President Castro Announces Debt Restructuring & Social Justice

"I promise to be faithful to the Republic, to comply with and enforce the constitution and its laws," Xiomara Castro said upon assuming the Presidency of Honduras in a swearing-in ceremony that brought together thousands of people at the National State in Tegucigalpa on Thursday.

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During her inaugural speech, the leader of the Honduran left began by presenting figures on the "social and economic tragedy" that the elites consummated after the coup against President Manuel Zelaya in 2009. After promising the "refoundation of the Socialist and Democratic State," she presented the figures of the macroeconomic crisis of a country "in bankruptcy."

"The country must know what the rulers did with the debt. My administration will not continue with a frenzy of looting that has condemned generations of young people to pay a public debt, which the elites contracted behind their backs," Castro said.

"We have to uproot institutionalized corruption during the last 12 years of dictatorship. We have the right to refound our country on sovereign values ​​and not based on usury and agiotage."

The economic crisis is also expressed in a 74 percent increase in poverty, which has made Honduras the poorest country in Latin America. "This is unparalleled in our country's history... This explains the caravans of thousands of people fleeing to Mexico and the United States in search of livelihoods, regardless of the risk that their journey implies for their lives," the leftist President pointed out.

"The State was established to ensure its inhabitants the enjoyment of justice and well-being. We must restore the economic system based on public transparency, productive efficiency, and social justice."

The Refoundation and Freedom Party (LIBRE) leader denounced that 50 percent of the State's income is directed to the payment of a public debt that has increased exponentially since the U.S.-backed coup.

"The internal debt increased from US$20 billion to US$179 billion, and the external debt went from US$37 billion to US$157 billion... Given these figures, the State cannot pay this embarrassing debt."

President Castro then announced she will proceed with the restructuring of the Honduran debt through a negotiation process with multilateral and private creditors.

Who is the budget for? Who audits the execution of the Budget? she said and announced that she will send a new budget to the National Congress.