Out with the coup!
On 5th July, tens of thousands of Hondurans moved to the airport of Tegucigalpa to await the return of the ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, who ultimately could not return to his country. They defied the forces of repression and suffered two fatal casualties and tens of wounded. It was a great demonstration of resistance against the military coup d`etat had toppled Zelaya and driven him out of the country.
This coup reminds us of the numerous similar events of our immediate past when such coups used to be very frequent in Latin America and in other parts of the world. That may be why this piece of news caused a tremendous international impact and massive repudiation from the toiling masses all over the world, especially on the Latin American continent.
Pro-coup unity of the Honduran bourgeoisie
When we analyse the situation of the country, we can see that this coup was the outcome of a very broad reactionary front of practically all the sectors of the Honduran bourgeoisie. Behind it, there are the two traditional bourgeois political organisations: the National Party (conservative) and the Liberal Party, of which Zelaya was a member, the Supreme Court, the Congress, mass media, Honduran Church and the armed forces (as the promoters and the instrument of the action).
Manuel Zelaya is a bourgeois president, stemming out of the large landowners oligarchy who doe not represent the interests of the toiling masses. But his rapprochement to the countries influenced by Chavism and, essentially the attempt to achieve a re-election not regarded by the Establishment and rejected by most bourgeoisie, finally made his permanence in power intolerable for most bourgeoisie and the Honduran armed forces.
Repression against the people
However, the coup makers did not wish to appear as what they were and seeing that they could rely on the support from most of the institutions of the regime, such as the Supreme Curt of Justice and the Congress, tried to conceal the coup under a layer of legality and accused Zelaya of a number of “crimes” and remove him from office “constitutionally”. It was even the Congress itself who appointed a new “civil president” coming from the same Liberal Party, Roberto Micheletti.
And yet, regardless all this cloak of legality, their real nature and their intentions were revealed immediately: they decreed a curfew, closed down the media that they could not control (such as Radio Globo and Canal 36) arrested hundreds of opponents, repressed ruthlessly demonstrations of protest causing several mortal casualties and many wounded. There can be no doubt that it is a coup against democratic liberties and against Honduran people.
Very reactionary bourgeoisie and army
On the other hand, the current Honduran political regime is based on a very reactionary and oligarchic Constitution, passed in 1982. At that time Honduras was “an aircraft carrier” of the USA that served as a base for the “contra” guerrilla that fought against the Sandinist government in Nicaragua and to help the Salvadoran government to fight against the FMLN
During all that time, the American ambassador was the infamous CIA agent, John Negroponte, who not only organised the operation described above but also helped the Honduran bourgeoisie to create the “death squads” that “eliminated· workers’ leaders and left wingers and so “avoided” an overt civil war in the country.
The main cadres and current leaders of the Honduran armed forces gained their first experience in those days and furthermore, went through special training in the famous “School of Americas” for Latin American military men – actually based in Fort Benning, Georgia, USA). That is the case of army general Romeo Vasquez, main military leader of the coup as well as air force general, Luis Javier Prince Suazo. That is to say, it is this bourgeoisie and these armed forces that are now enacting the coup.
A deeply colonised country
Honduras, with just over 7 million inhabitants, is the second poorest country in Central America and one of the poorest on the continent as a whole.
Their economy is still based on agriculture, one part of which is for subsistence and the other, in the possession of the oligarchy producing bananas, coffee and sugar for export. Taking into account also the existence of a new sector of textile maquilas, 70% the destination of 70% of their exports is USA. Another important source of income is from the money transfers from the Hondurans who have had to migrate, especially to the USA.
In other words, the bourgeoisie has actually allowed the country to become a colony of an imperialist power, and this economic configuration is a key issue to understand the possible evolution of the situation.
It is necessary to beat the coup
We have already said that Zelaya is a bourgeois president and that, because of his social origin as a large landowner, he does not represent the interests of the toiling masses. And yet he was elected by the will of the people and consequently, from the IWL standpoint, only the Honduran toiling masses can define whether Zelaya or any other president should stay or go.
That is why we believe that what we need is the most ample national and international mobilisation to defeat the military coup in Honduras. The elections that took Zelaya to power must be respected. That is why we believe that the first demand must be that Zelaya must be reinstated to his post.
What is the policy of imperialism?
American imperialism supported all the measures (such as the resolution of the Supreme Court or the vote taken in the Honduran Congress that could prevent Zelaya from achieving his re-election, and so force him to negotiate with the opposition, but this time did not support the coup as they used to do traditionally. So the coup appears as an rash decision of the Honduran bourgeoisie who got overexcited in order to press Zelaya.
This is what explains that, apart from the expected repudiation by organisations of the toiling masses and international demonstrations against the coup, the coup administration suffers an international isolation that has but few precedents.
Such organisation in the service of the UN and OEA and the governments of practically all the countries, such as USA and EU made statements against the coup, have not yet acknowledged the Micheletti administration and demand that Zelaya be restored. Even the Venezuelan Hugo Chavez, Brazilian Lula and other governments praised the standpoint assumed by the president of the USA, Barack Obama.
Is there a change in imperialism?
This current situation (imperialism and its international institutions opposing a right-wing coup) stands in blaring contrast with their attitude in the past. Possibly many workers may wonder whether Barrack’s electoral triumph has brought about a deep change in the policy of imperialism.
The answer is necessarily a complex one. There has evidently been a change of the form or political tactics contrasting with Bush’s. But essentially, it is the same policy of defence of interests of imperialists against hose of the peoples.
American imperialism has been compelled to switch to a different policy regarding military coups firstly due to the defeat they are suffering in the war and occupation of Iraq and the way they got mired in Afghanistan and also due to the failure of such attempts at coups as in 2002, in Venezuela against Chávez. These and other facts spelled the defeat of the “war on terror” and of the project “New American Project” encouraged by Bush after11 September 2001.
“Democratic reaction”
That is why, after all these defeats, imperialism stakes on “peace negotiations in the Middle East and all over the world and on bourgeois democratic regimes to take all the struggles for liberation to pieces and so deviate and halt all the processes of revolutionary ascent of the masses. It is a different balance between “the carrot and the stick”: the main military effort is now centred round the need to win the war in Afghanistan and try to break up other processes of struggles.
This policy, which we call “democratic reaction” hinges round, among other, to negotiate and give space to governments of class collaboration, whether they happen to be of popular front, left populist, such as Lula and Chavez, so that they, with all their prestige, control the dissatisfaction of the masses about the economic crisis and capitalist exploitation and all the mobilisation that these spawn.
Within the framework of this policy, and with the main concern of imperialism centred round Middle East and Central Asia, a military coup in a Central American country only helps to “destabilise” the region, because it can spawn massive resistance and produces conflicts with popular fronts and left populist administration. That is why this is at present against the current imperialist policy and their more strategic plans. That is why we can witness the unprecedented anti-coup unity surfaced.
Resistance accrues
It may seem that the coup makers are in control of the situation in Honduras and the acted tough about Zelaya’s return to office. However, it is hard to imagine that – isolated internationally and with no acknowledgement of any foreign power of international organism or the main countries in the region – a government emerged from a coup can get consolidated and stay on.
And this “crisis up above” begins to produce a double effect. On the one hand, sectors of the Honduran bourgeoisie are already beginning to criticise that callousness of the new government and demand that the proposal of the UN and OEA be accepted to negotiate.
On the other hand, cracks are beginning to appear that may preannounce a leap in the mobilisation of the masses. In a letter date d 5 July, correspondents from popular resistance reported that “The greatest mobilisations in the history of Honduras have been taking place. Yesterday about 100 000 people walked out and the are even more today. Both displaying great fighting spirit. From this point of view, street demonstrations have reached their peak. The army responded with gunfire when the masses tried to seize the airport when the president’s aeroplane was trying to land; two people were killed. Yet this street struggle has its limitations: Mel Zelaya himself, through radio links is trying to pour bucketfuls of cold water to preserve the peaceful character of non-confrontation”. To put it in other word, the possibility begin to dawn of the coup to be defeated by the activity of massive mobilisation.
No to the negotiation behind the backs of Honduran people
At the same time, it would be an absolute mistake to that imperialism, the UN and OEA would be firm defenders of democracy in Honduras or that they would advance till oligarchy or coups making military men are punished.
The truth is that they have already started pressing for a negotiation between the coup makes and Zelaya that would give room for a negotiated “solution”. For example, Brazilian Foreign Office (at present very close to Obama policy) said that, apart from the return of Zelaya, “the only way that can lead to a serious solution would be to hold presidential elections summoned for November”. (Folha de Sao Paulo, 6/7/09)
That means a negotiation to save the “democratic continuity” and the current imperialist policy but essentially it would be the triumph of the coup for coup makers would get away with their wrongdoings and it would not be the Honduran people who would decide whether Zelaya can or cannot be re-elected.
That is why IWL-FI call on all the organisations of workers, social, democratic, popular and of the left to redouble the international campaign against the military coup in Honduras and solidarity with Honduran people, essentially in Central America and Latin America. Only popular mobilisation inside the country (demonstrations, general strike, etc) and international can totally defeat the coup. Just as we have already pointed out, we believe that the central point round which the campaign should hinge is: “Down with the coup and let Zelaya resume his mandate in office! All our support to the heroic struggle of Honduran people against the coup!”
At the same time, faced with the possibility of negotiations, we believe also that we must discuss No negotiations with coup makers! And Punishment to all those involved in the coup, whether civilians or military men!
Furthermore, there can be no real democratic liberties in Honduras as long as the reactionary 1982 Constitution is in force. That is why we propose that, together with the defeat of the coup, it is necessary to summon a democratic and sovereign Constituents Assembly to put an end to the authoritarian two-party regime and to listen to popular demands of land, jobs, political and trade union liberties.
