A seemingly uneventful transition of power will take place today in the small Central American country of Honduras as Interim president, Roberto Micheletti, hands over the keys to the presidential palace to president-elect Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. The occasion will be marked with the usual pomp, celebration and traditions that mark any presidential inauguration. But for the people of Honduras, tomorrow’s inauguration will be nothing short of historic. Hondurans will welcome the closing of a turbulent chapter in their storied history. For months (if not years), democracy and the rule of …
Earlier this year, there was an unexpected change in government in Honduras. On June 28, President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was removed from power with support of Honduras’ Congress and the nation’s courts. In accordance with the Honduran constitution, Zelaya was replaced with Interim President Robert Micheletti. Although some have denounced this action as “coup d’etat” – notably Cuba, Venezuela and, shamefully, the United States – it is better characterized as a defense of constitutional democracy from the illegal attempts by Zelaya to extend his hold on power. For better …
One of the early decisions the Obama Administration made to differentiate itself from the “unilateralist” Bush Administration was to announce that the U.S. would run for a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council. The Council was created in 2006 to replace the hugely discredited U.N. Commission on Human Rights that had failed to reliably confront governments that violated the rights of their citizens, allowed human rights abusers to sit on the Commission for the sole purpose of blunting its effectiveness, and demonized Israel at every opportunity. In 2006, despite …
When Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez steps off his airplane in Tehran for a weekend chat with Iran’s leaders, he is certain to have a little extra bounce in his step. Having engineered a massive political crisis in Honduras, Chavez can now count on Washington and the Obama Administration to deliver what he could not do: the forced return of ousted ally Manuel Zelaya to the presidency. Failure to return Zelaya, the State Department warned ominously today, will swiftly end virtually all U.S. economic assistance. Even more ominous, the Obama Administration …
In Washington this week, Manuel Zelaya, the deposed president of Honduras, is telling his side of the story of what led to his removal from the presidency on June 28. He blames the oligarchy and their clients for conspiring to topple him. He is pressing hard for more punitive sanctions and deeper U.S. intervention to force his return to presidential power. Zelaya and his backers want to make restoring him to office a test case for support for democracy by the Obama Administration in the Americas and around the world. …
August 28 is a significant date for the Western Hemisphere. Colombia and Honduras will stand again in the limelight. They are there primarily thanks to Venezuela’s authoritarian-populist Hugo Chavez, a man who increasingly crafts the rules for setting Latin America’s political and security agenda. In Bariloche, Argentina, leaders representing the 12 members of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) will debate a U.S.-Colombian decision to utilize airfields in Colombia for anti-drug operations. Chavez wants UNASUR to condemn the U.S. and Colombia’s President Uribe for an agreement that will allow …
On July 24, like a scofflaw on the run, former president Manuel Zelaya briefly stood on Honduran soil daring the police or army to come arrest him. The government of Roberto Micheletti vows to execute the arrest warrant issued by the Honduran high court before the June 28 ouster of Zelaya. Micheletti is not afraid to argue the case against Zelaya. Then unready to surrender, Zelaya swiftly retreated back to safety on Nicaraguan soil. After three days, Zelaya remains camped on the border, apparently declining an invitation to return to …
The crisis in Honduras moves into its third week. Talks scheduled today for Costa Rica between the government of Roberto Micheletti and representatives of deposed president Manuel Zelaya appear to have broken down. The sticking point remains the demand for the return of Zelaya to presidential office. While mediating President Oscar Arias, the U.S., Venezuela’s populist authoritarian president Hugo Chavez, and even Raul Castro demand it, the Micheletti government remains adamant in defense of the constitutionality of its actions, while the Supreme Court balks at amnesty for Zelaya’s crimes.
During the course of his presidency, President Obama has placed little value in encouraging democratic developments abroad, stating the need to focus on the “substance” of a government, rather than its “form.” While the president’s abandonment of democracy is certainly discouraging, he has raised an important point: We spend so much time talking about democracy…[b]ut democracy, a well-functioning society that promotes liberty and equality and fraternity, does not just depend on going to the ballot box. However, although the president recognizes that democracies in name do not always yield democracies …
