Coup d'etat in Honduras

As usual in latin american coverage Le monde and El pais are better. In local newspapers here there are a “big coverage” for the usual of the media, and take in account in my country there was an election the same day. Hope to see some link of photos here from honduras photographers.I see in tv a woman trying to hit the soldiers.

The Guardian has video, friend of mine was beat up in this demonstration:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/30/honduras-coup-protesters-street-violence
Little to no coverage of Argentine elections in U.S. media

The real problem is that there is no real choice. Zelaya is no Jeffersonian democrat and the military and poitical elites of Honduras are the scum of the earth. Make no mistake Zelaya did and wanted to perpetuate himslef in the Honduran presidency with Venezuelan money, and he used that money to play dirty money poitics like all the other local politicos. The Army, and the political elites (to which Zelaya himself belongs to), are supremely corrupt. So it is a lose-lose situation for Honduran democracy. Even so I have been surprised that the military has managed to reign in their soldiers and not killed hundreds like they used too. I guess there is a little progress after all.

There is truth in some of what you say but I take issue with this:

“Make no mistake Zelaya did and wanted to perpetuate himself in the Honduran presidency with Venezuelan money”

Make no mistake? He cannot run in the November elections and is thus not a candidate. The referendum he tried to implement would not have changed that. So this is unfounded – no mistake! The mistake is that US media swalow this whole. Read El País and Le Monde.

The absolutely unforgivable things Zelaya seems to have done is raise the minimum wage.

“As one media analyst pointed out, while many major news outlets in the US, including the Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, said an impetus for the coup was specifically Zelaya’s plans for a vote to allow him to extend his term in office, the actual ballot question was to be: “Do you agree that, during the general elections of November 2009 there should be a fourth ballot to decide whether to hold a Constituent National Assembly that will approve a new political constitution?”

source: http://www.truthout.org/063009S?n

Thank you Pablo,

I’ve been working in Venezuela for the last few years and can’t stand listening to the ridiculous coverage of the democratic processes transforming the majority of Latin American countries currently. The Honduras situation is shamefully reminiscent of the Regan and Bush SR. years of right wing military repression. Lets just hope the Obama administration will pressure the elite classes in Honduras and not passively empower them…

Let’s just hope, Saint. And let’s just hope that the US Military is not advising and aiding the Honduran military at the same time as Clinton and Obama denounce the coup…. I see this as quite possible.

There is a lamentable lack of concern and knowledge on the part of Anglo America vis a vis Latin America. While CNN en español devoted extensive (and as usual rather high quality) coverage to the story, CNN International did a very poor job explaining the event. This is why I am seriously considering either starting up my own online news service to cover Latin America or try to convince CNN to produce a show like Inside Africa that tries to cover Latin Am issues better.

Meanwhile it is interesting that the constitutional reform issue is the cause of all this, as here in Dom REp we are currently undergoing this very same process and it is no secret that in fact part of the reform is intended to extend the president’s power(both in terms of time served and in terms of the Exec branch’s relative powers in relation to the judiciary and legislature) — though in a subtle covert manner. While Fernández managed to arrange an agreement that would deny the president consecutive terms in office, it will allow him to return after a hiatus and all he has to do now is ensure that his party’s next candidate is someone he can support (and manipulate) while he prepares for his subsequent reelection thereafter. of all the Latin Am countries, DR has the strongest Caudillo tradition, and its influence is heavily felt here a half century after Trujillo’s assassination.

Well, here the solution was candidate the wife of the president but now they had a bad message in the recent elections. I think the Caudillo tradition exist in most of the latin american countries. Will see how develops this.

Por supuesto, Hernán. THe caudillo tradition is key to understanding Latin Politics, but DR is an exemplary case. Plus it is the most conservative of Latin Am societies (which bugs me no end) and thus the two things feed each other in unpleasant ways.

Should be a good time for the Salvadorans to move in and take over.

the “most conservative Latin Am society”…. oh my. No doubt DR is right up there but I’d hesitate to designate any one as the MOST conservative. Honduras is at or near the top as well.

Honduran society is so conservative that even in the most intimate of moments… when married couples make love in bed….. they refer to each other as “usted” (formal) ;-)