to accusations of fraud. The ensuing demonstrations were suppressed by the government, leaving 23 people dead, hundreds injured and more than 1,350 detained. 2021 Castro was chosen as the 2021 presidential candidate for Libre and represented her political party in the 2021 Honduran general election. Salvador Nasralla, a presidential candidate for the Savior Party, later dropped out and became Castro's running mate. Polls showed a tight race between Castro and her right-wing opponent Nasry Asfura, of the incumbent National Party, a two-term mayor plagued by allegations of corruption. During her presidential campaign, she suggested the diplomatic recognition of the People's Republic of China in Beijing over the Republic of China on Taiwan (see One-China policy), the establishment of an anti-corruption commission backed by the United Nations similar to the one active in Guatemala and an update to the Honduran Constitution. Castro has proposed a constituent assembly to rewrite the Constitution of Honduras. She has also suggested easing the country's complete prohibition of abortion, under limited circumstances, and allow the use and distribution of emergency contraception. Following the release of the preliminary results of the election, Castro declared victory, and was described by international media as the apparent victor of the election, pending full results. On 30 November, Asfura's party conceded defeat. He then met with Castro and congratulated her. Castro became Honduras' first female president on 27 January 2022. 2022 congressional leadership dispute Before the 2021 election, Castro had promised Salvador Nasralla that his Savior party would hold the leadership of the national congress should they win the election. This promise was one of the conditions that persuaded Nasralla to end his presidential campaign and join Castro’s. However, on 21 January 2022, 20 deputies from Libre refused to follow suit. They voted for Libre deputy Jorge Cálix to be the congressional president. The rest of the Libre deputies and allied parties voted for Luis Redondo of the Savior party. A fight then broke out on the floor of Congress, and Castro refused to recognise Cálix's election. She subsequently denounced the 20 deputies (two of whom later retracted their support for Cálix) as "traitors" and expelled 18 from Libre. The following evening Castro held a vigil with Libre supporters outside congress; she stated that the purpose of the event was "...to prevent the kidnapping of the National Congress and to reject the bipartisanship led by the dictator Juan Orlando Hernández with