Honduras, a Tyrant Who Became a Martyr

On Tuesday, in the city of Tegucigalpa, 50,000 demonstrators showed their support to our government institutions for their performance last Sunday. Congregations decided to pronounce themselves by organizing peaceful manifestations supporting the new provisional government in different parts of the world: Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Choluteca, La Ceiba, Copan, Cortes, New Orleans, Washington D.C. and Miami.

However, the international community mercilessly repudiates our argument. The Honduran people feel neglected and frustrated when news casts show a man who has served to harm our country, as a martyr. Exactly a week ago, when I typed “Honduras” in the search engine for news articles online, the count added up to less than 400. Today, when I searched again, over 10,200 articles appeared. Where were all the newspapers, TV stations, and diplomats two weeks ago when the dilemma was escalating to its climax? Why didn’t the UN and OAS condemn Zelaya for all his crimes against the nation?

Of course, when the world witnesses the military apprehending a president and sending him into exile, disapproval is expressed unanimously. The true dilemma here is that they have neglected OUR side of the story and have decided to condemn us, the people, when a week ago the rest of the world ignored tiny Honduras, who was left alone to fight against a tyrant. They have failed to consider that our constitution is different from theirs’, and that the military followed a command given by the Supreme Court of Honduras. The military has not taken over the country, our institutions are still active.

My personal opinion lies on the side of the international community when they proclaim that there could have been a better way to trial Mr. Zelaya. Capturing him and sending him to Costa Rica was a mistake, and the price of that error may be our freedom. Nonetheless, a great majority of us feel relieved and mostly proud, knowing we have been the first to reject “El Chavismo”, and decided to protect our sovereignty. We feel safer now; sure we will have a new president in January 2010, rather than the haunting uncertainty that prevailed before this Sunday, not knowing if we would end up a replica of Venezuela.

The Honduran people are conscious of Zelayas’ and Chavezs’ lies, facts diplomats decide to omit when they sit and decide to discuss OUR destiny, with them present. This week Zelaya has lied more than ever, trying to foment his martyr-image to the world; his theatrical act is appalling. He tells the UN that he comes from a lower-class family, and blames the oligarchs for our misery. He has always been a part of the Honduran elite; his family is one of the wealthiest landowning families in the nation. He claims he never was a politician, and promises he will go back to rural Olancho to his farm after his term. But he has been involved in politics since the 1980s, and has served as a member of congress, the council for private enterprises (COHEP), and as a minister for the executive power in two occasions. He repeats to the world, that his “consult” was not binding, although as deceitful as he is, the executive power published in the official government newspaper, La Gaceta, two days before the “popular consult”, that it WAS indeed a call for a constituent assembly and not for a fourth urn in the November elections.

If our country is flawed, it is due to leaders such as Zelaya. During his term he killed the Poverty Reduction Strategy, blatantly protected corrupt officials of his government, increased our foreign debt to historical heights (after it had been condoned) and increased internal debt almost breaking retirement funds. Currently, the government works without a budget because he has failed to present it to Congress since September 2008. We encounter serious problems such as the H1N1 pandemic, the consequences of the recent earthquakes and floods, and the ever-increasing threat of organized crime and drug trafficking. But Zelaya spent millions of dollars in promoting his “non-binding survey”. Yesterday they found receipts in the presidential palace that added up to 45 million Lempiras, only in propaganda for his non-binding survey; a genuine felony, as the leader of the second poorest nation in the western hemisphere.

The world cannot condemn us, when we know both of Zelaya’s faces. WE have been personally affected by his lack of judgement, obvious ambition for power, and betrayal of his own people. We are now poorer than ever, yet I had never seen such unison of the wealthy, middle and lower classes. If the world refuses to listen to us, we have decided to make ourselves visible. We will fight, peacefully, until they listen to us, the people!

AA