About the situation in Honduras…It is important to note that the people of Honduras are tired of being manipulated. True, Zeleya was elected democratically yet even so he was not elected by an overwhelming majority. He won with 48% of the votes hence not even over half of the population wanted him to govern. Under his term he allied himself with countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua, he allied himself with the worst of Latin America and was becoming a puppet of Hugo Chavez. The people from Honduras grew restless Zelaya was not a progressive president. The coup did not occur because the people of Honduras were not open to a referendum, the coup occurred because the people of Honduras did not want a dictator and the referendum was the last straw. If the people demand a change in their own constitution that's one thing, but when it's the person at the top demanding a change for his/her own benefit it's time for the boot! Granted in the 21st century coups are seen as obsolete but so is the extreme poverty and oppression the people from Honduras are experiencing.
Democracy is defined as the will of the people and at this moment the people are manifesting their will. Granted a coup is generally not associated with democracy but at this time the people are seeking their freedom from repression. And while we are not talking about oppression to the degree that people experienced under Stalin, this people
Are oppressed nonetheless there is no room for advancement they are oppressed and subjugated to poverty.
Think about it. The only time president Zelaya ever decided to make a poll/referendum was to see if his term could be extended. Where were the polls to talk about the energy crisis?
He was doing something illegal the congress in Honduras warned him and even so he continued to act by his own will making his own decisions…like a dictator.
The military is obliged to defend its country's constitution and that is what they did this morning with the support of the people from Honduras. VIVA HONDURAS LIBRE!
A COUP… A DEMOCRATIC TOOL
By Vale - Posted on June 28th, 2009
Excellent post. John Locke, the libertarian author of "Two Treatises of Government" which are Constitution" is largely based off of said that when a government breaks its contract with the people and no longer is acting according to the people's will, the people can consider this a declaration of war and rebellion is justified. The Honduran people are fighting for justice and the United States is wrong to condemn their actions. Maybe one day the people of America may put aside their uneducated decisions of past and realize that we are becoming more and more opprressed each day as government grows beyond what the people need and want.
Government has no other end, but the preservation of property. - John Locke
My understanding of the coup is that it was backed by business and military interests- which sounds suspiciously undemocratic to me. I also don't buy your reasoning that just because about half of Nicaraguans don't support Zelaya a coup is justified. The point of democracy is to provide people with an outlet to change their government without need for violence or overthrows. According to your reasoning, Americans would have been justified in overthrowing President Bush in 2000. Obviously, that is a terrifying idea (even if you hate Bush).
I suppose the only case for the coup one can make is that Zelaya was trying to unconstitutionally hold onto his power longer than allowed. Even then, though, we have to remember that Zelaya's proposed referendum would have held no legal force- it was merely a way to gauge the public's support for his plan. In my opinion, any coup or condemnation of Zelaya at this point in time is premature.