I continue to be amazed at how anyone could say that a country under curfew, with airports closed, is anything but a dictatorship, especially given that the self-proclaimed president in power took it via force. According to my dictionary, it fits the definition of a country after a coup. Comparing Honduras to what I know about other moments in Latin American history, it sure looks like a country under siege from within.

On Monday, democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras after being ousted in a coup. However, Zelaya is far from a free man. He is currently inside the Brazilian embassy. As soon as word came through that Zelaya was in the country, the first thing the government of Roberto Micheletti did was deny that fact as a way to maintain control or pretend to anyway. Once it was reveled where Zelaya was, and stil is, his supporters poured into the streets. At the same time Micheletti declared a curfew, which many Zelaya supporters ignored. Power to the Brazilian embassy was cut. Military forces surrounded the area and used tear gas against pro-Zelaya protesters. People were being pulled off the street.


On Univision last night, I watched/listened to interviews with both Micheletti and Zelaya. Micheletti remains firm in his position that under no circumstances could Zelaya resume his role as president. The only exception, he said in an interview with Maria Elena Salinas, was if other countries invaded Honduras. Micheletti seemed angry at what he said was the failure of the outside world to understand the constitution and politics of Honduras. He also reaffirmed that he didn’t want one drop of blood to be shed and when called out by Salinas on the blood already shed, he said that was the doing of the pro-Zelaya forces and not of the police or armed forces. The only thing Micheletti wants is for Zelaya to submit himself to arrest.

Zelaya, via a telephone interview with Jorge Ramos, said that it was his duty to return after he was violently ousted so that he could be with the citizens who have shown him support over the last 88 days. Zelaya also said that there can only be one president in a country and that should be the one chosen democratically by the people. Zelaya said he came here to dialogue but that is not being allowed. Nor, according to him, is Zelaya allowed to see his family. The President also stated that he had no intention of running for reelection.

Via / Global Voices and Univision 41 (TV).