Real story of the Honduran situation
You’re probably not as interested in the Honduras thing as I am, but I spent time in the region and it’s hard to avoid this story. One of our readers who lives in Panama sent me this article from the English language Panama Guide.com and it gives a lot of background from the perspective of someone who lives in Honduras. It’s a long article, but I learned things I hadn’t known. For example;
Mel never submitted a budget for 2009, hence the Congress can’t approve it so Honduras is operating in 2009 on 2008’s budget. Now, why would a President not submit a budget? Who knows for sure but one of the possibilities is that 2009 is an election year. Mel would like to stay in power past 2009. The budget in 2008 didn’t include an election, so in essence there is NO money available for the 2009 election because we’re operating on 2008’s budget.
One other tidbit from the constitution – Article 42, Section 5 says that anyone who is found to “incite, promote, or aid in the continuation or re-election of the President” would face loss of citizenship. Remember this one later on in this saga.
Mel runs into another logistical snafu. He needs some ballots printed. The entire political structure of Honduras (except him) has ruled that the poll is illegal. It’s a pretty sure bet that he can’t get the government to print the ballots for an illegal referendum so he asks his buddy Hugo Chavez to print the ballots. Of course Hugo says “No Problem Comrade!”
The ballots arrive in Honduras (from Venezuela on a Venezuelan flagged plane). The Attorney General demands that the ballots be confiscated and held at a military installation. Mel decides that if the military won’t distribute the ballots, he’ll get his own people to distribute them Mel gets a couple of busses and a few cars full of supporters. They drive to the Air Force installation that was holding the ballots. They forcibly entered the installation and took the ballots. Not only was this “breaking and entering” it was a complete betrayal of a lawful order of the Attorney General
Yeah, it sounds like Obama is coming down on the wrong side of this and The Washington Examiner calls him out. Even In the Washington Post, Alvaro Vargas Llosa writes “Honduras’s Coup Is President Zelaya’s Fault“.
The new Honduran government is resisting international pressure. The Obama Administration has suspended military relations with Honduras. But the best English language information on this comes from Fausta’s Blog. That Puerto Rican firecracker has been translating Spanish wire news since Sunday morning. Most of her links can be found at her “Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean“.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez
Jonn,
I was wondering when you might speak up. Yes, the COWboy is wrong on this. I am getting tired of people following the pied piper…really.
personally, I’m thinking that the lightworker is waiting to see how this whole Honduras thing plays out, since he’d like to stay in office for awhile too…..
Probably taking notes on what works and what doesn’t, so he can use them when the time comes for him to stage his own coup.
I posted this link on Facebook. The lefties over there are using huffpo for their info. Idiots, in my book. They always ask how come we never refute their “stories”!! I tell them anything peppered with opinions and fee-elings not backed up with facts are stories.
I cannot believe this will work!