Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo (BBA '70) has been sworn in as the new president of Honduras

Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo, a rancher and farmer who earned his bachelor of business administration degree from the School of Business Administration in 1970, was sworn in as the new president of Honduras on Jan. 27. Lobo was elected to the position in November following a coup that threw the Central American nation into turmoil.

"Today, we begin a government with the participation of all the political parties," Lobo said, according to CNN. "There were no victors or losers [in the election], only one winner -- Honduras."

“The University of Miami has a diverse, international student body,” said Donna Arbide, the University’s associate vice president of Alumni Relations. “Thanks to our central location in the hemisphere, we have provided many students from Latin America with a rigorous college education. We are proud that their experience at UM prepares them to become tomorrow’s leaders in their own countries.”

In a statement issued after the November election, the U.S. State Department commended Hondurans for “peacefully exercising” their right to vote, noting that the electoral process began well before the June 28 ouster that removed President Manuel Zelaya from office. “This shows that given the opportunity to express themselves, the Honduran people have viewed the election as an important part of the solution to the political crisis in their country,” the statement read.

Lobo's inauguration follows the swearing-in of an alumna of the School of Business in late December as Peru's first female minister of finance. Mercedes Araoz graduated with a master in economics from the School in 1991.