Honduras in the Central American Spotlight

March 16, 2010

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes called for Honduras to be readmitted into international forums at yesterday’s meeting of countries located in Central America’s northern triangle. The presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador met with other politicians and business leaders from the three countries (Panama also sent business representatives) to discuss trade ties and diplomatic ties. Funes lobbied alongside President Álvaro Colom of Guatemala for the reintegration of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Central American Integration System (SICA), and offered to mediate Honduras’ return to such international bodies.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 24, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

The New LatAm Group on the Bloc

Latin American leaders convened in Cancun, Mexico on February 22 and 23 for the 2010 Rio Group summit, where they agreed to form a new regional alternative that excludes the United States and Canada and that some posit could serve as an alternative to the Organization of American States. The specific details of the body will most likely be figured out at a 2011 summit in Caracas.

AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini discusses the newly created Latin American body on Worldfocus. “[The region’s] feeling its own diplomatic muscle and it wants to assert that,” says Sabatini.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Honduras Debate Dropped at Rio Group Summit As New Organization is Formed

February 23, 2010

Latin American leaders attending the Rio Group summit in Cancún this week have formed a “tacit agreement” not to formally discuss the possible return of Honduras to the Organization of American States (OAS), said Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom Monday evening.  The heads of state and representatives in Cancún also approved the formation of an alternative organization to the OAS on Tuesday, tentatively called the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which would exclude the United States and Canada.

Despite the fact that  Honduras has restored diplomatic ties with 29 nations, including France, Spain, Italy, Guatemala and Germany, Honduran President Porfirio Lobo was not invited to the Rio Group meetings. Honduras was expelled from the OAS in June 2009 following the military ouster of then President Manuel Zelaya.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, had said previously that he planned to work to mend Honduran relations with Latin America.  Notably, however, a debate on the formal recognition of Mr. Lobo as president of Honduras, which was originally a principal agenda item at the Rio Group summit, has not yet occurred.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

New Uruguayan Government to Keep Honduras Position

February 18, 2010

In a clear signal of continuity of President Tabaré Vázquez' Honduras policy, President-elect José Mujica’s future minister of foreign affairs has said that Uruguay will not recognize Honduras’ new government until “new elements appear that guarantee democratic openness and stability.”

Luis Almagro made the statement at a meeting with foreign press correspondents, where he called the November 2009 election in Honduras an attempt to “whitewash” the coup. In December, Uruguay joined its Mercosur counterparts in again calling for Manuel Zelaya’s “return without restrictions” to power.

Mr. Mujica, like President Vázquez, is a member of the Frente Amplio coalition, and will take office on March 1.

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 17, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Haiti Reconstruction Costs Higher than Anticipated

A new Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study estimates that Haiti’s reconstruction could cost as much as $14 billion, far higher than earlier forecasts of $5 billion. The IDB study thus predicts Haiti’s earthquake will be costlier than the 2004 Asian tsunami.

Canada to Build Temporary HQs for Haitian Government

Following a visit to Haiti this week, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his country will construct temporary Haitian government headquarters in Port-au-Prince after last month’s earthquake destroyed the government’s buildings. The provisional headquarters will cost $11.5 million.

Young and Jobless in Latin America

A recent report released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) shows that at least 600,000 young Latin Americans were unemployed in 2009, making them “hardest hit” by the global financial crisis, reports the Latin Americanist blog. The ILO report also showed that, of the 104 million youth in Latin America, only 34 percent attend school, only 33 percent work, and just 13 percent do both.

Read More

1 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

February 3, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Costa Rica Gears up for Presidential Elections

Alex Leff blogs for Americas Quarterly about Costa Rica’s presidential campaigns ahead of the February 7 elections. Campaigns have taken a turn for the quirky, from conservative candidate Otto Guevara’s televised polygraph test to the Social Christian Unity Party’s Luis Fishman’s slogan that “the lesser evil is better.” While Guevara’s support in the polls rose from 13 to 30 percent in September, surveys estimate that President Óscar Arias’ chosen successor, Laura Chinchilla of the National Liberation Party, will win 40 percent of the vote.

Congressional Report Examines U.S. Policy toward Haitian Migrants

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, a Congressional Research Service Report examines U.S. migrant interdiction and detention policies toward Haitians. Human rights advocates have raised concerns over these policies, saying Haitians receive inferior treatment when compared to other asylum seekers trying to enter the United States.

Read an AS/COA analysis about the U.S. debate over Haitian immigration.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Central America’s Rule of Law: Guatemala Captures Portillo But Honduras Rewards Micheletti

January 27, 2010

For decades, impunity has reined in Central America. Dictatorial rule, coups, murder, and genocide have, for the most part, gone unpunished. This month, however, events in Guatemala have suggested a potential turning of the tide. In the last three weeks, Guatemalan authorities have solved the potentially destabilizing Rosenberg case and arrested ex-President Alfonso Portillo for money laundering $70 million when he was in power. Meanwhile, in Honduras, the rule of law appears as in jeopardy as ever, as the Congress has rewarded de facto President Roberto Micheletti and pledged amnesty for all those involved in ousting President Manuel Zelaya. When it comes to the rule of law, Honduras lags as far behind as ever.

Since the Peace Accords brought Guatemala’s 36-year civil war to an end in 1996, Guatemalan activists and international observers have demanded justice for the state-sponsored genocide in the 1980s. For the most part, however—as in most of Latin America—justice has not come. Moreover, since the late 1990s, crime has spiraled out of control, perceptions of corruption are high, and the legal system has proved incapable of apprehending and prosecuting both common criminals and thieving politicians. Pervasive impunity partially explains the horrific practice of lynchings that plagues Guatemala. But the failing of the rule of law in the region also contributes to Guatemalans’ disenchantment with democracy (desencanto democrático).

Not only have Guatemalan voters lost faith in democratic government’s ability to bring economic development and alleviate massive poverty, but vast swaths of the citizenry have come to believe that the laws simply do not apply to the powerful. As the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) has shown, perceptions of corruption and insecurity negatively affect democratic values in Guatemala. Compared with other Latin American countries, it is unsurprising that Guatemala ranks low in popular preference for democracy as a form of government.

Read More

7 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

January 27, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Honduras Tries to Turn Page with Lobo’s Inauguration

Seven months after the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya left Honduras in a state of political chaos, the Central American country inaugurated Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo as the new leader on January 27. In his first act as president, Lobo declared amnesty for all involved in what was widely regarded as a coup. He won the November election by a large margin, though its recognition was hotly disputed by several Latin American governments.

On the eve of the inauguration, the Honduran Congress also approved amnesty for Zelaya and those involved in his ousting. That, along with a Supreme Court decision to clear chief military officers of coup-related charges, is seen as a step toward reconciliation as the new president takes power.

Read an AS/COA analysis of the inauguration.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Porfirio Lobo Takes Office as Manuel Zelaya Leaves Honduras

January 27, 2010

The presidents of Panama, Taiwan, Guatemala, and Dominican Republic arrived in Tegucigalpa Wednesday morning, joining U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly for the swearing-in ceremony of Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The ceremony began at 6:30 a.m. in the National Congress and was scheduled to end at 1:00 p.m. 

Dominican President Leonel Fernández left Santo Domingo in his official jet Wednesday morning, planning to return the same day with former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted from power by the Honduran military on June 28, 2009.  On Tuesday, Fernández and Lobo signed an agreement granting Zelaya’s safe passage out of Honduras. 

Dignitaries from Colombia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Peru, Morocco, Belize, and Turkey also planned to attend the ceremony, though several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, have not recognized Lobo’s electoral victory on November 29, 2009. 

It was not known prior to the ceremony whether interim President Roberto Micheletti would hand over the presidency to Lobo. Micheletti was hospitalized due to high blood pressure on Monday, the day a new congress was also sworn in. 

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

January 20, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Aftershock Hits Ravaged Haiti

A 6.1-magnitude aftershock hit Haiti early Wednesday morning even as the country reels from last week’s ruinous earthquake. At least one person suffered injuries immediately after the aftershock. No deaths or damages were immediately reported. Even in the midst of chaos, officials around the world are considering what efforts can be implemented to aid Haiti’s long-term recovery. In a blog post on NationalJournal.com, COA’s Eric Farnsworth writes: “A long term project will require long term attention, and political will that goes beyond the provision of emergency relief efforts.” Foreign Policy features five views on how to help Haiti rebuild using emergency aid and development.

Piñera Victory Ends Concertación Rule

Business tycoon Sebastián Piñera won Chile’s runoff elections on January 17, marking the first win for a conservative presidential candidate since the country’s return to democracy. According to an article in The Washington Post, Chile will most likely continue to follow free-market policies that rendered the country prosperous since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship. COA’s Christopher Sabatini, quoted in the article, said Latin Americans “are making the choice to support market economies and rational leaders.”

Read an AS/COA analysis of recent and upcoming Latin American elections.

Read More

1 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

January 6, 2010

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Fernández Pushes for New Central Bank Head

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has sought to replace Central Bank Governor Martín Redrado after he turned down a presidential order to use $6.6 billion in reserves to pay off debt. Former Central Bank head Mario Blejer was named as a potential replacement. However, Redrado rejected the notion that he will resign and said that, according to the Bank’s charter, the decision to dismiss him lies with the Argentine Congress.

Buenos Aires Mayor Announces Presidential Bid

Mayor of Buenos Aires Mauricio Macri announced intentions of a 2011 presidential bid this week. A member of the conservative Propuesta Republicana (PRO) party, Macri hopes to face Néstor Kirchner in a second round and insists the former president “could never win” a one-on-one election.

Looking Back on Washington’s 2009 LatAm Policy

Writing for the State Department’s Dipnote blog, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela reflects on U.S. engagement in the Americas during the first year of the Obama administration. After recounting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Mexico in March and the launch of the Inter-American Social Protection Network, Valenzuela concludes “2009 has been an exciting year in terms of our relationships—both bilaterally and multilaterally.”

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

December 16, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Immigration Reform Debate Revived with New House Bill

Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) introduced, with the backing of nearly two-dozen lawmakers, a new comprehensive immigration reform bill on December 15. The proposed legislation represents the first immigration bill submitted since 2007 reform attempts fell apart. “We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our president,” said Gutierrez in a press release. “The time for waiting is over.”

In a new AQ blog post, AS/COA Director of Policy Jason Marczak reports on the new bill and looks ahead to an anticipated Senate version expected early in the new year. “[W]hile [Gutierrez’s] legislation is unlikely to be the bill that ultimately passes, it puts pressure on Congress and the Obama administration to step up their efforts at finding a workable solution to one of the United States’ most challenging domestic issues,” writes Marczak.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

December 9, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Mercosur Rejects Honduran Elections, Stalls on Other Matters

Leaders of the Mercosur countries—Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—along with Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez gathered for a two-day presidential summit in Montevideo. They rejected Honduras’ November 29 elections, saying the elections took place in an illegal context. The presidents also agreed to move forward on free-trade negotiations with the EU but made little headway on their external tariff code, infrastructure projects for smaller countries, or a mechanism for the body’s Parliament to approve legislation. Leaders from the bloc also said they expect Venezuela to become a full member of Mercosur, pending approval by Brazil’s Senate and Paraguay’s Congress. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he expected his country’s Senate to approve Venezuela’s accession as early as December 9.

Latin Americans Worry over Climate Change

With Copenhagen climate change talks underway, a BBC and Globescan poll found that global warming concerns most Latin Americans. Eighty-six percent of Brazilians and Chileans, 83 percent of Costa Ricans, 81 percent of Mexicans, and 72 percent of Panamanians thought it was a “serious problem.” But far fewer believed their government should play a leadership role in setting targets to address the issue. For example, only 53 percent of Brazilians and 25 percent of Panamanians answered affirmatively. This news comes as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushes for international agreements to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared to 1990 levels.

The Fall 2009 issue of Americas Quarterly explores environmental priorities for the Western Hemisphere.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

December 2, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Lobo Wins Controversial Honduran Election

The National Party’s Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo came out the clear winner in Sunday’s controversial presidential election, pulling in over 55 percent of the vote to mark a double-digit victory over his leading contender, the Liberal Party’s Elvin Santos. Reporting from Tegucigalpa, AQ blogger Daniel Altschuler writes about speculation over voter turnout figures. The Honduran electoral tribunal placed the figure at 61 percent while observer group Hagamos Democracia announced counts closer to 48 percent. Read the National Democratic Institute’s assessment of the electoral process.

Leaders from 22 countries joined at the Ibero-American summit this weekend in Estoril, Portugal, where divisions ran high over whether to recognize the results of last Sunday’s election in Honduras. All countries present condemned the June 28 ouster of Manuel Zelaya, but the United States, Peru, Costa Rica, and Panama announced they would recognize the elections. Critics opposing the election object to it being carried out by the interim government even as deposed leader Manuel Zelaya’s political fate remains uncertain.

The Honduran Congress is slated to vote on Zelaya’s reinstatement today, December 2. The ousted leader’s term would run through the end of January. Last week, the Supreme Court advised against his return to power.

Access an AS/COA timeline of the Honduran Congress.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

November 18, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Here We Go Again: Nicaragua-Honduras-Re-Election

November 6, 2009

Just south of Honduras, in Nicaragua, another constitutional crisis is brewing over re-election.  And while attention is focused on Honduras, many of the actors that stood on the sidelines leading up to the June 28 coup in Honduras are standing on the sidelines again as political totalitarian ambition and institutions head toward a train wreck.

In this case, Sandinista President Daniel Ortega has sparked a constitutional crisis of his own by—like his friend Honduran President Manuel Zelaya—pushing for a constitutional reform to allow himself to run for re-election in 2011. 

In this case, though, six members of the Ortega-packed Supreme Court supported the reform (under the curious and specious decision that Article 147 of the constitution was “inapplicable.” Huh?), and the Nicaraguan Congress refused to question it.  The President of the Supreme Court declared his opposition to the ruling, but the pro-Ortega Sandinista congressional representatives spurned the opportunity to overturn it. 

So wait: the Nicaraguan Supreme Court approved it, and Nicaraguan Congress supported the Supreme Court’s decision.  If this were Honduras this would be constitutional, right?  That’s what U.S. conservatives have been saying: that the coup in Honduras wasn’t a coup because the Honduran Congress and Honduran Supreme Court supported it, and thus democratic institutions had spoken.  (Note: in both cases, the Supreme Court acted in secret with no public debate; in Honduras it was to arrest President Zelaya; in Nicaragua it was to support Daniel Ortega’s totalitarian plan.)

Read More

4 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

November 4, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Deal Reached on Honduran Political Stalemate but Zelaya's Return Uncertain

After four months of a political impasse, negotiators for deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti reached a deal that, if approved by the country’s Congress, would allow for a power-sharing government. A delegation from Washington, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon, was involved in this last round of negotiations that prompted the accord. OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza announced that, given the deal,  a general assembly would be convened on November 16 to lift sanctions against Honduras. Ex-Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, a member of a verification committee tasked with overseeing that the deal’s measures are met, said a Cabinet of National Unity will be formed on November 5 in advance of the November 29 elections.

Whether Zelaya will regain his office remains uncertain. As The Wall Street Journal reports, a committee of 14 Honduran lawmakers voted against calling a requisite special session to decide on whether the deposed leader would be reinstated. With no deadline to make a decision and elections nearing, Zelaya may not regain his post.

Writing for ForeignPolicy.com’s The Argument, AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini and AQ blogger Daniel Altschuler warn that, even with the breakthrough, some will continue to push “ideologically driven revisionism” in their coverage of the Honduran coup. “Allowing a government that came to power through unconstitutional means to ride out an interim period to the next election and then transfer power would set a perilous precedent,” they write. “The deal struck last week offers a responsible, democratic exit from the four-month political crisis in Honduras.”

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Beware of Triumphalism in the Honduras Crisis

October 30, 2009

The news today from Tegucigalpa is good. After months of political impasse in Honduras, a delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly found a way to get representatives of both Micheletti and Zelaya to agree on a path that will provide a credible means forward to the elections scheduled for November 29.

This is important, because as I’ve noted many times, including in The Christian Science Monitor and other blog postings here, it is the elections that provide the surest, most appropriate escape valve for the crisis that has threatened to overwhelm Honduras and occupy U.S. policymakers who could usefully be focused on other matters. Steps to undermine or undercut the elections are counterproductive. At the same time, for the elections to be credible, they must be open, transparent and fair, and preparations must therefore begin in earnest immediately. Thus the timing of Shannon’s travel was important, and dictated by the need to get going purposefully on the elections.

Some analysts suggest that the trip should have been taken and heads banged earlier to get an agreement even before today. But that would not have allowed the Arias process—which the United States conceptualized and mid-wifed—to run its course. How ironic it would then have been for the United States to put itself in the position to be criticized, likely by the same analysts, for undercutting the multilateral Arias process and returning to the unilateralism they consistently decry. Fortunately, that did not occur.

Read More

2 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly Roundup from Across the Americas

October 28, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Mujica to Face “Pink” Alliance

During the first round of Uruguay’s presidential elections on Sunday, the Broad Front coalition’s José Mujica lost the majority needed to avoid a November runoff against the National Party’s Luis Alberto Lacalle. Mujica won a large majority at the polls, pulling in 48 percent—20 points above Lacalle. However, Mujica signaled concern about the “Pink” alliance made up of the National and Colorado Parties. While the Broad Front maintains a majority in Congress, it could lose its majority control in the lower house.

Read a new Americas Quarterly web exclusive on the Uruguayan elections by Adolfo Garcé of the Institute of Political Science at the University of the Republic in Montevideo.

Colombia, Venezuela Exchange Barbs over Espionage Accusations

Caracas announced the arrest this week of two officers from the Administrative Department of Security (DAS), Colombia’s intelligence agency. Bogota denied the allegations. Colombia’s ambassador in Venezuela, María Luisa Chiappe countered that Colombia is more concerned with identifying those responsible for the recent abduction and murder of ten amateur Colombian soccer players in a Venezuelan border town.

Tensions between Colombia and Venezuela have been heightened over a bilateral U.S.-Colombian agreement to give Washington access to seven of its military bases. Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva announced that the deal could be signed as early as Friday this week. He added that the deal was not a recent development, but an extension of US-Colombian cooperation against drug trafficking.

Read an AS/COA analysis of the military deal.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

October 21, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Honduran Talks Stall over Decision on Zelaya’s Future

Negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing Honduran political impasse came to a standstill again this week. The main point of contention continues to be whether deposed leader Manuel Zelaya should be allowed to return to office. “Last week, Honduras’s World Cup qualification left the country glowing with optimism. Now, irrepressible hope and joy have again given way to a grimmer reality: political negotiations have hit a wall,” blogs Tegucigalpa-based Daniel Altschuler for Americas Quarterly, who writes about the proposals being passed back and forth between Zelaya and the interim government.

Read an AS/COA analysis on the halting steps made in the Honduran negotiations.

Protest and Media Restrictions Eased in Honduras

The Honduran interim government officially eased restrictions on protests and the opposition media earlier this week. A decree was passed after a pro-Zelaya protest in September to suspend five articles of the Honduran constitution, authorizing the closing of any media outlet deemed to disturb the peace. De facto leader Roberto Micheletti took action to repeal the decree earlier this month, but the measure did not take effect until yesterday. Coincidentally, the decree was lifted the day after the United Nations sent an OAS delegation to Honduras to begin a three-week human rights investigation.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

After Optimism, A Predictable Standstill in Honduras

October 21, 2009

Last week, Honduras’s World Cup qualification left the country glowing with optimism.  Now, irrepressible hope and joy have again given way to a grimmer reality: political negotiations have hit a wall. 

After finding agreement on the first seven of eight points on the agenda, the Guaymuras Dialogue negotiators have reached a predictable impasse on the most contentious point: Manuel Zelaya’s restitution.  Since Friday, the two teams have been sending proposals and counter-proposals back and forth.  Zelaya’s side has called for the Congress as adjudicator, while Roberto Micheletti’s side has insisted that the Supreme Court settle the issue. Now, the Micheletti negotiators have proposed getting reports from both branches of government before settling the issue, which Zelaya’s team has rejected.

Zelaya’s negotiators have now accused the other side of obstructionism, and they’re right.  On first glance, it seems reasonable to ask the Supreme Court to settle a clearly constitutional issue.  But, as Victor Meza expressed, the judiciary has already offered its judgment—since the coup, the Supreme Court has sided with the “constitutional succession” version of the story, supported Micheletti’s government, and roundly condemned Zelaya at every turn.  Thus, appealing to the Supreme Court as the ultimate arbiter at this point would be akin to double jeopardy—with the same case and the same jury, could anyone really expect a different result?

Interestingly, it’s not clear that Zelaya’s proposal would get him the result he wants.  Since the coup, the Congress has also consistently sided with Micheletti.  In addition, leading members of Congress have suggested that they would have to defer to the Supreme Court on constitutional issues. So a favorable finding for Zelaya—who has already given up the possibility of amnesty—is no foregone conclusion. That said, Zelaya seems to be banking on congressional representatives’ greater stake in internationally recognized elections, even if it means accepting Zelaya’s brief return to power. 

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

World Cup Helps to Explain Latin America: Honduras Results Muddle Negotiations; Argentina's Win Provokes Maradona's Reaction

October 16, 2009

Honduras' soccer win in San Salvador on October 14, guaranteeing a World Cup berth for the Catrachos in South Africa in 2010, has potentially muddled negotiations to resolve the political crisis that erupted on June 28.  As I noted in this space last week and also in Sports Illustrated, the prospect of a Honduran berth in the World Cup would provide the de facto government with the opportunity to use the result to rally the population around the flag, potentially providing an excuse to remain intransigent in the face of immense international pressure. 

Indeed, with the declaration of yesterday as a national holiday, that is exactly what the Micheletti government did.  But wait, it gets even more cynical, because just as the determining game was getting underway in San Salvador, a Micheletti spokesman was walking away from an apparent agreement in principal that had been struck by the opposing parties earlier in the day to resolve the crisis.  The calculation now appears to be that the Honduran win will buy additional time for the de facto government in its efforts to keep the deposed president Zelaya holed up in the Brazilian Embassy. 

Micheletti’s gambit is only the latest example of a well-worn path in Latin America of attempting to transfer good feelings resulting from international sporting victories to support the government in power.  One need only think of the World Cup in Argentina in 1978, for example.  More broadly, former Eastern Bloc nations routinely used sport to promote the legitimacy and superiority of their systems internationally, and Cuba continues to do so to this day, though with less overt success.  It may be cynical and heavy-handed, but it apparently still works.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Deal or No Deal?

October 15, 2009

Howie Mandel wasn’t there, but he may as well have been as yesterday the small group of dedicated Latin Americanists waited to hear if the negotiations had been successful in resolving the crisis in Honduras. The morning opened up with news that the negotiators were optimistic and that they were 90 percent there. Then came the news from the Commander of the Army, General Romeo Vásquez, that a deal to resolve the impasse was close at hand. Then the news! A deal had been struck. Then the downer. No deal, said de facto President Roberto Micheletti. 

In the statement he warned the national and international media “to be cautious in their reporting about the negotiations as they have a responsibility not to interfere with the dialogue.” Before that, Micheletti clearly left his options open: “Today, the negotiating teams began discussing the most difficult issue in the negotiations—the possible reinstatement or not of former President Zelaya within the rule of law and in line with our Constitution.” (Which by the way was broken when the military sent him packing out of the country on June 28, but I guess that doesn’t matter.)

We probably all should have taken the optimism with a grain of salt. In large part because by their own admission the negotiators were saying that they had resolved everything except the status of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Saying that you’re 90 percent there but having not resolved the critical and most polarizing issue of the crisis is akin to saying you’ve solved global warming except that messiness about countries controlling carbon emissions. You can’t get a resolution without it, and yet it’s the major sticking point.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Democracies and Double Standards

October 8, 2009

Exactly 30 years ago (1979) the late Jeanne Kirkpatrick wrote a famous, though controversial, article in Commentary that for a group of conservative foreign-policy analysts guided policy toward Latin America during the administration of President Ronald Reagan.  The basic thesis of the argument was that as autocratic regimes differed, so should U.S. policy toward them.  On the one hand were totalitarian regimes, more encompassing in their control over society and the state and thus more oppressive and durable.  On the other were traditional authoritarian regimes, less complete in their domination over politics and society, less suffocating, more temporary.  (Not coincidentally the former were also often of the Left and opposed to U.S. interests; the latter often more rightwing and shared the U.S.’s anti-communist orientation.)  The implication was that the U.S. should weigh human rights abuses differently under these two different dictatorial systems.

Today we’re seeing a similar cognitive and moral dissonance over Latin American democracy in the rhetoric around Venezuela and Honduras. This time, though, it comes from both the Left and the Right.  Commentators, activists and writers are holding democracies to double standards based on their ideological orientation.  The assumption for each is that a human rights abuse under one government is worse than under another.  They aren’t.  They’re the same. 

The victims of this repolarization or return to Cold War discourse are the basic liberties and principles of democracy.   If this continues the basic consensus that has undergirded our policy toward the hemisphere from the administration of President George H.W. Bush until the end of the administration of President Bill Clinton may soon join the dustbin of history.

This can be seen no more clearly than in the arguments marshaled to defend the shuttering of the freedom of expression in Venezuela and more recently in Honduras.  In both cases, supporters of the respective governments cite the political and ideological biases of the targeted media—in the case of Venezuela a TV station and in the case of Honduras a radio station—to defend the governments’ illiberal actions.  In neither case, as despicable as the positions of the stations may have been (and I’m not judging here) were the actions taken by the governments defensible.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

More at Stake at U.S.-Honduras World Cup Qualifier Than Just a Soccer Win

October 7, 2009

This Saturday the eyes of much of the hemisphere will be on Honduras as the United States sends its finest warriors into the country to do battle with their Honduran counterparts.  No, we’re not talking an invasion by the Marines, but rather a critically-important soccer match between the two nations in qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  That fact that the game occurs smack dab in the middle of an ongoing political crisis in Honduras—with deposed President Manuel Zelaya remaining under self-imposed house arrest in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, and the Organization of American States (OAS) having just sent a delegation to the country to attempt to resolve the matter— is not being allowed to get in the way of the match.  FIFA has spoken, and despite some misgivings by observers, no leader in their right mind dares take on soccer’s global governing body, a group that, much like the International Olympic Committee, demands fealty from even the most powerful leaders around the world (see also: Copenhagen, 2016 Olympic Summer Games).  Coup or no coup, the World Cup qualifier must and will go on.

In soccer terms, the game is important because a victory by the United States, in a hostile environment, will lock in a trip to South Africa.  On the flip side, Honduras is also in the hunt for one of the region’s three guaranteed slots for South Africa, but needs a result at home to keep pace with the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica.  The atmosphere would already have been intense; layer upon layer of politics will make the game ever more so.

A valid case can be made that the game should be played at a Central American venue outside Honduras (or even in the United States: to be honest, the last time Honduras played in the United States it was a virtual home game for los catrachos given the number of national supporters in the stands).  Be that as it may, the key now will first and foremost be to ensure the safety of the players and spectators.  It will also be to ensure that the excitement surrounding the game remains self-contained.  As the brief "soccer war" between Honduras and El Salvador showed in 1969 (also in a World Cup qualifier prior to the 1970 World Cup finals held in Mexico City), soccer games have the potential to ignite passions that simmer over other issues, causing an eruption of popular emotion that could potentially get out of control if not adequately contained.  Anyone seeking to stir things up in Honduras—from within or without—might-well attempt to use the passions surrounding the game as a way to provoke an over-reaction by the security forces, which will quickly be condemned by the international community and give the de facto Micheletti government yet another black eye while deepening the crisis further.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

From Tegucigalpa. Xenophobia and Racism in the Honduran Crisis

October 7, 2009

The political crisis has brought out the worst of Honduras.  The media has already documented many of the country’s ills since June: the reliance on the military to address internal political problems and the sharp polarization with Cold War echoes as well as political violence, repression and censorship.  One nasty phenomenon, however, has slipped under the radar: the frightening nationalist sentiment, xenophobia and racism that have been on display since June 28—the day of the coup.  Hondurans on both sides of this crisis have continually failed to recognize that substantial domestic support exists for both Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, and that these domestic forces are willing and able to mobilize themselves.  They have proceeded by first defining “us”—the true Hondurans who

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

October 7, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

OAS Sends Mission to Honduras

It’s been over two weeks since deposed Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya snuck back into his country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy. Three months after his removal from power and with the clock ticking down to the November 29 presidential elections, a stalemate drags on between Zelaya and the de facto government headed by Roberto Micheletti. The Organization of American States (OAS) will give talks another try starting October 7, when a delegation arrives in Honduras. The OAS mission includes high-level officials from Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Canada, Jamaica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Brazil, the United States, and Spain. OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza leads the delegation. The mission also includes Thomas Shannon, who continues to serve as U.S. assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs while awaiting his stalled confirmation to become U.S. ambassador to Brazil.

Read AS/COA analysis on the Honduran crisis, including coverage of related rifts in Washington.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

September 30, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Signs of a Solution to the Long Honduran Impasse?

It’s been three months since the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and two months remain until the presidential election. This week’s episode of the Honduran telenovela saw de facto leader Roberto Micheletti issue a decree silencing the opposition media and suspending civil liberties. He also gave Brazil a 10-day deadline to take a position on Zelaya’s status in Brazil’s Tegucigalpa embassy, where the overthrown leader took refuge last week. But, as AS/COA’s Christopher Sabatini blogs for Americas Quarterly, Micheletti seems to have “overplayed his hand.” Honduras’ Congress voiced opposition to the coup and Honduras’ top military commander predicted a resolution within a few days. The Los Angeles Times reports on a meeting held at U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens’ residence Sunday at which even coup backers' support for the de facto government appeared to waver.

Read an AS/COA analysis about the external players working to forge a solution.

Honduran Presidential Candidate Urges Elections

In an interview with PODER360.com, Honduras’ National Party candidate Porfirio Lobo Sosa says that elections can help the country move beyond the current polarizing political climate. The candidate says that those who question the legitimacy of the elections should recognize the legal process in place to move elections forward.

Hispanic Immigrants: Younger, Healthier, Uninsured

A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center finds stark differences in coverage of undocumented Hispanic immigrants and the general U.S. population. Sixty percent of Hispanics without citizenship or permanent residency lack health insurance and almost half do not have a regular place to go when sick. Most say they do not have a regular healthcare provider because they do not need one, which may relate to the fact that the Hispanic immigrant population is younger and healthier in comparison the overall national population.

Latin America Could Light Path for World Recovery

The World Bank’s top economist for Latin America Augusto de la Torre warned that the global financial crisis could mean that as many as 10 million people in the region could plunge into poverty. However, de la Torre told attendees of the Americas Conference in Miami that many countries in the region “are coming out of this crisis without systemic damage and as more attractive destinations for investment.” He described the Latin American recession as “less pronounced” and attributed economic successes to open markets, sound macroeconomic policies, and a resilient banking system.

Access additional materials from the Americas Conference, where speakers included former U.S. President Bill Clinton discussing international policy related to Haiti and Costa Rican President Óscar Arias offered his perspective on the Honduran Crisis.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

From Tegucigalpa. The Rural Population is the Third Face of Honduras in this Crisis

September 29, 2009

Since Manuel Zelaya’s surreptitious return to Honduras last week, the media has focused on the hordes of Zelaya supporters trying to make their way to the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa and the military and police repression that these would-be protesters faced.  But there are three faces to Honduran society these days, not two.  No doubt, these predominantly urban actors are crucial in this country’s short-term political crisis.  But understanding the broader domestic political reality, and what may follow this crisis, also demands consideration of rural areas.

The first face of the current Honduran crisis is the pro-Zelaya Resistencia (Resistance).  Tens of thousands of Zelaya supporters from all over the country took to the streets this week.  They were met by a repressive military machine.  Hundreds arrested and injured, detainees corralled in the stadium and several people killed—these scenes provided a tragic reminder of the military repression that plagued Latin America in previous decades.  And yet, Zelaya’s supporters remain intent on reclaiming power and going ahead with the constituent assembly that started this mess.  While Tegucigalpa has calmed down after several days of curfews, the Resistance remains a significant political force, capable of mobilizing thousands in Tegucigalpa and other secondary cities and towns.

De facto President Roberto Micheletti’s urban supporters form the second face of Honduras.  This group cheers the military in the streets and refuses to believe that people are being wrongfully detained, beaten or even killed.  Those Micheletti backers who acknowledge these unfortunate events say that repression is the necessary price in the war against Zelaya’s attempt to sow unrest and install chavismo (Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’ brand of politics).  Unlike Zelaya supporters, these Hondurans recognize the planned November elections as legitimate.  They too are capable of mobilizing thousands of supporters, but their mobilizations also have a strong military flavor. 

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Zelaya Holes Up in the Brazilian Embassy: Now What?

September 23, 2009

So he’s back in Honduras.  How Zelaya got in is still a mystery and to the de facto President Micheletti a source of some concern, primarily if it may mean that some segments of the armed forces may have been complicit. That concern will increase as the  nervous Micheletti asks the armed forces to enforce his curfew and crack down on pro-Zelaya demonstrators .  The clamp down has already caused a number of injuries and reportedly between one to six deaths, prompting a public statement from Amnesty International condemning the government’s heavy handed tactics.

In any democratic transition, the point of change comes when moderate segments of the armed forces decide that the cost of repressing escalating social unrest is too great and break with the government.  Such a scenario is looking possible in Honduras.  (Remember also the statement of some junior military officers in late July endorsing the San José accord that called for Zelaya to return?) But by no means is it desirable.

Getting to that point implies increased upheaval and turmoil, something that President Zelaya is clearly trying to stoke from his temporary quarters inside the Brazilian embassy The stunt of his sneaking into Honduras (as with his earlier antics of flying over the capital threatening to land and his two-step over the Nicaraguan/Honduran border) are unfortunate efforts to energize his supporters, keep himself in the news and provoke clashes.   And they make it difficult for the diplomatic world to support him—even when they are (as they should be) supporting the institutional and democratic/electoral process that he represents and that was overturned on June 28th.  It’s just that it would be easier if he weren’t so cynically trying to seize media attention, ally himself with unsavory allies who themselves have little interest in institutional integrity and use his supporters as cannon fodder.

Read More

1 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

September 23, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Zelaya Sneaks Back into Honduras, Catapaults Brazil into Center of Crisis

Three months after the military forced him out of Honduras, deposed President Manuel Zelaya reentered the country and gained sanctuary in the Brazilian embassy on September 21. Since then—and at the time of this report—the country remains in a tense standoff. The interim government of Roberto Micheletti closed airports, declared a curfew, and cut water supplies and electricity to the embassy. Police forces broke up protests with tear gas, with some canisters falling inside the embassy’s compound.

Such moves did little to please Brasilia, where the House approved a motion repudiating Honduras’ blockade of the embassy. While Brazil said it did not play a role in bringing Zelaya back into Honduras, officials allowed him to take shelter and reiterated support for his reinstatement. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in New York for the UN General Assembly, urged an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the crisis and requested to be present at the meeting.

In a Christian Science Monitor article exploring Brazil’s role in the center of the crisis, COA’s Eric Farnsworth explains why Zelaya chose that country to turn to. “Seeking asylum with Brazil shows that [Zelaya] thinks Brazil is the neutral voice in the crisis, not the U.S., Costa Rica, [or] Venezuela. He's essentially throwing in his lot with the party he thinks has the best chance to get him restored to power,” said Farnsworth, “It's a tangible representation of a power shift in the region.”

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Washington's Systemic Lack of Strategic Vision for the Americas

September 21, 2009

Even in the best of times, under Democratic and Republican Administrations and Congresses alike, Washington’s appetite for things Latin American is limited.  On occasion, a crisis breaks through the public consciousness and attracts top-level attention for a period of time, but the ability to sustain a policy that does more than just lurch from crisis to crisis really doesn’t exist.  When such crisis does occur, however, Washington becomes fixated on the issue and almost completely neglects other issues in the hemisphere. 

Such is the case right now.  Since June 28, Washington’s primary focus on the region has been on Honduras. Even the confirmation of the U.S. ambassador-designate for Brazil, Tom Shannon, has been held up by the Senate over dissatisfaction of U.S. policy actions to sanction the government of de facto Honduran President Roberto Micheletti.  The Senate hold on Tom Shannon, a highly-regarded career diplomat who has served both Democratic and Republican administrations with distinction, was placed back in the summer, even before the September 3 State Department announcement that pre-emptively sought to delegitimize Honduras’ scheduled November 29 elections.  Since then, Washington has become even more polarized, so it’s unclear why a hold that was placed before the September 3 announcement would be lifted after the announcement without some compromise on the issues.  (Full disclosure: I’ve known Tom for over 15 years and worked with him in the White House, and I consider him to be a personal friend.) 

But the practical implications of this stalemate mean that the United States has no ambassador in the largest Latin American country, and may not for some time—even though the issues surrounding Brazil's emergence on the global scene are compelling—all because we continue to wrap ourselves around the axle on Honduras.  It’s all so depressingly familiar, particularly for those who went through the 1980s.  In fact, some of the Washington players are exactly the same ones who were involved in the 1980s disputes, from both sides.  But 2009 is not 1982; and the shape of the hemisphere has changed dramatically.  The longer we focus on Honduras, the longer we unilaterally decrease our footprint even further in the rest of Latin America, creating even more of a vacuum for others to fill. 

Read More

1 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

From Tegucigalpa. Independence Day Revealed Deep Divisions in Honduras

September 21, 2009

Last week, tens of thousands of Hondurans took to the streets of their capital, Tegucigalpa, to commemorate Independence Day.  One group, dressed in the white and blue of the Honduran flag, followed the Civic-Military March to the National Stadium, where soldiers marched, paratroopers landed dramatically, and the crowd cheered for de facto President Roberto Micheletti. 

The other group, equally large, dressed in red and marched down Morazán Boulevard for La Resistencia (the resistance), and clamored for the return of President Manuel Zelaya to power while booing the military planes flying toward the stadium.  From among the Micheletti supporters, the megaphones exclaimed: “Honduras is the wall that finally stopped Chávez!”  Meanwhile, the red shirts cried out, “Which is the way?  Getting rid of those sons of … [who deposed President Zelaya]!” 

This year, Independence Day revealed the deep divisions in Honduran society following the coup. Now, with President Manuel Zelaya having sneaked across the border and camped out at the Brazilian embassy, these divisions are enflaming again today on the streets of Tegucigalpa. For many years, Honduras was Central America’s most politically stable nation outside of Costa Rica; now, it has become polarized.

Read More

2 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

September 16, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Clinton, Vázquez Worry over LatAm Arms Race

Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington September 15 where, during a press conference, they expressed concern about the possibility of a Latin American arms buildup. Clinton referred in particular to Venezuela’s announcement that it would purchase $2.2 billion worth of arms from Moscow, saying: “[W]e urge Venezuela to be transparent in its purchases, clear about its purposes. They should be putting in place procedures and practices to ensure that the weapons that they buy are not diverted to insurgent groups or illegal organizations, like drug trafficking gangs and other criminal cartels.” Vázquez added that, in a region marked by social inequality, resources should be devoted to poverty alleviation rather than weapons.

Read an AS/COA analysis of the South American arms spending, focusing in particular on recent arms deals forged by Venezuela and Brazil.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink

Weekly News Roundup from Across the Americas

August 19, 2009

From the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. AS/COA Online's news brief examines the major—as well as some of the overlooked—events and stories occurring across the Americas. Check back every Wednesday for the weekly roundup.

Sign up to receive the Weekly Roundup via email.

Washington and Bogota Agree on Defense Pact

On August 14, the United States and Colombia finalized a defense agreement that will allow the U.S. military to operate out of Colombian bases to coordinate counternarcotics operations. The agreement comes in the wake of the closure of a U.S. base in Manta, Ecuador. In a U.S. Defense Department news briefing, U.S. General James Cartwright said the goal of the pact is “to be able to provide to the Colombians what they need in order to continue to prosecute their efforts against the internal threats that they have.” The accord awaits signature by the U.S. and Colombian governments.

Still, the bilateral pact stirred up hemispheric tensions in recent weeks, particularly between Colombia and its neighbor Venezuela, as Liz Harper writes in the Americas Quarterly blog. On Tuesday, after meeting with Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to squelch concerns about “what the agreement does and does not do,” saying it involves bilateral cooperation rather than the creation of U.S. bases in Colombia.

Read More

0 comments Login or register to post comments Permalink