Legacy of Honduran Coup Still Threatens Democracy in Latin America
Legacy of Honduran Coup Still Threatens Democracy in Latin America
Sunday, 01 July 2012 09:53 By Mark Weisbrot, The Guardian Unlimited | News Analysis
It was three years ago that the Honduran military launched an assault on the home of President Mel Zelaya, kidnapped him, and flew him out of the country. The Obama Administration, according to its own conversations with the press, knew about the coup in advance. But the first statement from the White House – unlike those from the rest of the world – did not condemn the coup. That sent a message to the Honduran dictatorship, and to the diplomatic community: the U.S. government supported this coup and would do what it could to make sure it succeeded. And that is exactly what ensued.
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"It would be enough for someone to stage a civilian coup, backed by the armed forces, or simply a civilian one and later justify it by convoking elections," Argentine President Cristina Fernández told South American leaders. "And then democratic guarantees would truly be fiction." For that reason South America refused to recognize the Honduran "elections" held six months later under the dictatorship. But Washington wanted the coup regime legitimized. The Obama Administration blocked the Organization of American States (OAS) from taking action to restore democracy before "elections" were held.
"We have intelligence reports that say that after Zelaya, I'm next," said President Correa after the Honduran coup. This turned out to be correct: In September of 2010, a rebellion by police held Correa hostage in a hospital until he was freed, after a prolonged shoot-out between the police and loyal troops of the armed forces. It was another attempted coup against a social democratic president in Latin America.
Last week Cristina Fernández' warning against a "civilian coup" proved prescient in Paraguay. The country's left President, Fernando Lugo, was ousted by the Congress in an "impeachment trial" in which he was given less than 24 hours notice and two hours to defend himself. All 12 foreign ministers from the Union of South American Nations, including Brazil and Argentina, travelled to Paraguay on Thursday to tell the right-wing opposition that this clear violation of due process was also a violation of UNASUR's democracy clause. Brazil's president Dilma Rouseff suggested that the coup government should be kicked out of UNASUR and MERCOSUR, the southern cone regional trading bloc.
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