Honduras is a very small Central American republicwith a population of 7.5 million and an area about the sizeof Louisiana. Christopher Columbus landed in the countryon one of his later voyages, and the nation is still the homeof seven distinct indigenous tribes, some of them descended from the Mayas who created a significantculture in this part of the world more than a thousand years ago.
Honduras, originally a Spanish colony, receivednominal independence in 1821, but has struggled witholigarchal rule since then. President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was removed from office several days ago by the Honduran supreme courtand Congress.
Someone from his own party was namedas interim president, and a new election was promised for this coming autumn. Zelaya was arrested by the nation’smilitary at his home, and put on a plane for Costa Rica.
Zelaya’s’s supporters in and out of Honduras have calledthis an illegal coup d’etat, but in reality it was Zelaya whowas attempting a coup d’etat of his own by holding an illegal plebiscite that would have enabled him to run forpresident again (which is prohibited by the Honduran constitution). His removal, while extraordinary, was legal,and his claims now to be the legitimate president of Honduras, are invalid.
Zelaya is part of a small group of Central and SouthAmerican leaders, each originally legitimately elected intheir own countries, but who having tasted power, don’twant to give it up. In effect, they really want to return tothe old politics of the dictators who ruled in the previousworld of Hispanic-American politics.
Hugo Chavez ofVenezuela is the most notorious of this group, which also includes Evo Morales of Bolivia and Fidel Castro of Cuba(who has been the communist dictator of Cuba for 50 years).
It was no surprise then that Chavez and his cohortscame immediately to the defense of Zelaya, nor was itunexpected that the Organization of American States (OAS) and the UN, both left-dominated organizationswould join in an effort to overturn the action of the HonduranCongress and Supreme Court.
The surprisewas that President Obama joined in and supported the transparently false claims that Zelaya had beenwrongfully removed from office. Obama’s motive, I believe, was to counter the propagandaadvantage that normally is ceded to Chavez and his fellow demagogues, and in that sense he was probablysuccessful in the short term.
The problem for the newAmerican president, however, is that the U.S. is the leading advocate and protector of capital democracies,large and small, in the world. Now he has sent a very contradictory message to the region and the internationalcommunity.
Acting President Roberto Micheletti of Honduras is a manwho shows no signs of seeking or keeping political powerin Honduras. He is even a member of the ousted president’s own party. An interesting development here isthat the military cooperated with Honduran democratic institutions, and have not attempted to take power forthemselves (as has happened in this region so often in the past).
Hondurans seem genuinely determined tokeep their young new republic/democracy, and to resistefforts to return the nation to dictatorial rule, from either the left or the right.
The young Obama administration has allowed abstractstrategic maneuvering to override the important andtraditional U.S. role as champion of capital democracy.Now we appear, in this case, to be in political bed with those who champion Marxist totalitarianism.
If theforces of political and economic freedom in Honduras and elsewhere think the U.S. has abandoned them, theywill soon be overrun by the reactionary forces which threaten them.
Brave little Honduras, however, is not caving in. Smalland isolated, it does not want to return to days of “banana republics” and the oppression of its people. There is still time for President Obama to change courseand do the right thing.
Viva Honduras Democratica!
Barry Casselman has written commentary on national and international politics since 1972.
