Elections in Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua

In November 2021, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua were all scheduled to hold Presidential elections. All three elections have been marked by controversy.

Haiti's election, originally scheduled for 7th November, has been postponed until 2022, following the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, and a major earthquake in August.

Nicaragua’s election went ahead on 7th with President Daniel Ortega re-elected for a fourth term, while at least six opposition Presidential candidates remained in jail and three opposition parties were barred from participating. The US, EU and UK governments have all officially condemned the election as lacking legitimacy.

Honduras' election was held on the 28th of November. Preliminary results indicate that Xiomara Castro will become the country's first female president, with her presidency putting an end to 12 years in power of the right-wing National Party, which won the presidential election in November 2009, just months after Ms. Castro's husband, Mel Zelaya, was ousted in a military coup.

Canning House will field an expert panel to discuss the results and what they could mean for the future of these countries, which are also critically exposed to the devastating impact of climate change.

Speakers

Massimo Tommasoli

PhD Director of Global Programmes & Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the UN

Massimo is a policy specialist with extensive experience in democracy building, social development, and aid evaluation. He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Currently, he is the Director of Global Programmes and Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the UN. Previously, he worked for the Development Cooperation Directorate at the OECD in Paris, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and at UNESCO in Addis Ababa.

Adrien Randolph Gilbert

Coordinator and focal point for Haiti, at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

Randolph holds a degree in Economics from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a master's degree in Economics and Public Policy from the ITESM in Mexico. Currently, he serves as a Coordinator and Focal Point for Haiti at ECLAC, Subregional Headquarters in Mexico, where he monitors reports on the Haitian economy and other tasks related to special reports on the Caribbean and Central America. He has published in the ECLAC Thematic and collaborated in studies and publications with prestigious institutions in Mexico, as well as lectured at workshops on Haiti.

Will Grant

BBC News, Mexico, Central America and Cuba Correspondent

Will Grant graduated from Edinburgh University and holds a master's degree from the University of London’s Institute of Latin American Studies. He is one of the UK's leading broadcast journalists on Latin American affairs. He has been a BBC correspondent in Latin America since 2007 with successive deployments to Venezuela, Mexico, and Cuba, and is responsible for covering the region from Patagonia to the Rio Grande. He is the author of the book '¡Populista! The Rise of Latin America's 21st Century Strongman' published in 2021. He is currently based in Mexico City.

Questions?

Please contact us with any questions about this event.