As a Central American, I can say that we thought and hoped that the old ways of military coup de etat's to solve political discrepancies was a thing of the past, and we felt confident that our more or less transparent democratic electoral processes had created governments that would be subject to the democratic institutionalization created during the past twenty years.
History has shown us though that political change doesn't occur in a simple and lineal sequence, but rather that there are ups and downs and breaks that need calm thought, compromise and an absolute adherence to the national laws and philosophy of the nation as defined by the Constitution and ratified by the three representative powers, the Legislative, the Judicial and the Executive. The armed forces would no longer guarantee public order, but are now responsible for maintaining the territorial integrity of the country, maintaining the national sovereignty, and guaranteeing the adherence and respect of the ratified National Constitution.
Into this fragile scenario of democratic process and development, steps the Venezuelan 800 pound gorilla, Hugo Chavez, with his pockets full of petro dollars. We must understand at this point that with a population of approximately thirty five million persons and with national budgets of each of these Central American republics being less that the annual budget of U.W. Madison, that this area is prime pickings for drug lords, money launderers, and nations seeking to expand their spheres of influence.
During the Bush/Cheney tenure, the Central American region was pretty much neglected and economically mismanaged by Uncle Sam, while the primary interests of the U.S. petro administration was in the Middle Eastern oil reserves and the billions of dollars to be made by the multi national corporations linked and allied with the Bush/Cheney petro administration. With so many shiny dollar-signs blinding them with thoughts of potentially more profits than at anytime in history, the Bush/Cheney Administration and its buddies certainly didn't have time for the so-called Banana Republics, and these were simply set adrift and on their own. During this time, Chinese and Russians have made huge inroads into this region that the U.S. had for years considered its backyard. There are leftist governments currently in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras (with Zelaya), Cuba, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil which is considered moderate left. Albeit, the U.S. has lost prestige and most of it's allies in Latin America with its 500 plus million potential consumer market.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is without doubt the number one U.S. hater in Latin America, and with his petro dollars and military bluster has created the Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) group that use democratic principles to hide their true socialist agenda. Once having gained political power, the ALBA ploy continues by calling for populist peblicites to modify and redefine constitution law, to enable himself to perpetuate his tenure as president and dictator for life as we've seen in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. This is precisely what was happening in Honduras when the Supreme Court and Congress discovered the constitutional illegality of the Manuel Zelaya ploy, and directed the Armed Forces to arrest the leftist ALBA president and send him into exile, while constitutional law and order were reestablished in Honduras. Meanwhile, an interim president was unanimously elected by the five political parties and the Honduran legislature and judicial powers. The interim president will serve out the few remaining months prior to the national presidential elections scheduled for January, 2010.
Honduras in under immense international pressure by the majority of nations to reinstate Manuel Zelaya, including explicit warnings that range from military action by Venezuela and the U.N. Blue Helmets, to strong economic measures and boycotts. The principle leftist international figures intimidating the Honduran people include, the ex Sandinista and current U.N. General President, Miguel D'Escoto; President of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulsa; and Venezuelan chafarrote and caudillo, Hugo Chavez, together with his ALBA puppet governments in Latin America and the usual bandwagon of whining leftist's and useful fools. .
Hondurans remain steadfast in their desire and demand for political freedom and democracy, and will not submit to external interventionist pressures. I congratulate a small country that stands alone in defense of its national will and sovereignty. The world demands that Honduras become subservient to Hugo Chavez, the 800 pound gorilla who is fast becoming a King Kong.
If the U.S. does not wake-up and react soon to this ominous threat, then I suggest it hurry with its border fence because when the leftist ALBA dictators destroy any remnants of their economies in Latin America, there will be millions upon millions of people banging on that southern fence. I can only visualize an unstoppable tsunami of humanity overwhelming U.S. borders.
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