Political Situation in Honduras

Having returned just over three months ago from Honduras, I have been trying to stay abreast of the political situation there after the ouster of (former) President Jose Manuel Zelaya on June 28. By most accounts Senor Zelaya was not exactly a paragon of virtue -- reportedly a corrupt and left-leaning disciple (or puppet) of Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. He had defied the country's Supreme Court in attempting to go ahead with an illegal referendum to change the constitution so that -- surprise! -- he could stay in power.

That said, it's not exactly clear that the way he was removed from office was by the books either, and it certainly harkened back to the banana republic days of military coups. So I'm not at all clear who to cheer for in this mess, I just keep following events and praying this gets resolved without violence. Apparently one person has been killed, but considering how tense the situation is, I suppose it could be a lot worse. Senor Zelaya should certainly be thankful he is not the lone fatality.

Apparently the Honduran population is split over the situation too, though somewhat more favor the ouster of Senor Zelaya. The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that:

...Honduran media published a CID-Gallup poll that showed 41% of Hondurans said the coup was justified, while 28% were opposed. The survey, conducted between June 30 and July 4, supported anecdotal evidence of anger at Mr. Zelaya. While thousands of Hondurans take to the streets almost daily to protest the ouster, larger crowds often demonstrate in favor of the coup.

"Society is very polarized. We have reached levels of hatred I've never seen before," said Edmundo Orellana, a congressman who formerly served as Mr. Zelaya's defense minister. Mr. Orellana resigned the military position days before the coup because he believed Mr. Zelaya was breaking the law. But in a letter to the congress, he also said Mr. Zelaya's ouster was illegal and that he would refuse to take his legislative seat until Mr. Zelaya was reinstated.

Associated Press
Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya gather at a roadblock protest on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa on Thursday. Officials began talks on the political future of the country.

At the same time it is very strange to think that all the fine people we worked with in March are living through this tense and scary time. Are they choosing sides? Is this situation a source of division among them? It pains me to think of it. I pray that they are safe and remain that way.

I recently received an email from Margaret Rubiera, who had spoken with the country director for Habitat Honduras. Things are indeed tense, he reports. The provisional government is apparently restricting and filtering the news. There were three Habitat build teams working in Honduras, and all three had to leave. According to Margaret:

"For the moment, of course, no groups are going, and the work that Habitat can do is also very limited. It is an unnerving and very troubling time for the country. I wish I thought there were an easy and clear solution, but there is none. Zelaya was a corrupt, manipulative president and was following way too closely in the footsteps of Chavez of Venezuela. Still, the way that they deposed and evicted him has left everyone up in arms. The military is now breaking up demonstrations with force and the police are arresting a large number of people without justifiable cause. It especially breaks my heart to think of the economic sanctions being placed on that country. We must pray that a viable solution will be found soon. Alberto said that his biggest concern now is for the safety of all Habitat employees. He is not allowing anyone to go out “in the field” to check on local affiliates for fear of violence and problems on the roads. Some funding has been cut off and they fear more financial repercussions. There are rigid curfews in place, which were changed yesterday without warning from 10 pm to 6:30 pm. That is affecting workers all over the country. Stores and banks have been closing extra early to avoid problems with the variable curfew issue.

That must have been more than a little scary for those teams, but thankfully they are all fine. I'm not sure the same can be said for Habitat and for prospective homeowners. At minimum, their work is now suspended indefinitely, but if this drags on I fear Habitat will be hurt badly in Honduras. Right now I have no idea if or how current events will affect trips being planned for early 2010.

At least the two sides have started talks, even if they both seem intransigent. Again from the WSJ:

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and the men who kicked him out of power nearly two weeks ago began mediated talks Thursday in a bid to end the Central American country's biggest political crisis in decades.

Even as negotiations over the future of Honduras's government began in Costa Rica, however, hopes were dim for a quick solution. Mr. Zelaya has said the only solution is his return to power, while Roberto Micheletti, the man who replaced him as president, says everything can be discussed except Mr. Zelaya's return as president.

The talks will test the diplomatic skills of mediator Óscar Arias, Costa Rica's president, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to ending civil wars in the region.

For now I ask you all to pray for a peaceful end to this crisis, and the rapid resumption of Habitat's work in Honduras.