Bishop Santos's Presidential Bid

Bishop Luis Santos Villeda of Santa Rosa de Copan will turn 75 in November and must submit his resignation as bishop to the Pope. At that time, he will ask the Pope to allow him to run as a presidential candidate of the Authentic June 28th movement of the Liberal Party.

Its not that he wants to be president:

"I don't aspire to be president of Honduras. This isn't my idea,"

he told the Catholic News Service.

"Why do I get involved in politics? Because it is politics that has screwed the poor.... But it's politics that makes people poor, that leaves the clinics and hospitals without medicine, that robs money from the villages. It's politics that supports the rampant corruption in Honduras,"

he is quoted as saying. The press report adds:

"I can't be disinterested in the health and education of the children, the least of my sisters and brothers...I'll do it for the common good, the good of Honduras."

Santos made his original announcement of his candidacy on September 16.

That announcement brought a mixed reaction from within the Liberal Party, where some, such as Lino Tomas Mendoza, were excited by its potential to reunite the Liberal Party.

If the Pope grants his request, Bishop Santos will have to compete with a large group of candidates for the Liberal Party nomination. These include Edmundo Orellana, Mauricio Villeda, Yani Rosenthal, Wenceslao Lara, and Esteban Handal, to name but a few of the announced candidates.