Behind the Honduran coup
Tuesday 07 July 2009
Steve MatherPressure is mounting on the leaders of the coup d'etat in Honduras. The reactionary ruling elite's attempt to prevent progressive politics taking root in one of the poorest countries in the world is starting to look isolated.
The United Nations and the Organisation of American States - hardly radical institutions - have said in no uncertain terms that coup leader Roberto Micheletti and his amigos in the armed forces cannot be allowed to remain in power.
The US seems to have grudgingly come to the same conclusion and even the World Bank has decided to suspend aid to Honduras while the coup leaders remain in power. When the forces of imperialism themselves turn against you, it's time to get worried.
The irony is that exiled President Manuel Zelaya and Micheletti are former allies and members of the same party.
Zelaya is no peasant, nor is he a prole. He is a fully paid-up member of the ruling class. He was born into great privilege in a part of the world where extreme wealth sits offensively and often shamelessly alongside dire poverty.
Not that long ago, he was supporting the free-trade agreement CAFTA, which follows the strict neoliberal line on privatisation for profits and opening borders for foreign companies to exploit working people.
However, Zelaya apparently became disillusioned with the lack of results his government got from free-market fundamentalism.
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/features/behind_the_honduran_coup