海角大神

When protests first exploded here in the days following Honduras鈥� hotly contested presidential vote, residents like Luis Carlos Hern谩ndez were swept up in the action.

The young lawyer鈥檚 home is just a block away from the national vote-counting center, at the heart of the at times violent demonstrations. Amid volleys of rocks and tear gas outside his front door, Mr. Hern谩ndez ushered his 11-year-old brother and four-year-old nephew into the bathroom, covering their faces with vinegar-soaked rags to protect them from the chemicals seeping in from the street.

鈥淧eople want to take out these corrupt politicians, they want another system,鈥� Hern谩ndez says of the protests that boiled over across the country, demanding more transparency about how votes have been tallied.

Nearly three weeks later, his street is largely back to normal, with late-afternoon traffic jams and vendors hawking avocados and cell phone covers. But it鈥檚 clear the country as a whole 鈥� which is still awaiting the announcement of its next president 鈥� won鈥檛 bounce back so quickly.

The ballot count was officially completed earlier this week, with sitting President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez in the lead by roughly 1.6 percentage points. But, under international pressure, the electoral commission (TSE) has been recounting votes from contested polling stations and reviewing evidence of fraud alleged by the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship party before officially announcing a victor.

As protests simmer down and Hondurans have a moment to catch their breath, many here are coming to the realization that no matter who is declared winner of this historic election, the country has a lot of work ahead. The election put front and center a deep-seated lack of trust in political leaders, democratic institutions, and fellow citizens. Rebuilding a path forward will require big changes from all sectors of society, analysts say.聽

鈥淭his crisis has to be seen as an opportunity for growth,鈥� says Carlos Hern谩ndez Martinez, executive director of the Association for a More Just Society (ASJ), the local Transparency International chapter here. He points to concrete steps that will need to be made by whomever is named president, including the construction of a national dialogue; scrapping the TSE, which lost credibility over the past several weeks; and inviting international involvement in for a reconciliation process.

But, he adds, it鈥檚 not just politicians who will need to buckle down. 鈥淪ociety needs to change, too,鈥� he says.聽

'Power is not enough'

Close elections and public scrutiny of them have become a common occurrence in Latin America over the past few years. Slim victories in Peru and Ecuador recently put under the microscope the importance of strong institutions and trust, says Roberto Izurieta, the director of Latin American programs at George Washington University鈥檚聽Graduate School of Political Management and a former political campaign consultant in Mexico, Ecuador, Paraguay, and other countries across the region.聽

鈥淚n Peru, there was an even smaller margin of victory and people waited, candidates complained, many said the election wasn鈥檛 fair,鈥� Mr. Izurieta says. 鈥淏ut the process moved forward. Why? Because there were strong institutions; there was trust that they could do their job.鈥�

Although Latin America has a long history of authoritarian leaders successfully holding on to power, that isn鈥檛 a plausible model anymore, Izurieta says. 鈥淚n current times, power is just opportunity,鈥� he says, explaining that you may have been elected to office, but that doesn鈥檛 mean you can do whatever you please. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a starting point. You need to find common ground, bring people to the table.聽

鈥淭he main lesson I hope everybody learns from [Honduras鈥橾 experience is that power is not enough. A leader has to build trust.鈥�

Napoleon Morillo, the owner of a coffee stand in a bustling Tegucigalpa mall, agrees.

鈥淭o move forward from all of this, the next government has to prove it will take a stand against corruption. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 on the mind of Hondurans,鈥� he says.

鈥淣o matter who wins, he has to impose justice on members of his own party [who] are linked to corruption. He has to prove that he鈥檚 governing for the people. Then [we] will believe in him, whoever he is.鈥�

Shared responsibility

Social divisions and mistrust in Honduras started long before this presidential election. After the 2009 coup that ousted then-President Manuel Zelaya, there was a crackdown on independent journalism and civil society, citizens were polarized over the changing of the political guard, and current President Hern谩ndez鈥檚 National Party consolidated power. The Supreme Court was stacked with judges sympathetic to the National Party, and even the fact that Hern谩ndez ran in this election is seen as the result of his party鈥檚 vast influence and the weakening of democratic institutions. Running for a second consecutive term is barred under the constitution, but was deemed legal last year by the Supreme Court.

After the coup, there were some steps to move society forward, like a truth commission. In retrospect, however, they were quite surface-level efforts, says Mr. Hern谩ndez from ASJ.

鈥淚t鈥檚 become clear that the same divisions that existed after the coup are still present, only now there鈥檚 a stronger element of hate,鈥� which concerns him, he says. Some fear whoever wins the election will simply try to condense power and punish the losing party. And this environment of suspicion and mistrust isn鈥檛 helped by the emphasis many here seem to put on the negative, he adds.

鈥淲e need to learn to denounce wrongdoing with substance and evidence, but we also need to recognize the positives in order to generate a little bit of hope for the country,鈥� Hern谩ndez says, pointing to the decrease in homicide rates between 2016 and 2017 as an example.

When the presidential winner is announced, 鈥渢here needs to be a big social pact, a national dialogue with outside mediation by an international actor鈥� who is seen as neutral, he says of a path forward. From his perspective, that should include groups that were excluded after the coup, like human rights defenders, and the discourse should be public 鈥� not hidden behind closed doors.

鈥淭here need to be profound political reforms, including on the theme of reelection. We need to decompress the situation, and involve society in these government changes,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he people have to feel a part of this.鈥�

But the onus for change and building trust doesn鈥檛 fall entirely on the political elite. Civil society, church leaders, and citizens all have a role to play, observers say.

鈥淗ondurans need to take initiative to start paying attention to politics, vote, and hold politicians accountable,鈥� says Hern谩ndez, the lawyer whose home was caught up in the protests. Demonstrations after the election were widespread, but only about 55 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in this election.

Corruption isn鈥檛 just a problem in the government: Change can start at home or within communities, adds Mr. Morillo, the coffee shop owner. 鈥淎t the very least, every person must live correctly 鈥� be a good father, be a good citizen, don鈥檛 run that stoplight, pay your taxes,鈥� he says.

鈥淲e have to start with ourselves. One day we will have a good president, but the question [will still be] how we as a culture behave.鈥�