Pepe vs. Mel

The presidential elections are in full swing... Mel (top) vs. Pepe (bottom). This is an article form the Honduras weekly. November 28th is election day, so until then the political music is blasting and propaganda is flying.

Porfirio Lobo Sosa, National Party of Honduras.
Pepe was born in Trujillo in 1947 but grew up on a farm near Juticalpa, Olancho. After attending Catholic school in Juticalpa he first furthered his studies in Tegucigalpa and then at university in the United States, although he also attended a university in Russia. He became a diputado in 1990. Sosa was in charge of the Honduran Corporation for Forestry Development, COHDEFOR, from 1990 to 1994. Currently, Sosa serves as president of the national congress.
As congressional president Sosa has overseen the fuel price freeze and the easing of tensions with the taxistas following their strike in September. He also passed legislation stripping public officials of their immunity from prosecution. Corruption and lack of accountability is a major problem in Honduras and a key concern of the people.
Sosa’s slogan for the campaign is 'trabajo y seguridad' (work and security), a socially-minded campaign promising an answer to Honduras’ unemployment and violent crime. The social instability instigated by crime and lack of a reliable fiscal policy are of major concerns to the voters. Fixing the housing shortage is another local concern which Sosa promises to fix if elected president in the forthcoming elections.
At the last legislative elections in 2001 the national party won 46.5 per cent of the popular vote giving them 61 of the 128 seats in the national congress. Their leader, Ricardo Maduro won the presidency with 52.2 per cent of the vote.
Party Name: Partido Liberal de Honduras (Liberal Party of Honduras) Leader: Manuel Zelaya Rosales

Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya, the Liberal Party’s candidate for president, is a long time party member,
having held many titles within the party during his political career.
Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Liberal Party of Honduras
Zelaya has been national liberal party co-ordinator, Congressional deputy, and, most recently, he managed the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS).
Zelaya attended the National Honduran University but did not graduate. Now a landowner, he claims to understand the problems facing the rural majority, because of his countryside origins.
This empathy for the people is highlighted in his campaign slogan "poder ciudano" (power to the people). Under this broad campaign banner Zelaya has promised to heal the social, education, and welfare problems faced by the Honduran population.
Some of these promises include improving education with 100,000 scholarships and creating 100,000 more rural jobs. Mel also has pledged to reinvigorate small and mediumsized businesses.
The party strongly opposes the introduction of the death penalty, a policy the National Party are passionately endorsing, on the basis that it is "unchristian" and a "fascist campaign of violence". Recently a spokesman for Zelaya said that the "backbone of the government of Manuel Zelaya will be to provide better housing and living standards to the people in rural areas."
In the last legislative elections, the party won 40.8 per cent of the popular vote and 55 of Congress’ 128 seats.
The Liberal presidential candidate at the time, Rafael Pineda Ponce, won only 44.3 per cent of the vote, losing the election to Ricardo Maduro of the National Party.