TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of the Honduran capital on Saturday in anti-government protests against leftist President Xiomara Castro, angered by attempts to engineer what they say is an unconstitutional power grab.
In a demonstration sponsored by opposition parties, protesters in the Central American country accused the Castro government of seeking to transform Honduras by hand picking public officials.
The opposition protest was sparked after the ruling party elected a new interim chief prosecutor on November 1, without holding a congressional vote.
Lawmakers with Castro’s Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) used a committee vote where their members make up a majority to secure the nomination, even though they represent a minority in the Congress overall.
The Honduran constitution stipulates that 86 votes from the 128-member unicameral legislature are needed to elect the attorney general, but it also gives the committee the power to pick an interim chief prosecutor if the post is vacant.
Castro, who was sworn in as Honduras’ first woman president in January 2022 and describes herself as a democratic socialist, has sought to strengthen diplomatic relations with the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
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