Honduran Coup d'Etat a "Win" for the US?

Honduran Coup d'Etat a "Win" for the US?
Thursday 28 January 2010

by: Tom Loudon, t r u t h o u t | News Analysis

Today, Pepe Lobo will be inaugurated as the new president of Honduras in what many consider to be an institutionalization of the coup d'état, which took place seven months ago. Lobo comes to the presidency as a result of a highly disputed election process carried out by the coup regime. The elections, which have been widely condemned as illegitimate, were boycotted by a large percentage of the Honduran population.

US Undersecretary Thomas Shannon, in a maneuver that totally subverted an extended negotiation process, announced that the US would recognize the election, even if there was not a return to constitutional order. The US celebrates today's inauguration as the "way forward" for Honduras and has aggressively pressured other Latin American countries to recognize Lobo's government.

While the United States is eager to normalize the situation and to get on with business as usual, the June 28 coup d'état has yielded unexpected consequences for Washington, both inside and outside of Honduras. Unforeseen by the coup plotters and the United States, the military takeover of Honduras unleashed a broad based, sustained resistance movement inside the country. A spirit long dormant in Honduras was awakened, transforming the country into a hub of political activity previously unimaginable.

The resistance movement has brought together people from many sectors of Honduran society, including large numbers of disaffected Liberal Party members. The unifying theme is that they no longer accept the status quo for their country. Events of the last seven months have accelerated and deepened a process demanding deep structural change. Organizations such as "Los Necios," a small, left-wing organization of students and young people struggled to maintain a membership of around 100. In these few months, their membership has swelled to over 1,000.
Currently, 57 local expressions of the national resistance organization operate in cities and towns around Honduras. Confounding the coup leader's strategy, the movement is gaining strength despite brutal repression, state terror and the attempt to institutionalize the coup via elections. The resistance movement held large protest marches Wednesday and is working to implement a four-year plan for movement building in preparation for the next national elections.

In Latin America, the coup in Honduras is widely understood to be a test case for US policy toward Latin America. By attacking the weakest and most vulnerable of the ALBA countries, the US hoped to strike a blow to this alternative economic block, which the US counts as enemy. However, in the wake of the coup, the US found itself in a historically unprecedented position at the OAS. Viewed by Latin American governments from both the right and the left as a potential direct threat to each of them, the OAS took a unanimous position denouncing the coup and ejecting Honduras from the OAS. The US was forced to accept this decision. Most countries in Latin America continue to refuse to recognize the results of the coup regime-sponsored "elections" on November 29, despite heavy pressure and arm twisting on the part of the Unites States to do so.

More:
http://www.truthout.org/honduran-coup-detat-a-win-us56471

Honduras's unhappy coup
Porfirio Lobo's government may have won some recognition, but the June coup has had terrible consequences for Hondurans

Vincent Bevins
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 January 2010 15.00 GMT

The seven-month political crisis has ended in Honduras. That is, the supporters of the ousted president Manuel Zelaya, and the opponents of the 28 June military coup, have lost. Yesterday Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo was sworn into the presidency. The anti-coup opposition chose to boycott the election, and countries such as Brazil and Argentina still refuse to recognise the legitimacy of a government elected in a poll organised by a coup government. But the opposition will be sidelined from official political participation for the next four years.

Lobo's government has garnered the critical mass of recognition – crucially, including from the United States – he needs to be able to run the country. This is despite being elected in a poll which offered no anti-coup candidate, was not recognised by many governments, and whose turnout numbers were probably misreported. Most recently, poor Central American governments reliant on trade with Honduras have grudgingly stepped forward to recognise Lobo's government. After a half-year of wearying talks and impotent protest, it seems they've reasoned they have little choice.

Despite well-intentioned interventions from the international community for the restitution of Zelaya, he finished his elected term of office holed up in the Brazilian embassy, surrounded by the military. He has gone into temporary exile in the Dominican Republic, and is awaiting a way to return to his home country.

The new government is likely to soon pardon itself for all crimes committed during the coup. And though dissidents are still murdered or intimidated out of the country – opposition activists often organise using fake profiles on Facebook – protest marches have not recently been met with the harsh repression they were previously used to. One suspects this is because the government no longer fears they pose a real threat.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/jan/28/honduras-coup-porfirio-lobo

Were it not for the stupid Bushite wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Uncle Sugar would not be hamstrung like he is, and has been for some time now, in dealing with Latin America. Still, Latin America better watch out when the troops really come home from Iraq, and Venezuela in particular.

action in mind in Latin America that has been thwarted by Iraq and Afganistan?

But the fact remains that our volunteer military has few troops to spare for intervention in some foreign country, and the mood of the public is not supportive of yet more neanderthal adventures, and we are broke. It is always possible that another stupid adventure will be pursued, but the only result of that will be a further weakening of US' influence and ability to make a difference. Intelligent politicians that have relied on the US for support need to be considering their options, examining exactly how much influence they really have.

Anyone know what Cesar Ham is up to these days?

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He is in lobo's Cabinet. Heads the Instituto Nacional Agrario (INA).

You will recall that last year then national Deputy Ham admitted to have trafficked in waivers that allowed vehicles to be imported into Honduras without paying taxes.

He will fit just right in Lobo's Cabinet.