So what's going on in Honduras?

It's still a 50/50 race for the Honduran presidency between Libre's Xiomara Castro de Zelaya and Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party. Whoever wins is going to have a rough time governing a country with such economic, social and political problems especially given that the winning candidate is unlikely to secure greater than 40 percent of the vote, if that much, and a majority in congress.

Over 3,600 women have been murdered between 2012 and 2013, half during President Porfirio Lobo's term.

Guillermo Peña Panting argues that Honduras needs to strengthen its political institutions and not buy into the cult of personality of its politicians. Not sure that we'd agree on much more than that however.

Ramiro Sebastián Fúnez asks whether Honduras' Castro de Zelaya Could be the Country’s First Female, Openly Socialist President.

The thought of electing a female and openly socialist president might have been an abstract notion to many in pre-coup Honduras, which has historically been the most conservative country in Central America.

Even if Castro de Zelaya is not elected, constituents will continue to demonstrate against the current leadership and promote her party, her platforms and her ideas as the country struggles to dust off decades of foreign exploitation, crime and inequality.

I wish the next president, whoever he or she is, the best of luck.

Mark Weisbrot argues that November's presidential vote is a key test of whether Honduras can return to democracy after the US-supported 2009 coup. I guess he means that democracy will only return to the country if Castro de Zelaya wins. I agree that the US did not do all it could to return Manuel Zelaya to office following the June 2009 coup but I guess that I wouldn't characterize it as a US-supported coup in the way that one would interpret that statement.

Not in all cases obviously, but the Obama administration has been encouraging different actors in each country to resolve their disputes on their own. Differing constitutional interpretations in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala come to mind.