Was democracy and the rule of law served in Honduras...

FOUR MONTHS of political crisis in Honduras have apparently come to an end with the signing of an agreement by representatives of the outsted socialist President Manuel Zelaya and the head of the interim government, Roberto Micheletti.

The agreement, arising out of negotiations called the "Guaymuras Dialogue" that began in early October, stipulates the following:

-- Formation of a "Government of Unity and National Reconciliation," to be installed no later than November 5, comprised of "representatives of diverse political parties and social organizations."
-- Renunciation of the call for a Constituent Assembly to rewrite the constitution (Zelaya's organizing of an illegal advisory referendum on a constituent assembly was a motivation for the coup).
-- Support for the next general elections and a transfer of power on January 27, 2010 (the elections are currently scheduled for November 29, although the agreement does not specify a date).
-- Putting the armed forces under the control of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for a month before the elections.
-- Consideration by the National Congress, in consultation with the Supreme Court, of "the return of the title of the Executive Power to its state previous to June 28."
-- Formation of a Verification Commission, coordinated by the Organization of American States, to monitor compliance with the agreement, and a Truth Commission, to be organized by the next government, to investigate "acts that occurred before and after June 28."
-- Normalization of Honduras' international relations.

Undoubtedly the heroic struggle of the forces of freedom and democracy in Honduras against the unconstitutional acts by Zelaya has come to a mixed end. I personally salute the Honduran people for their firm stance against a powerful and seemingly worldwide leftist organized attempt to intimidate and force them to reinstate the ousted Chavista socialist Zelaya. The heroic response of the freedom loving democratic Honduras people to the pressure was admirable: “Our country, our decision.”

An agreement was only reached with the personal intervention of the U.S. government's representatives, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon and Daniel Restrepo of the National Security Council. After months of delaying, the White House finally put serious pressure on the negotiations, and a deal was cut on October 29, the very first day that Restrepo and Shannon participated in meetings.

The resistance front encouraged and financed by Hugo Chávez and his Bolivarian ALBA group has always insisted on Zelaya's return as a condition for accepting the national elections that had been scheduled for November, a position reiterated on October 30 by the resistance leader Juan Barahona. If the oligarchy wants a clear road to the elections, it will need to accept Zelaya. So even though Congress has a golpista majority, it is likely to reinstate Zelaya. Thus, Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo, the National Party's presidential candidate, said, "We are willing to be cooperative in Congress with the agreement of the negotiators."

The agreement compels Zelaya to drop his illegal advocacy of a Constituent Assembly, but this does not apply to the militant leftist resistance. In fact, the Front's communique of October 30 threatened that "the National Constituent Assembly is an irrenouncable aspiration of the Honduran people and a nonnegotiable right for which we will continue fighting in the streets." Although Zelaya's enforced silence on the issue will not be helpful, it will be easy to explain--and it expires on January 27, 2010, when Zelaya becomes a private citizen again.

If Zelaya is reinstated and the state of siege lifted, a boycott of the election--which has been the position of the resistance so far--is probably not viable. A united left-wing presidential campaign by Carlos Reyes, president of the beverage workers union STIBYS, could advance agitation for the Constituent Assembly and help the resistance measure its popular support.

The violent leftist anti democratic resistance must avoid electoral illusions, though. The polls will represent the conservative countryside and tourism zones beyond their social weight, and there is no way an openly anti-democratic candidate will be allowed to win. The state -- both its elected shell and its bureaucratic core – constitutes a democratic ideology that remains under the control of the freedom loving people, so extra-parliamentary action could be the primary strategy to protect democratic values and institutions against the threats of violence by the pro Cuban/Chávez instigators.

All that said, the restoration of Zelaya remains likely -- although the violent left argues that Zelaya certainly erred in accepting an agreement lined with so many potential traps for their agenda of becoming one more scalp on the belt of Hugo Chávez and his ALBA acolytes.