥� L贸pez said. 鈥淪he has children and everything.鈥�
Christopher Sherman, The Associated Press
