Why Hondurans are taking to the streets or leaving the country

Protests have coalesced around calls for President Hernandez to leave office.

(CNN)Dead protesters, a "failed state" and accusations of high-level drug trafficking. This time it's not Venezuela in the headlines, but key US ally Honduras.

Protests over the last two months have left at least three people dead and are contributing to a growing political crisis for President Juan Orlando Hernandez. The recent 10-year anniversary of the coup that deposed President Jose Manuel Zelaya in 2009 provided a focal point for protesters, who are angry about many of the same issues -- such as insecurity, poverty and a crisis of governance -- that are also a factor in driving growing migration to the United States.
"These challenges make many people seek a better, more peaceful, life further north," said Annette Idler, senior research fellow in politics and international relations at the University of Oxford.
    "The one demand that now unifies all these sectors is for the President to step down," added Idler.
    Here are some key issues behind the protests:
    Hernandez was able to run for a second term after the Supreme Court changed the constitution.

    Crisis of democracy

    Hernandez hung on to power following a widely disputed election that eroded many Hondurans' trust in the political system due to allegations of electoral fraud.
    Now protest leaders allege that Honduras is facing social unrest because the country is a "failed state," in which institutions are not providing answers to the needs of citizens.