The liberal majority and small businesspeople are against the coup regime

Thanks for posting it!

The interview is of Carlos Eduardo Reina, General Director of the Coordinating Committee of Liberals Against the Coup. The interviewer is Jennifer Moore.
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How fragmented are the traditional political parties right now, in particular the Liberal Party, since the coup on June 28th?

Since the coup, divisions within the country are greatest at the political level. For its part, the National Party is entirely on side with the coup, so it was not divided. But the leadership of the Liberal Party turned out to be on side with the coup as well, while its bases across the country condemn the coup and support President Zelaya. So, we have been organizing liberals against the coup. This organization was a spontaneous and immediate response to the coup and has received the support of leaders from all over the country, in the 18 departments and 298 municipalities. It is heavily consolidated.

What does such political fragmentation mean for the de facto government that would like to demonstrate how well it has consolidated its own power?

The state's power is sustained only with support from the armed forces and through repression. This is a typical of a government that, faced with a revolutionary situation, is only sustained by force and ever increasing repression against its people. We hope that President Zelaya is reinstated in power before the repressed people begin to respond with revolutionary measures that will lead to bloodshed in the country, which as leaders of the front against the resistance and of the liberals against the coup, we need to avoid. Because the blood of no Honduran should flow in order to re-establish peace in the country. (1) We want to do this in peace, through demonstrations and marches that are singularly peaceful.

Could you comment about your allies within the business sector?

There are several groups, but they do not include big business. Big business, almost in its entirety, is with the coup. It is the small and medium business person that sees danger in the coup because the oligarchy that funded it would like to take control over all business within the country, and create enclaves, making small and medium businesses - that are really what sustain Honduras' economy - uncompetitive.

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http://alainet.org/active/32449&lang=es

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I've underlined the points that I think are very important--that the organization against the coup among the middle class (small and medium businesses) was immediate and universal--a phenomenon that has been completely ignored by our corpo/fascist press. It is not just the poor. It is not just "leftists" or "Chavez sympathizers." It is everybody except the rich elite. Secondly, that this huge anti-coup majority is entirely peaceful in its intention to throw off the coup. Our corpo/fascist press has slandered this movement by focusing on a few incidents that were probably agents provocateur. And, finally, that the small and medium sized business people see very well that the rich elite wants to monopolize all business, like their corporate backers in the US, and destroy the marketplace--whether of good and services, or ideas.

This interview makes me think that the coup may have an upside. It has united the poor and the middle class!

One other thought: Small businesses in the US are getting the shaft as surely as workers are. They--small business--are the primary employers in the US, and our corpo/fascist rulers and their "Financial 9/11" are destroying this most important sector of our economy. The parallels to Honduras--as this interviewee describes the situation there--are fascinating, and point to new grounds for solidarity between social/economic groups here, and between us and the Hondurans and other Latin American peoples.

out there because they are susceptible to repression so they are afraid to be public (that should be underlined too). The other thing is that the Press only sees big business. Thats why Al's stuff is so good, because he sees small.

The similarities to our situation is striking. That's why I told Judi early on to take notes.

We have the largest disparity in wealth that has ever existed in the country. Based upon the 1960 minimum wage, the minimum wage now should be $15 /hr. then people would have money to spend and small retail would be thriving. Ever community that has instituted a higher local minimum wage has seen an economic boost.