Did Honduras Deal Weaken Zelaya?

Sara Miller Llana
The Christian Science Monitor
November 3, 2009

When ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya and his successor, Roberto Micheletti, signed a deal last week to resolve the crisis that has crippled the Central American nation for four months, Mr. Zelaya was jubilant.

He told his supporters he expected to be back in office in a week's time.

But as the Honduran Congress, now the ultimate arbiter, prepares to decide whether that will indeed be the case the political waters are in many ways murkier than they have been since Zelaya was toppled on June 28. What first seemed like a victory for Zelaya and the diplomats who secured the deal could become a setback.

"Everyone was congratulating the victory of diplomacy on Friday," says Miguel Calix, a political analyst in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa. "If you read the deal carefully, Zelaya is weaker now than he was a week ago; the deal does not ensure that Zelaya will be president again..."

"...[The deal] provides a path forward so that preparations for the election can get underway in a very serious way," says Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, a consultant group based in New York. "What this does is it legitimizes the election. … I think that continues to be the key."

To read the full article, click here.

To speak with one of our experts on this topic, call 212-277-8384 or email communications@as-coa.org.

See more in:  Honduras, Democracy & Elections