Mauricio Villeda Lauds Zelaya Departure and "Cleansing" of Liberal Party

Honduras Weekly
Liberal presidential candidate Mauricio Villeda on Saturday characterized last week's official resignation of Manuel Zelaya from the Liberal Party of Honduras as an "ideological cleansing" of the party. "The party is unifying a little more each day. What the exit of former President Zelaya has done is initiate a cleansing within the Liberal Party. It has shown that we have two clearly different ideologies: the ideology that continues to be liberal and that of Zelaya's, which is the socialism of the 21st century," said Mr. Villeda. According to him, "When leftist liberals leave, it is like trimming a tree. When you trim a tree, new branches sprout. That is what's happening in the Liberal Party."

Mr. Villeda, who represents the conservative wing of the Liberal Party, announced on August 30, 2011, that he would seek his party's nomination to run for the Presidency of Honduras in 2014. He launched his campaign in the southern city of Choluteca on January 14,2012. The primary election is scheduled for November 18, 2013. Other Liberal candidates include Wenceslao Lara, Yani Rosenthal, and Luis Alfonso Santos. (2/6/12) (photo of Mauricio Villeda)