In what may be their country’s most significant elections in more than a decade, Hondurans will head to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president, a political contest that has been marred by violence and is being closely watched in Washington.
With issues like violent crime and poverty forcing an ever-increasing number of Hondurans to flee north, candidates are billing the race as a chance to alter the country’s destiny.
But with corruption seemingly ingrained in the highest levels of power, political analysts say the chances of truly transformative change are slim.
Still, a free and fair election in Honduras, despite its many problems, would be significant for Central America, offering a respite from the region’s antidemocratic turn. And the outcome could be consequential for the Biden administration.
Polls are showing a tight race. But if the opposition triumphs, Honduras would elect its first female president.
Here’s what else you need to know about Honduras’s presidential elections.
What’s at stake for Honduras, and the United States?
With poverty and violence continuing to plague daily life for most Hondurans, thousands of whom have fled to the United States, many in the country are desperate for change.
After nearly eight years under President Juan Orlando Hernández, whose administration has been marred by corruption allegations, the country’s two major parties are both pledging a clean break.
For the opposition, Sunday’s elections are a chance to regain power for the first time since 2009, when President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup. The left-leaning coalition has vowed to halt the erosion of democratic norms under Mr. Hernández.
For the governing National Party, the elections represent a chance to re-establish some legitimacy following years of corrupt governance and widespread irregularities during the last election.
The elections could have far-reaching repercussions in Washington, where President Biden has so far been stymied in two…