A rare moment occurred Tuesday in a country where media reports continue to insist the deposing of President Manuel Zelaya in late June was part of a “legal” transfer of power. The New York Times’ Ginger Thompson reports that five Honduran generals appeared on national television in their home country yesterday explaining their role in the ouster of the country’s democratically elected president. “In language that often veered into confessional,” the paper writes, the generals again maintained that they acted in obedience to the law and were not trying to take political sides in a very polarized country. But, Thompson continues, saying their words seemed to display the great concern the men had over the image of their institution--the military—and made clear that “they continued to play a leading role in Honduran politics, nearly three decades since the end of military rule.” If we were “golpistas,” “we we would have called a national emergency and detained all of those who are out there causing trouble,” said Gen. Romeo Vásquez, the head of the armed forces. The Times says the “government’s most important offices and public hospitals are still under military guard. The military is posted at checkpoints along highways across the country. And it has been deployed to help the police manage the pro-Zelaya protests that have disrupted daily life in this country,” perhaps giving off just the sort of image Vásquez argues a “golpista” might give off. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Zelaya spent Tuesday in Mexico City with President Felipe Calderon where he received “full state honors.” Zelaya again insisted that “Reversing this coup is a challenge for the international community.” He plans to travel to Brazil next. But there are also new reports that his popular base of support may be getting tired and increasingly pessimistic that any deal that would restore their president to power will happen. McClatchy writes that Hondurans amassed on both sides of the Nicaraguan border where Zelaya set up camp two weeks ago are now starting to head home. “People have families waiting for them. They need to take care of their children,” said Orlin Calin Guzman, who arrived at the border two weeks ago from the Honduran town of Choluteca.
In Colombia, AFP reports that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has left Bogota on a “whirlwind” of the region to do some explaining. Namely, Uribe plans to tell many of the region’s leaders why he plans to allow an expanded military presence by the United States in his country. One of the president’s first stops will be Brazil, a visit that just so happens to coincide with a similar visit by US National Security Adviser, Jim Jones. Jones, in country yesterday, admitted that the U.S. had handled the base expansion idea in Colombia poorly. Last week, President Lula da Silva said “I don't like the idea of an American military base in Colombia,'' while Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said many in the region were “uneasy” about the idea. Talks between the U.S. and Colombia next week will likely formalize an agreement that is expected to give the U.S. greater access to three air force outposts and two naval bases. Two countries not on Uribe’s travel itinerary are Ecuador and Venezuela who would likely not be won over by anything Uribe told them about the new bases. It seems that Bolivia’s Evo Morales was not convinced either. After meeting with Uribe yesterday, TeleSur reports this morning that Morales will present a resolution at the next UNASUR meeting which would ban all foreign military bases on Latin American soil.
In Washington, the Washington Post reports that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee, has blocked remaining funds which were to be given to Mexico under the Mérida Initiative. The Senator rejected Tuesday a new State Dept. report which said Mexico was, indeed, respecting human rights in its fight against drug cartels. Under the terms of the Merida Initiative, a portion of foreign assistance depends on such reporting. But Leahy said the most recent report was in stark contradiction to others by human rights groups in Mexico who have cited numerous cases of torture and forced disappearances since the military assumed significant internal security duties in 2006. Maureen Meyer of WOLA tells the Post that, “In the area of prosecuting human rights abuses and ending the impunity, I don't believe we have seen any real progress. There is no sign that people are being held accountable. Every major human rights group has opposed releasing the money.” For its part, the Mexican government insists such incidents of abuse are isolated, even as some human rights activists say complaints of abuse have risen to 140/month this year—a jump of some 600 percent since 2006.
Also from Washington this morning, the Post has an editorial on Brazil and ethanol. In his confirmation hearing, the U.S.’s new Ambassador to Brazil, Tom Shannon, told the Foreign Relations Committee that he personally believed it would be beneficial to scale back U.S. tariffs on ethanol. This issue is a sensitive one for corn-state congressmen, but the paper argues that when the tariff comes up for renewal next year, Congress should take the bold step of not renewing it, something which Brazil, one of the world’s principal ethanol producers, would surely smile about. And, the paper also reports this morning that a lingering vacancy a top the U.S. top foreign aid agency, USAID, is raising doubts among many developing countries that President Obama is sincere about his one-time pledge to expand development assistance programs.
The AP reports on what has been weeks of tension in Haiti surrounding a vote on a new minimum wage law. However, Haitian lawmakers yesterday voted the law out of the legislative body while police and protestors clashed outside. The approved plan fell short of the $5/day wage demanded by many protestors, instead reaching a compromise of $3.75/day. That, in itself, is double the current minimum wage of $1.75/day. The raise includes wages for clothing factory workers, something President Rene Preval had previously opposed.
Finally, the LA Times has a long report on what seems to be the end, or at least close to it, of the Dole Food pesticide litigation case involving Nicaraguan workers and U.S. lawyers. LA lawyer Juan Dominguez stands accused of participating in a broad conspiracy against the company after allegedly recruiting banana plantation workers in Nicaragua to falsify health claims against the company.
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