It’s the first military coup in Central America since the cold war.
Photo: rbreve
Early Sunday morning the soldiers of the Honduran army arrested and exiled President Jose Manuel Zelaya.
The context for the arrests is the conflict surrounding a national referendum that was to take place Sunday on the presidential term limit. Following the lead of other leftist leaders in Latin America, Zelaya and his supporters sought the referendum in order to extend his administration for another term. The Honduras Supreme Court earlier ruled the referendum was unconstitutional.
One of the coup leaders is allegedly School of the Americas graduate and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez, whom Zelaya had dismissed after he refused to cooperate with the national referendum. Zelaya was reportedly arrested in his pajamas and then taken to an airbase outside the capital to be flown to Costa Rica.
While events are unfolding, several heads of state and organizations from around the world have already condemned the coup, calling for a restoration of democracy and the return of President Zelaya. Many Latin American countries–including Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador–have issued strongly worded statements.
Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it “will not recognize any government that is not that of President Manuel Zelaya.” Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has put his military on alert.
Bolivian President Evo Morales has said, “What is currently happening in Honduras is an adventure of a group of the military who have assaulted democracy.”
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has also weighed in, condemning the coup:
“The action taken against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya violates the precepts of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and thus should be condemned by all. We call on all parties in Honduras to respect the constitutional order and the rule of law, to reaffirm their democratic vocation and to commit themselves to resolve political disputes peacefully and through dialogue.”
Europe has also been watching closely. The French Foreign Ministry said, “France firmly condemns the coup that has just taken place in Honduras. The arrests and expulsions of diplomatic envoys are a grave breach of the Vienna convention. They are unacceptable.”
Honduras is a member of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, which is an alliance of leftist countries in Latin America. The alliance’s mission is to build an economic and social alternative to what member nations see as unfair free-trade agreements dominated by the interests of the United States and multinational corporations.
Zelaya is now in Costa Rica, where he calls for peaceful resistance to the military coup. The government of Costa Rica also calls on the international community to condemn the coup.
Community Connection:
To learn about other recent political developments in Latin America, read “El Salvador Leans to the Left.”
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Hal–
Interesting, right? Good thing Ryan’s fluent in Spanish!
Seriously, I think that the Times’ coverage of Latin America is, in general, more toward the right, which makes for a compelling comparative analysis of the news.↵ -
Really? The leader of the OAS, Insulza condemned it, I’m surprised that the NYT didn’t pick it up. El Mercurio, my local (somewhat right-leaning) paper in Santiago reports “Insulza condenó hoy “severamente” el golpe militar y pidió la colaboración del mundo contra esta crisis política.” Insulza severely condemns the coup and requested world support against this political crisis.
The same article has Chavez blaming the United States and Obama for having “something to do” with the overthrow.
Thanks for this timely piece!
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Reuters carried the story with all the condemnations from the international governments (at least, they alluded to it)
Of course coups should always be condemned–most ironically by the U.S. (C’mon, guys, don’t overthrow your government…you know, the same thing we trained you to do in Nicaragua). But here’s my question: why, when the “people” are suffering high unemployment and severe poverty, is it so important to extend his term?
Wouldn’t that be like giving Bush another shot, because the economy was failing? 51% of the U.S. might say “FOUR MORE YEARS!”, but term limits are like tilling the soil…it keeps things fresh and allows a new crop to grow.
I love how leaders, like Zelaya, always like to circumvent constitutions by claiming the will of the “People”. Bush did it. Chavez did/does it. Probably every other unpopular, power-hungry leader has done it too. I don’t care if the guy is socialist, but he’s trying to circumvent the constitution for his own gains; I find that to be just as dangerous to democracy as a bloodless coup.
Coups are wrong, but Zelaya sure as hell doesn’t seem to be right.
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If the removal process is supported by the constitution, then there was no need for the drama of a middle-of-the-night kidnapping.
If this was a legal process, then why not bring the president into Congress or the Supreme Court, read the charges, arrest him, impeach him?
If the Honduran people were so upset with the president, then the Sunday poll would’ve shown this. If, as some claim, the entire political establishment was against Zelaya and his support was dwindling, an impeachment was imminent.
Honduras should’ve allowed the poll, handed the president a huge defeat, impeached him, and given democracy a huge win. (Hey, many Americans did not like Bush, but they waited until election time to change the government. That’s the way a democracy works.) And, note, Zelaya’s term would have ended om January of 2010.
But that’s not what happened. The elite were afraid of the possibilities. Afraid of Chavez, mostly. So they took drastic, preventive action. And now they are the pariah of a continent. Deservedly so.
I never thought I’d see the day where so many leaders would all agree on something (even if there is hypocrisy in some of their words). This is an opportunity to put an end to military coups in Latin America. All extremism is wrong, whether it comes from the right or the left. So let the shunning begin and send a message that coups are a thing of the past and are unacceptable.
It’s not WHAT Honduras did but HOW they did it.
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My mom who is from Honduras is glad they kicked him out. I also lived there for a few years as a kid, and I’m glad they kicked his ass out, too. He’s a total jackass and would have found some way to circumvent the constitution and anything else stopping him from his power grab. Good riddance.
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@Ernesto: Excellent analysis– reflects my own position.
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Never let morality keep you from doing what is right!
The Hondurans did the right thing. Any friend of the trio Hugo, Ebo, And Raul is no friend of liberty or freedom.
The world needs to just stay out of it.
Threats from Hugo and Noriega should be met with force if necessary. The OAS and the UN and any coutry that tries to help Zalaya should be ashamed.↵
