Mustang Rambles

Recently, the Honduran Army arrested the sitting President and flew him to exile in Costa Rica. Many Central American heads of state, especially Leftist heads such as Castro and Chavez condemned the action as illegal. The Army acted under orders from the Honduran Supreme Court that declared a referendum vote the President demanded as illegal. The Court ordered the Army to confiscate all the ballots and make sure the vote didn’t take place. The vote was to place a question on the next national election to set up a new constitutional assembly to modify the constitution to allow the President to serve more than one term. I think that Chavez recently actually pushed multiple term permission through and effectively made himself president for life. Correct me on that if I’m wrong.

There is widespread dissatisfaction with the Honduran Army, especially from Heads of State who fear the example set, and by International Organizations who depend on the Heads of State for funding etc. Even President Obama said:

“I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law and the tenets of the Inter-American Democratic Charter,” Obama said. “Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue free from any outside interference.”

Apparently, he forgot that the President had ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court.

The really big question is this. If the Army is sworn to uphold the Constitution and not the current leader (as it is in the USA), was it lawful to fulfill the directive of the Supreme Court? Was it further lawful, to remove the President from power who was acting in direct contravention of the Supreme Court directive? If the answer to both is a “Yes”, then no wonder the Heads of State are outraged. They could be next. It is an example all Presidents would be wise to heed: Flaunting the Constitution can be hazardous to your career progression.

Here’s another good read from the Wall Street Journal with a clear description of events. It seems the main opposition to President Zelaya’s removal are

1. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, extreme leftist
2. Fidel Castro, Dictator of Cuba, avowed Communist
3. Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, extreme leftist, one-time Sandinista
4. and Hillary Clinton, Democrat/Leftist, US Secretary of State appointed by President Obama. extreme leftist, clearly Socialist

Clearly, the freedom loving people of Honduras have given Latin revolution and propensity for dictatorships a dreadful setback.