In a demonstration sponsored by opposition parties, protesters in the Central American country accused the Castro government of seeking to transform Honduras by handpicking public officials.

“We are here in defence of democracy because we do not want a dictatorship in Honduras like those in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, which is what the leftist government of President Xiomara Castro is leading us to,” David Chavez, president of the right-wing National Party told reporters on Saturday.

Roughly 10,000 people gathered in Tegucigalpa, the capital, according to a Reuters eyewitness, in a march that ended without incident. An official estimate from the Honduran authorities was not immediately provided.

The opposition protest was sparked after the ruling party elected a new interim chief prosecutor on Nov 1, without holding a congressional vote.

Lawmakers with Castro’s Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) used a committee vote where their members make up a majority to secure the nomination, even though they represent a minority in Congress overall. The opposition claims the move was unconstitutional.

The Honduran constitution stipulates that 86 votes from the 128-member unicameral legislature are needed to elect the attorney general, but it also gives the committee the power to pick an interim chief prosecutor if the post is vacant.

Castro, who was sworn in as Honduras’ first woman president in January 2022 and describes herself as a democratic socialist, has sought to strengthen diplomatic relations with the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.