By María Josefina Arce
Xiomara Castro is about to complete two years in the presidency of Honduras, in which she has had to deal with multiple challenges given the critical economic and social situation of the country, after more than a decade of neoliberal governments.
There are still many debts pending with the citizens, but also tangible benefits for the most vulnerable sectors. This is the case of the energy subsidy that benefits more than 800 thousand poor families.
Through programs such as the Solidarity Network, the most disadvantaged have been reached in some 2,000 communities throughout the country. They have received monetary transfers, scholarships for students and vouchers for the elderly and people with disabilities.
Photo taken from El Pulso
Rural workers have also received support from the authorities, with the granting of loans at the lowest interest rates, thus benefiting nearly six thousand basic grains producers and generating 343 thousand new jobs.
In addition, more than 450,000 agricultural producers have received seeds and fertilizers, thanks to the Bono Tecnológico.
Also noteworthy is the construction and repair of public roads, as well as the rehabilitation of numerous schools, which had been abandoned under previous governments.
Undoubtedly, one of the achievements of Xiomara Castro's presidency is to have declared Honduras a country free of open-pit mining, an activity that is extremely harmful to the environment.
The measure was highlighted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which pointed out that the principle of climate justice and the protection of natural resources, public health and access to water as a citizen's prerogative had prevailed.
One of the challenges of the current government is the fight against corruption, a structural evil in the Central American nation that violates human rights. But concrete steps have already been taken.
The authorities and the UN signed a memorandum of understanding for the installation of an international, impartial, independent and autonomous mechanism against impunity and corruption.Last December, during its seventy-eighth session, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution that mandates the Secretary General of the international organization, António Guterres, to promote the establishment of the International Commission against these scourges affecting the Central American country.
Many challenges remain for Xiomara Castro, who has even been the target of media campaigns. However, the first woman president of Honduras is clear about her priority of working for the welfare of Hondurans.
