Coup In Honduras

[lungs]

First successful coup in Latin America in the post-Cold War era

Left wing President defies the Honduran Supreme Court and the Supreme Court authorizes the military to whisk the President to Costa Rica.

Discuss.

[Greyroofoo]

aol is still around?

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Greyroofoo

aol is still around?

There are some nice comments in the comments section from some right wingers about how the military here ought to do this to Obama.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I'm not sure this is the standard military coup though, based on what I read this morning.

I mean, you've got the military, the supreme court, the congress, and the guy's own party pretty much in agreement that he overstepped his bounds so far that he had to be removed from office. That seems more than a bit more of a consensus that I associate with typical third world coups.

They may be a bit spotty on the letter of their own law about what they did with him once he was removed, but in & of itself I really don't see this in the same light as, say, the 70's coups at all.

[DaddyTorgo]

interesting

[lungs]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not sure this is the standard military coup though, based on what I read this morning.

I mean, you've got the military, the supreme court, the congress, and the guy's own party pretty much in agreement that he overstepped his bounds so far that he had to be removed from office. That seems more than a bit more of a consensus that I associate with typical third world coups.

Agreed. I don't think there is too much uproar about this in Honduras. Most of the yapping is coming from Cuba and Venezuela. Doesn't sound like this Pelaya guy would've had much chance anyway if he were allowed to run for reelection.

If the military is simply facilitating somebody else finishing his term (less than one year) and elections being held on schedule, it's really no big deal.

[Karlifornia]

lungs, you never fail to crack me up with your wording of things. I have this mental image of the President of Honduras sitting in his office, having the ceiling open up, seeing a big metal claw dropping onto him, clutching him, lifting him to Costa Rica, and dropping him on a big pile of hay.

Yeah, I was an only child.

[Voo]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

lungs, you never fail to crack me up with your wording of things. I have this mental image of the President of Honduras sitting in his office, having the ceiling open up, seeing a big metal claw dropping onto him, clutching him, lifting him to Costa Rica, and dropping him on a big pile of hay.

Yeah, I was an only child.

Somebody could afford to play the claw game in honduras?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Voo

Somebody could afford to play the claw game in honduras?

ooh look! lurker-alert!!! lurker-alert!!!

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

lungs, you never fail to crack me up with your wording of things.

It's how farmers talk

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by lungs

Agreed. Most of the yapping is coming from Cuba and Venezuela.

Wow. I am shocked. Just shocked I say.

[DaddyTorgo]

I don't know enough about the Honduran political situation to offer a really educated opinion, but it sounds like on a brief read that despite the fact that there are constitutional term limits in place this President was trying to get a referendum from the people to overturn them?

If so, even if he would have been defeated in that attempt (sounds like he would have been), I have surprisingly little problem with the military and the Supreme Court acting to protect democracy. As long as they (which they did here it seems) turn it right over to someone appointed by the Congress and the new elections are held on schedule.

[Fighter of Foo]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I have surprisingly little problem with the military and the Supreme Court acting to protect democracy.

I can almost guarantee you none of those people give two shits about democracy. They're acting to protect their own turf/fiefdoms and removing any threat as best they can. If this means physically removing the President, so be it.

The exact same thing happens in the US and every other country in the world. Democracy is just a fancy word for pretend everyone has a say.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Fighter of Foo

I can almost guarantee you none of those people give two shits about democracy. They're acting to protect their own turf/fiefdoms and removing any threat as best they can. If this means physically removing the President, so be it.

The exact same thing happens in the US and every other country in the world. Democracy is just a fancy word for pretend everyone has a say.

You're most likely correct. Like I said, I don't really know enough about Honduran politics to offer a truly informed opinion. I am ASSUMING (yes, huge assumption) that even if the motives are significantly more grey than they appear initially that at least the outcome will be positive.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

You're most likely correct. Like I said, I don't really know enough about Honduran politics to offer a truly informed opinion. I am ASSUMING (yes, huge assumption) that even if the motives are significantly more grey than they appear initially that at least the outcome will be positive.

...until the next coup.

[lungs]

Obama says coup is illegal (but they aren't calling it a coup yet?)

[Glengoyne]

The new president ended his, I dunno, inaugural address with "Long Live Democracy"

Ya gotta love that.

[SteveMax58]

Personally...I don't see anything to get too excited over. Yes...it is "green" I suppose...but the Boxster will absolutely shred it.

[Grammaticus]

This is what Obama and Hillary Clinton are calling a military coup. Obama and Clinton are claiming that Zelaya is still the president:

O'Grady: Honduras Defends Its Democracy - WSJ.com

Following is an excerpt that explains what was done in a fairly straight forward manner. Mel Zelaya is the guy removed.

Yesterday the Central American country was being pressured to restore the authoritarian Mr. Zelaya by the likes of Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo himself..............

That Mr. Zelaya acted as if he were above the law, there is no doubt. While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.

But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela. The Supreme Court ruled his referendum unconstitutional, and it instructed the military not to carry out the logistics of the vote as it normally would do.

The top military commander, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, told the president that he would have to comply. Mr. Zelaya promptly fired him. The Supreme Court ordered him reinstated. Mr. Zelaya refused.

Calculating that some critical mass of Hondurans would take his side, the president decided he would run the referendum himself. So on Thursday he led a mob that broke into the military installation where the ballots from Venezuela were being stored and then had his supporters distribute them in defiance of the Supreme Court's order.

The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.

It remains to be seen what Mr. Zelaya's next move will be. It's not surprising that chavistas throughout the region are claiming that he was victim of a military coup. They want to hide the fact that the military was acting on a court order to defend the rule of law and the constitution, and that the Congress asserted itself for that purpose, too.........

The Honduran Congress met in emergency session yesterday and designated its president as the interim executive as stipulated in Honduran law. It also said that presidential elections set for November will go forward. The Supreme Court later said that the military acted on its orders. It also said that when Mr. Zelaya realized that he was going to be prosecuted for his illegal behavior, he agreed to an offer to resign in exchange for safe passage out of the country. Mr. Zelaya denies it.

If the information in the linked article is true, it is hardly a coup. Maybe Obama and Clinton have information that is not being shared, who knows.