Via the AP: Honduran interim leader: I’m willing to step down
The offer was presented by a Honduran delegation to the Washington-based Organization of American States, Micheletti told reporters in Tegucigalpa. It was unclear if the OAS had received the proposal.
[...]
If Micheletti were to resign, under Honduran law the presidency would pass to Supreme Court President Jorge Rivera. The Supreme Court backed the coup.
One suspects that Zelaya won’t be too keen on that offer. Indeed, from his perspective, what would be the difference? Certainly in terms of rectifying the situation, Micheletti’s resignation would hardly reverse the coup.
And, as I noted yesterday, Zelaya’s comment about a right to insurrection has been picked up as a talking point by Micheletti:
However, he charged that some people were trying to foment a rebellion. “This morning we were informed that they were handing out some guns,” Micheletti said, without specifying who “they” were.
All of which means that the interim government can now blame any disturbance on Zelaya’a call to arms:
A few hours later, Micheletti’s administration announced in a broadcast statement that it was imposing a new midnight-5 a.m. curfew, calling it a response to “continuing and open threats by groups looking to provoke disturbances and disorder.” It had imposed a nightly curfew after Zelaya’s ouster, but lifted the order Sunday morning, saying it had succeeded in bringing calm to Honduras.
I would note, as I have before, that such behavior by the state does not help foster the notion that Zelaya’s removal was a legal “constitutional substitution.” I would note, for example, when Richard Nixon was forced to resign the White House, there was no martial law in the US, likewise when Bill Clinton was impeached. Other executives have been constitutionally removed from office sans military raids on opposition media and curfews.
The story also the following:
A Gallup survey in Honduras said Zelaya is more popular than Micheletti, but it also indicated a deeply divided nation.The nationwide survey made after Zelaya was exiled said 46 percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of Zelaya, while 30 percent had a similar view of Micheletti. Yet Zelaya was opposed by about the same proportion as his support — 44 percent — a figure not much different from the 49 percent who had negative feelings about Micheletti.
This is striking for a number of reasons. The first is that opposition media was curtailed, if not shut down, after the coup, meaning a pro-coup, anti-Zelaya message has dominated the news, and yet Zelaya is more popular than Micheletti. You’d think that if the “they are saving the country from a tyrant” narrative was accurate, that Micheletti wouldhave higher numbers than that, yes?). Second, reports prior to the coup were that Zelaya’s popularity (which was never large to begin with, as he won the presidency sans an absolute majority) was waning and it would appear that the coup has buoyed his numbers a bit.
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July 16th, 2009 at 10:38 am
There was a poll last fall that put Zelaya at around 25% (Angus Reid).
So, with the caveat that these are different pollsters, it would seem that the coup has generated sympathy for a president who was pretty deeply unpopular while he was actually exercising authority.
July 16th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Stop comparing the US to Honduras..Honduras is a different country with different rules and a very different situation. Americans are frankly to interested in the television to forment a revolt of any sort and you purposefully ignore the meddling and threats of Chavez including an intercepted plan to cause unrest in this country. I am living it, they were legally able to remove him, he is a criminal. He should not be returned to the presidency, but should be returned to be tried only after any unrest calms down. You would need to be here in Honduras to know what I am talking about.