Xiomara Castro, 62, was sworn in as Honduras’ first female president on Thursday in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by international dignitaries including US Vice President Kamala Harris, King Felipe VI of Spain, and Vice President of Taiwan, William Lai.
Her election victory brought an end to 12 years of the right-wing rule which followed after the ousting of her husband President Manuel Zelaya in a 2009 coup.
Castro, flanked by her husband, former president Zelaya said during her inaugural address, “The economic catastrophe that I’m inheriting is unparalleled in the history of our country.”
Castro, a Leftist, won a landslide victory in last year’s presidential election and vowed to reform her “bankrupt” country into a socialist and democratic state.
Honduras’s current public debt is about $17 billion. The Central American nation is also experiencing high levels of crime and poverty, which has resulted in a mass exodus of Hondurans fleeing to Mexico and the United States in search of a better life.
She would also face challenges over a divided Congress and relations with China because Honduras is maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan.