Posted on Mon, Jul. 13, 2009
BY MEL MARTINEZ
www.martinez.senate.gov For Latin America, events in Honduras are the tragic yet logical culmination of the silence of the United States and the inter-American community to the sustained assault on democratic institutions in that region. While there may be the possibility of reconciliation in one country, it does not address the larger dismantling of democracy in the region. It is hard for many Hondurans, and other pro-democracy activists in the region, to fully appreciate the outrage and clamor over the ouster of Mel Zelaya in Honduras when there has not been any significant action in opposition to the dismantling of democratic institutions and free societies in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, to name the most visible cases. Further, it is hard to explain why there was silence in the face of Zelaya's earlier unconstitutional actions, especially the event that precipitated his ousting: the storming of a military base to seize and distribute ballots for a referendum that had been declared unconstitutional by the Honduran Supreme Court. This situation was compounded by the United States, which was working behind the scenes to keep the Honduran congress and supreme court from using the clearly legal means of presidential impeachment. Having acquiesced in Zelaya's overstepping of the constitution, the United States and the inter-American community only speak now. The conclusion one reaches is that it is unacceptable for other, separate governmental institutions to protect their country's constitution. It appears U.S. policy protects a sitting president regardless of a leader's illegal acts, rather than seeking to protect the larger constitutional order or democratic institutions. The crisis in Honduras stems from the failure of its leaders to live within constitutional boundaries and from the earlier silence of the United States and international community regarding the abuse of power by the Honduran executive. Tragically, the United States and the OAS have put Honduras in a position where democracy is again the loser: If Zelaya returns, this essentially signals approval of his unconstitutional acts; if he is not allowed to return, then the unacceptable behavior of forcibly exiling a leader is given approval. This happens when principles are sacrificed for a policy that can only be described as the appeasement of authoritarians. Neither the United States nor other countries in the region or the international community should be taking sides in this constitutional dispute, but rather encouraging a resolution through dialogue among Hondurans. To this end, efforts could be focused on helping Honduras form a reconciliation government that would include representatives not associated with either the Zelaya administration or current government. The good offices of Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez could be one avenue for this. The objective should be to keep Honduras on track to hold currently scheduled presidential elections in November with the inauguration of a new president in January as mandated in the Honduran constitution. The newly elected president, with an electoral mandate, then can decide whether and how to deal with Zelaya and those involved in his ouster. As the U.S. Senate takes up President Obama's nominees for key State Department positions in Latin America, it is time to question the acceptance by the United States and the inter-American community of the sustained dismantling of democratic institutions and free societies by presidents seeking to consolidate personal power at any cost. This is the larger challenge in Latin America of which Honduras is the latest symptom. | 
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