Sunday’s presidential election was more than a regular presidential election in Honduras. Since deposed president Manuel “Mel” Zelaya’s wife, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, was running for election, it was for all intents and purposes a referendum on his deposing on June 28th, 2009. So how did it go? In a three way race, she apparently came in second. In a press conference today, Manuel Zelaya – according to reports in social media – called all those who does not agree with his party “golpistas”, ‘coupsters’. That is over 70% of the voting population of the country.

The rejection of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya at the polls appears to have a lot to do with the recent collapse of the Venezuelan socialist regime. As a response to a mass demonstration across the country against the illegitimate president (Maduro is Colombian) on November 9, Maduro instigated plundering of shops all over the country, a process that is still continuing (timeline video). Given that Xiomara Castro openly displayed the Cuban flag (over the Venezuelan; see photo below), and that the Venezuelans openly reject the “Cuban invasion” (see second photo below), her credibility got seriously tarnished. The claims that voting for her would not mean opening the door for Castro-communism in Honduras were just not credible for the majority of the population. Especially when that very dictatorship, with known imperial ambitions, effectively was paying her entire campaign.

While the flag in the following photo was burning the crowd was chanting “¡Fuera, fuera fuera!” (literally ‘out’ but in English we would say ‘Cubans Go Home!’).