Thousands of LGBTIQ+ people voted on November 28 against the National Party, which has governed Honduras for more than 12 years. For the past three months, the party has waged a campaign of hate, fear, and discrimination against sexual diversity and women's right to self-determination.

Honduras's gender diversity vote largely benefited Xiomara Castro, the candidate for the opposition Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) party. She is considered the almost certain winner of the 2021 elections in Honduras, more than 20 points ahead of her rival, Nasry Asfura, the National Party candidate.

"Xiomara's victory represents hope for change in policy and law, but also a step forward for human rights," Kevin Ramos, president of the Libre Party's youth coalition, Presentes

“We are going to build a new era. Out with the death squads, out with corruption, out with drug trafficking and organized crime. Out with the ZEDEs. No more poverty and misery in Honduras. Until victory, always. United, people. Together, we will transform this country,” Castro said in her first speech. She will be the country's first female president in 200 years of independence.

Only five LGBTIQ+ candidates participated in the 2021 election. Fredy Fúnez, Odalis Sarmiento for the PINU party, and Víctor Grajeda, an alternate deputy for the Libre Party, ran for the department of Cortés. No transgender people participated in the election.

Grajeda is leading the top four spots in Cortés' provincial elections, along with his running mate, Silvia Ayala. He is a decorator and owns a business with his partner.

“In my free time, I work in decoration,” says this openly gay man, born into a humble background, who had to work from a young age to survive in the violent city of San Pedro Sula.

Víctor laments the lack of diversity offered by Honduran political parties. For him, the opportunity to participate in this process is unique . “I couldn't leave it behind. It allows us to create a dignified and transparent representation.” For Víctor, not being a closet politician means challenging the system. “I seek to open spaces and eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity,” he asserts.

Grajeda promises to promote laws that penalize hate crimes , as well as the creation of specialized units to investigate these crimes. His promises also include the creation of mental health programs.

Unlike other Honduran political parties, Libertad y Refundación was characterized by being more open to the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ people. This is the case with activist Kendra Jordany and lawyer Vienna Ávila, whom Libre appointed as secretary of sexual diversity.

“Citizens, we are committed to Honduras becoming a country of hope,” said Kevin Ramos. “We, as part of the sexual diversity movement, hope that it fulfills its promises to offer rights to our people.”

The end of a government of discrimination and hate

With their vote, the diverse population is putting a stop to nationalist governments , which for more than a decade have failed to guarantee rights for trans and diverse people.

Hate speech is being uttered from the very top of the nationalist government headed by President Juan Orlando Hernández. On September 15, 2021, the president called members of Honduras's sexual diversity "enemies of independence" in a notorious speech marking the bicentennial of independence.

A reflection of the hetero-patriarchal vision of political parties in Honduras is the number of sexually diverse candidates in this year's elections.

Meanwhile, in Francisco Morazán, Miguel Caballero Leiva presented his candidacy for a seat in the House of Representatives for the Democratic Unification party. However, there are no results yet from the electoral standings to determine the fate of these candidates.

Anti-LGBTIQ+ discrimination by the ruling party continues despite the conviction for the transfeminicide of Vicky Hernández in the early hours of June 29, 2009.

Hernández, a human rights defender, became the first victim of the coup d'état that marked Honduras's recent history. The 2009 coup overthrew then-President Manuel Zelaya, husband of current presidential candidate Xiomara Castro.

Neither the de facto government of transportation entrepreneur Roberto Micheletti nor the nationalist administrations of Porfirio Lobo and Juan Orlando Hernández clarified or sought to punish the crime against Vicky. On the contrary, during the 12 years of nationalist power, the number of hate crimes in Honduras increased dramatically.

From 2009 to date, 389 violent deaths against LGBTI+ people have been recorded. In 2021 alone, 16 people have been murdered: ten gay men, three transgender people, and three lesbians , Cattrachas reports in its Observatory of Violent Deaths.

There was a glimmer of hope in the middle of this year, when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights finally condemned the State of Honduras for the transfemicide of Vicky Hernández.

“This is an opening for them to see that no struggle is exclusive to one group of people,” said Cattrachas coordinator Indyra Mendoza .

However, although the State said it would comply with the sentence in Vicky Hernández's case, it has so far failed to apologize to the family or comply with a series of reparations from the IACHR's ruling.

Some could not vote against nationalism

Despite transgender people's desire to use their vote to remove the National Party from power, some were left without that opportunity.

The director of Oprouce, trans leader Sasha Rodríguez, was unable to vote because she never received the new National Identity Document (DNI).

Like Rodríguez, thousands of people were eligible to vote. The National Registry of Persons did not provide them with their new IDs, without which they could not vote, according to the new electoral rules.

Social media users commented that the problems with issuing ID cards were another of the ruling party's tricks to stay in power by fabricating alleged fraud in the November 28 elections. 

“Xiomara’s victory is a vindication as a citizen ,” said Sasha Rodríguez. “She has been an ally of the diverse population and LGBTIQ+ people. They have grown tired of the 12 years in power of the National Party and its leader Juan Orlando Hernández, who joined forces with religious fundamentalists, especially evangelicals, to spread lies and discrimination against everyone.”

Rodríguez recalled Hernández's speech on September 15, where he expressed his rejection of the rights of diverse people. In the midst of the electoral climate in Honduras, Tatiana García in Santa Rosa de Copán . She was a member of the ruling party. More than 10 transgender people also suffered discrimination or were victims of attacks.

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The Cattrachas Lesbian Network reported to the National Electoral Council (CNE) that the National Party, along with anti-rights activists, used hate speech to stigmatize LGBTI+ people and women.

On November 23, the CNE admitted her complaint alleging violations of human dignity and promoting hatred and discrimination against groups historically placed in vulnerable situations.

Violence in Honduras extends to candidates belonging to LGBTIQ+ groups. The Cattrachas Political Observatory recorded, as of November 21, 33 violent deaths of candidates. It also reported a series of attacks and threats against various sectors.

At a public event, the network's coordinator, Indyra Mendoza, called for an end to political violence. "There are no free elections if candidates are afraid. We need the entire country to reject attacks; we need defending human rights to no longer be a condemnation."

Cattrachas also denounced President Hernández's former secretary, Minister Ebal Díaz, who used a video of a disabled girl in his campaigns to manipulate public opinion on the issue of abortion. "It's cruel that they use politics to attack women and people with disabilities," the lesbian network stated.

Violence before and during the elections

The most recent case of violence against the diverse population of Honduras is that of Emeli Rachel Villafranca (23), who was savagely beaten by four men in Tegucigalpa, reported the Arcoíris organization.

Three days before the elections, more than 20 LGBTIQ+ organizations submitted a proposed law reform to the National Registry of Persons to recognize the name change. 4,600 signatures were collected nationwide. A march was held to demand justice, an end to violence, and hate speech.

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LGBTIQ+ people monitor the elections

At least 30 trans women, distributed across the capital, Tegucigalpa, in central Honduras, and San Pedro Sula, on the northern coast, conducted citizen observation at mass voting centers. The observers recorded incidents of discrimination, problems with identification based on their birth name, and other anomalies.

The director of the Rainbow Dolls Association, JLo Córdova, reported that she suffered discrimination at her polling place when voting because she was publicly addressed by the name registered on her ID. "This shouldn't happen. We recommend better training on diversity and gender issues for polling station staff."

Meanwhile, in both San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, more than 15 people from different LGBTI+ organizations served as national election observers.

Lesbian activist Seidy Irías told Presentes that a country that doesn't consider the human rights of the most vulnerable people isn't a republic. "Let's fight for a government that's visible to all populations," Seidy said.

The #VotoConOrgullo campaign was promoted on social media, and the response was massive. "We, the youth, demonstrated that we are not made of glass, but of diamonds in this electoral process, which was a resounding victory for peaceful and participatory democracy," said Néstor Hernández, director of Honduras Diversa.

For many, Xiomara Castro's victory represents the closing of a gap in inequality. "Today, more than one girl woke up believing she, too, could be president," said influencer Denisol Mehujael.