The Day Chavez Stubbed His Toe in Honduras
Ray Walser /
On June 28, 2009, Latin America’s populist authoritarian movement led by Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez suffered a major setback. Vigilant Hondurans defended their representative institutions and Constitution by removing Manuel Zelaya from power. They did so after Zelaya attempted to alter Honduras’ strict, one-term limit on executive power and adopt the “Chavez method of destroying democratic institutions using street mobs.”
The removal of Zelaya created a firestorm of diplomatic controversy. The Organization of American States (OAS) condemned Zelaya’s removal and expelled Honduras for defending its constitution. The Obama Administration first sided with Chavez and Cuba’s Raul Castro to demand Zelaya’s unconditional restoration. It set out to punish little Honduras with trade, aid and visa restrictions only to realize that restoring Zelaya was a prescription for prolonged political conflict and prejudicial to U.S. economic and security interests. The interim government believing itself right held its ground against powerful outsiders anxious to appease a power-hungry Zelaya.
An agreement brokered by the U.S. between Zelaya and the interim government of Roberto Micheletti paved the way for U.S. recognition of the November 29 elections, won easily by National Party candidate Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. Since taking office on January 27, 2010, Lobo has worked to build a national unity government and cooperate with a truth commission looking into the events before and after the June 28 removal of Zelaya. Leftist backers of Zelaya aim to create a new party, the National Front of Popular Resistance, and want their maverick leader back in the country. (more…)