Small world, I found a comparison of the Lugo and Zelaya removal

the name of the author seems very familiar to me.

http://www.hondurasweekly.com/lugo-and-zelaya:-let-the-comparisons-fly-201206255357/

Lugo and Zelaya: Let the Comparisons Fly
Monday, 25 June 2012 12:35


By Marco Cáceres

Fernando Anduray of the Nationalist Party yesterday characterized the impeachment of Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo on Friday as "a simple application of the constitutional order" and not a coup d'état, as is being touted by leaders of numerous socialist governments in South America, including Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Rafael Correa of Ecuador, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina. Mr. Andurray is correct. By an overwhelming 39 to 4 margin, the Paraguayan Senate voted to impeach Mr. Lugo. Although the impeachment trial lasted only five hours and Mr. Lugo's lawyers were denied an adequate period of time to mount a proper defense, the Senate followed its country's Constitution to the letter of the law. Of course, given the extreme hastiness of the process, it's clear that the spirit of law may have been broken, thus leaving a huge question mark as to whether democracy has been well served in Paraguay.


It would be reasonable for an impeachment of a sitting President to go on for weeks or months... certainly, at least days. The Watergate hearings and impeachment proceedings lasted more than a year. A five-hour trial? Smells bad, and it's going to cost the Paraguayan people dearly over the next few months, as economic sanctions against the government of newly-installed President Federico Franco start to be applied by Paraguay's neighbors. President Chávez has already halted shipments of oil.

Mr. Anduray, who is a pre-candidate for the Presidency of Honduras representing the "Authentic Nationalists" movement within his party, went on to compare Mr. Lugo's impeachment to what occurred in Honduras on June 28, 2009 when President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown. "It is very similar to what happened in Honduras, only that here the process was longer; but the constitutional processes was also applied, with the exception of Manuel Zelaya Rosales' departure." Here, Mr. Anduray is roundly mistaken.

In Mr. Lugo's case, there was an impeachment trial. It may have been shoddy, but a legal process to impeach the President was followed. There was no impeachment process in the case of Mr. Zelaya. In the case of Mr. Lugo, there was due process. There was no due process in the case of Mr. Zelaya. Mel was not given even the slightest opportunity to present a case and defend himself. There was no trial. Mr. Lugo was not arrested by the military at gunpoint and expatriated against his will. Mr. Zelaya was, and everyone, even Roberto Micheletti, admits that was illegal.