Congress to Vote on Zelaya’s Restitution
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Congress of Honduras, Image: El Proceso Digital
Today a meaningless vote will take place, the vote to restore Zelaya and retract all legislation and pronouncements of Congress to what they were on June 28. Realistically, the deputees will probably vote against this. But even in the unlikely case that a two-thirds majority should approve of it, Zelaya will not accept returning to power if that means he must obey the Tegucigalpa/San Jose Agreement.
He is playing the same strategy he did with the San Jose accord. If the government looks like they will agree to it, discredit the accord as a farce or a ploy. If the government looks like they will reject it, pretend to be willing to uphold it and accuse the other side of being unwilling.
The outcome is predictable. The U.S. will say that it will respect Congress’s decision not to reinstate Zelaya, but will withhold the recognition of Lobo as the new president. Chavez and friends will vilify the vote as one more blow from the golpistas. Zelaya will probably come up with an entertaining rant as usual.
Where does this leave Honduras? In a tangled mess.
But then if Congress does reinstate Zelaya, they would have to step over the constitution, which has two possible outcomes. One, the constitution becomes less valuable than the toilet paper that was running out in the Brazilian embassy when Zelaya arrived. Two, a new constitution will need to be written.
Where does this leave Honduras? At the mercy of foreign powers, like the US and Venezuela.
What is at stake is whether Honduras will prostrate herself and lick the boots of her overlords, or be ostracized.
I prefer ostracism. Latin America needs us, and will come around. Empires don’t last forever. Soon Chavez will fall from grace. But what suffering will he have caused in the meantime, I hesitate to imagine.
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You would have been proud, Aaron. (assuming that you weren’t able to watch it online) Many proud and patriotic statements and a 111-14 vote against restoring Zelaya.
I never thought I would be proud of congress. And although there is still so much to do in Honduras, I am happy that Chavez’s false ideology did not prevail here.