Central America

Honduras lawmaker crisis heads to court

AFP

The crisis in Honduras’s Congress — where rival factions of new President Xiomara Castro’s left-wing Libre party have elected separate leaders — headed to the country’s Supreme Court on Friday, with both sides asking justices to settle the dispute.

Castro ally Luis Redondo, who belongs to Libre’s coalition partner Savior Party of Honduras (PSH), and Jorge Calix, who represents Libre’s rebel faction and has opposition backing, each claim to be the rightful leader of Congress.

The crisis, which initially saw lawmakers come to blows, erupted last week when a group of Libre dissidents ignored an agreement with the PSH, whose support was key to Castro winning the November elections and which had been promised the Congress leadership post.

The Libre dissidents argued that Congress should be led by the party with the most members — Libre has 50 deputies compared to just 10 for the PSH.

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The ruckus was an embarrassing distraction for Castro, who was sworn in Thursday as the Central American nation’s first woman president.

Control of the legislature is key to Castro’s anti-corruption and political reform platform in a country battered by poverty, migration and drug trafficking.

Redondo was operating out of the official seat of Congress, while Calix was operating virtually.

Calix has been joined by more than 70 of the body’s 128 deputies while only around 40 were in the Congress building, but the Redondo faction achieved a quorum as substitute lawmakers stood in for those that were absent.

Castro offered Calix a position in her government team, but he has not so far responded.

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“I believe in dialogue to find a political solution to this conflict. However, I respect the right of those who oppose us to go” to the Supreme Court, Calix said on Twitter Friday. “Let’s talk.”

On Thursday, both sides went separately before the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber to ask for a ruling on the situation.

The lawyer representing Calix, Jose Rodriguez, has filed a writ of amparo, which can be invoked when someone believes their constitutional rights are being violated.

The attorney told AFP that if successful, his motion would strip Redondo of his functions and install Calix as the rightful leader of Congress while the situation plays out.

Earlier, lawmaker Jose Lagos, leader of a minority party, went to the court to file a motion against Calix for “violating the constitutional rights of millions of Hondurans.”

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Rodriguez said the court must respond within a week.

Four of the five judges in the court’s constitutional chamber were named to their posts by the previous Congress, which was dominated by the right-wing National Party of former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, which is now aligned with Calix.

On Friday, the Congress building was closed, with workers prevented from entering.

Central America

Guatemala sees road blockades amid protests against lawmaker pay hikes

At least 16 points are blocked in Guatemala on Monday by the Committee for the Development of Rural Communities (Codeca), which is protesting the salary increase for members of Congress. The lawmakers are set to receive their third paycheck since the salary adjustment was approved in November 2024.

Although the Congressional Board of Directors announced the suspension of the salary increase at the end of March through an official document, it was later stated that the measure must be ratified by the full legislative body, requiring the approval of at least 81 of the 160 members. No reversal of this decision has been made so far. The salary of lawmakers has risen from GTQ 29,150 ($3,784) to GTQ 66,300 ($8,607). Their third elevated salary will be issued on Monday, according to local media.

The 23 deputies from the Semilla party, with which Bernardo Arévalo won the presidency, did not vote in favor of the proposal when it was presented. However, reports suggest that this may have been part of a negotiation with the opposition to approve a reform to the Law Against Organized Crime, aimed at ending legal persecution against them, as reported by the media outlet República. “The government must remember that the people defended it and it must serve the people,” stated Codeca’s official post on X (formerly Twitter).

Other grievances raised by the protesters include the rising cost of basic goods, demands to halt water privatization, an end to forced evictions, and the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras.

The Constitutional Court (CC) granted a provisional injunction on Sunday, ordering the government to allow free movement. While the court permitted the protest to proceed, it stated that the rights of the general public to mobility and access to commercial transport services should not be interrupted.

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Central America

Nicaragua’s Ortega and Murillo Mourn Pope Francis, Acknowledge ‘Difficult’ Relationship

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, who also serve as co-leaders of the country, expressed their condolences on Monday following the death of Pope Francis, acknowledging that their relationship with the late pontiff had been “difficult” and “troubled.” Nicaragua officially suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican during his papacy.

“Our relationship, as Nicaraguans who are believers, devoted and faithful to the doctrine of Christ Jesus, was difficult and troubled—unfortunately shaped by adverse and painful circumstances that were not always understood,” Ortega and Murillo wrote in a message of condolence.

“Despite the complexity and hardships, despite the manipulation we all know occurred, despite everything, we kept our hope alive through Christian faith,” they continued. “We understood the distance, and above all, the complicated and strained communication that prevented better relations. We also recognized the confusion caused by strident voices that disrupted any attempt at genuine interaction.”

Pope Francis had previously compared the Ortega regime to communist dictatorships and even to Hitler, a remark that further strained relations between Managua and the Holy See.

Central America

Cardinal Rodríguez to Attend Funeral of Pope Francis: “He Was Very Dear to Me”

Honduran Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez announced on Monday that he will attend the funeral services of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta due to a stroke.

“We will be there throughout the novena and then, God willing, at the burial,” Rodríguez said in a phone interview with HRN Radio in Tegucigalpa, apparently calling from Spain.

He added that the last time he saw Pope Francis was in October 2024, during and at the end of that year’s synod, and that they remained in contact through email. “Sometimes, the Pope would even call me,” said Rodríguez, who was born on December 29, 1942, and was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21, 2001.

Rodríguez expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Pope Francis, saying: “He was a very dear person to me.”
However, he also shared a message of hope, pointing out that the Holy Father passed away during Easter: “This is a sign. He gave his life completely like the Lord Jesus, and though he died, we believe in faith that he has risen, now with Christ in eternal life.”

Rodríguez, who for ten years coordinated the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals, was one of the eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to help govern the Catholic Church and reform the Roman Curia.

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In January 2023, upon turning 80, Rodríguez stepped down as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, and Pope Francis appointed Spanish priest José Vicente Nácher Tatay as his successor.