Sunday, November 29, 2009

Election Day, November 29, 2009


Today will prove to be a truly historic day in modern Honduran history. It's a turning point...One of those rare days when everyone knows history is being made and that they are all a part of it. People had been both nervous and euphoric leading up to today's vote. Anxious and tense because of predictions of violence by the 'resistance', yet happy and content because Honduras is turning an important page in its 21st century history.

Hondurans are rightly proud of the fact that following their constitution, they removed a would be tyrant from office, replaced him with the constitutionally designated president of the congress, and are now voting in the election that had been previously ordained by the constitution with candidates selected by last year's primary. Honduras stood up to tremendous pressure from the world's most powerful countries and proved that she is truly 'the little country that could'...

It is with this background that I accompanied my wife to vote this morning. I had a sense of euphoria as I knew I was observing history being made even though we were only at a small polling station in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. My wife had thoroughly researched all the candidates and voted for candidates from four of the five parties. Although I'm not a trained election observer, the elections appeared to be 'free and fair' to me. There was no intimidation, quite the contrary, people seemed genuinely pleased to be there. The atmosphere was happy, almost festive.

One old lady summed it up best...When she exited, she looked directly at me, the lone foreigner, held up her ink stained finger and said, "Viva Honduras". I smiled back at her and said "Viva Honduras".

Saturday, November 28, 2009

How Popular is Mel Zelaya and his Call for Constitutional Reforms?

Most of the media claims that the presidential election scheduled in Honduras for this Sunday, Nov. 28, is between two conservative candidates, Pepe Lobo (Nationalist) and Elvin Santos (Liberal). While it is true that Pepe Lobo is ahead in the polls with a double digit lead, there are three other candidates in the running as well. One of these candidates is Cesar Ham of the Union Democracia (UD). Mr. Ham is a leftwing candidate and a supporter of Mel Zelaya. In fact, his party's platform calls for the constituent assembly as espoused by Zelaya to re-write the Honduran constitution.

Of the five candidates running in the election, Mr Ham and the UD is the only leftist option. The moderate and conservative votes will necessarily be split between the other four candidates with Mr. Ham free to attract all of Comandante Cowboy's leftist and populists supporters for his UD party. Thus, his success in Sunday's polls can be seen as a proxy for Mel's support and whether there is a grassroots desire for a constituent assembly.

If Cesar Ham garners 40-50% of the votes, then it will be obvious that Mel had genuinely appealed to the people and that they support his agenda of constitutional change, Alba, and moving Honduras into the Chavez/Castro orbit. If Mr. Ham wins less than 5-10% of the vote, then that will say volumes as to Mel's popularity and grassroots support.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Why is the OAS not sending observers for this Sunday's presidential election?

The OAS has announced that it will not send observers for this Sunday's presidential elections. Why? The answer is obvious..

From all the preparations and open and free campaigning that has been going on here in Honduras, Mr. Insulza knows that the elections are going to be free, open, and fair. If the OAS sends observers, then the OAS will be in the position of having to report that the election process was free and fair. He does not want to do that...In essence, Insulza is more concerned about Honduras becoming a Venezuelan client state than he is about democracy.

The more important question...Is the OAS still relevant in today's world after it's anti-democratic orientation has been exposed?

I hope the newly elected government in Honduras will reject any invitation to rejoin the OAS.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Honduras gears up for elections, rebuffs Zelaya

The linked editorial is one of the best I've read regarding the events in Honduras. Please read it and feel free to leave any comments...

Honduras gears up for elections, rebuffs Zelaya

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Monday, November 09, 2009

'the back of Mr. Zelaya'

Finally, a mainstream weekly tells the truth... I picked up a copy of 'The Economist' this weekend, and in an article entitled "Zelaya'a scrap of paper", it states, "the courts, the army, and a seeming majority of Hondurans have been determined to see the back of Mr. Zelaya."

Yes, that's so, so true. The majority of Hondurans only want to see Meloco's back as he goes to prison or leaves the country...

Game over Commandante Cowboy...Maybe, you can get asylum in Burkino Faso...

Friday, November 06, 2009

Sen. Vitter supports Honduras, Sen. Landrieu does not

I wrote letters to both of my senators regarding the situation in Honduras. Sen. Vitter replied, Sen. Landrieu did not (even after a follow-up email). I hope the Honduran community in Louisiana (the nation's largest) will remember this in the next election.

Below is Sen. Vitter's reply:

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to President Zelaya being reinstated in Honduras. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you know, the high court in Honduras ruled that President Mel Zelaya had committed crimes including violations against the Honduras constitution, corruption, and abuses of power and he was removed from power.

You may be pleased to know I recently signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing my concern for her agreement to meet with Zelaya and the lack of United States action in supporting the government's action. I believe that the Honduran government operated under its own constitutional authority, and the removal of Mr. Zelaya from power was legal. Rest assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as the U.S. Senate considers the situation in Honduras.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about other issues important to you.


Sincerely,


Senator David Vitter
United States Senator

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Meloco's Panicking!!

It's now looking increasingly doubtful that the Honduran Congress will reinstate Meloco. Mel thought he had clinched a deal, so now he's panicking...

The current score in this three way match:

Honduras 1
USA 0
Zelaya and Chavez -1