Fragile Democracy Under Stress in Honduras’ Election

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Issue Nov 19-Dec 07 2025: On November 30, 2025, Hondurans went to the polls to elect their new president in a highly contested vote, held under pressure from the United States as President Donald Trump urged voters to back right-wing candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, and threatened to cut aid to the country if Asfura lost. On the eve of the vote, Trump warned that if the 67-year-old former mayor of Tegucigalpa and businessman did not win, Washington “will not waste” money on the impoverished Central American nation. As the vote count continued in the week after the election, the lead changed hands repeatedly between television host and right-wing candidate Salvador Nasralla of the Partido Liberal (PL) and Asfura of the conservative Partido Nacional. Rixi Moncada of the leftist ruling Libre party was relegated to a distant third place, reflecting a powerful “punishment vote,” given that the country has been plagued by violence and poverty since 2021 under President Xiomara Castro. Commentators had thoughts.

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