A Coup For Democracy?

Posted on June 29th, 2009 Austan Mogharabi 1 comment  Print This Post

Mary Anastacia O’Grady at the WSJ is making that claim – and she is supported by many in the Honduran ex-pat community living in the U.S (as well as many Hondurans on the ground it seems).

I will say, as more information trickles out it seems that as far as coups go, the case of Honduras stands out as a particularly process-heavy exception.  The Supreme Court stated it authorized the military action against the President.  The Attorney General is saying that Zelaya knew he would be charged and agreed to leave the country. The Legislature already appointed a president pro-tempore, as outlined in the Constitution.  In his first statement to Honduras, the new President, Roberto Michelleti, declared that no one should refer to this as a coup, since it was in keeping with democracy that ex-President Zelaya was removed from office.  It is ironic that Zelaya’s own party in Congress is investigating whether he is mentally fit to hold office and voted to replace Zelaya with Michelleti.

Furthermore, the events leading up to the Presidents expulsion, if O’Grady is correct, make the case against Zelaya stronger.  He apparently:

1) disregarded the Constitutional requirement of Congressional approval by trying to hold a referendum;

2) disobeyed a Supreme Court order not to hold the referendum or the “unofficial” referendum;

3) stormed a military barracks with some of his supporters and stole the ballots (from Venezuela, no less) and handed them out.

Here is a great quote from the O’Grady article, referring to the fact that democracy can often be compromised from within:

Former Argentine Ambassador to the U.N. Emilio Cárdenas told me on Saturday that he was concerned that “the OAS under Insulza has not taken seriously the so-called ‘democratic charter.’ It seems to believe that only military ‘coups’ can challenge democracy. The truth is that democracy can be challenged from within, as the experiences of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and now Honduras, prove.”

One thing is certain: Zelaya doesn’t have many allies in the country.  According to reports, approximately 200 people protested today in front of the State house (juxtapose that to the situation in Iran).  The military is out in force but is doing nothing to stop the protesters or to disband them.  The courts, the Congress, the military, and the Catholic Church (an important actor in Honduras) are all behind the removal of Zelaya.

I’m also sure it’s never a good idea to be in agreement with Hugo Chavez if the debate is about democracy.