Honduras Crisis Recalls Bush Support for Chavez Coup
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned to Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias to mediate the crisis in Honduras. But even as President Obama from Moscow announced, "America supports now the restoration of the democratically-elected President of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies," Republicans in Washington readied a resolution supporting the coup. If that line from the supposedly pro-democracy GOP sounds familiar, it should. Back in 2002, the Bush administration backed the Venezuelan coup that briefly ejected Hugo Chavez from power.
As I noted four years ago, the American confrontation with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez stems in part from early Bush administration support for the short--lived and ultimately unsuccessful 2002 coup that for a few days removed him from office. Chavez may well be a thug and a friend of Castro, but he was democratically elected, prompting 19 OAS member states to denounce the coup. But in Washington, press spokesman Ari Fleischer blamed Chavez for his own overthrow and signaled tacit White House support.
"We know that the action encouraged by the Chavez government provoked this crisis. According to the best information available, the Chavez government suppressed peaceful demonstrations...The results of these events are now that President Chavez has resigned the presidency."
Following the collapse of the coup, Condi Rice could only mutter, "I hope that Hugo Chavez takes the message that his people sent him that his own policies are not working for the Venezuelan people." It is no wonder that Senator Chris Dodd protested the Bush policy in Venezuela, worrying that "to stand silent while the illegal ouster of a government is occurring is deeply troubling and will have profound implications for hemispheric democracy."
Seven years later, the Obama administration is taking a much different line towards Honduras and the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya. Joining the OAS and most of the international community, President Obama condemned the coup. While Zelaya's attempt to manufacture another presidential term was illegal, so too was his overthrow according to many observers, including a Honduran military lawyer who backed the effort to depose him. Noting that "we are very clear about the fact that President Zelaya is the democratically elected president," Obama concluded:
"We do so not because we agree with him. We do so because we respect the universal principle that people should choose their own leaders, whether they are leaders we agree with or not."
As for Congressional Republicans, not so much.
For his part, South Carolina GOP Senator Jim Demint blasted Obama for a "policy that seems less about supporting the rule of law than it is about supporting particular rulers." Ever the partisan, Demint amazingly added:
"[Zelaya's] removal from office was no more a coup than was Gerald Ford's ascendence to the Oval Office or our newest colleague Al Franken's election to the Senate."
Over in the House, Florida Rep. Connie Mack is planning to introduce a resolution this week. Also supported by Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA), Dan Burton (R-IN), Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE), the resolution "expresses its strong support for the people of Honduras" and "condemns Mr. Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales for his unconstitutional and illegal attempts to alter the Constitution of Honduras" while calling "on all parties to seek a peaceful resolution that is both legal and constitutional."
On that last point, Secretary of State Clinton pointed to the Arias mediation process as a better and less volatile path forward for President Zelaya and the Micheletti government in Tegucisgalpa:
"I believe it is a better route for him [Zelaya] to follow at this time than to attempt to return in the face of the implacable opposition of the de facto regime. So, instead of another confrontation that might result in a loss of life, let's try the dialogue process and see where that leads."
As the Washington Post noted, "The new route to defusing the crisis contrasts with the tough line proposed by Zelaya's close ally, President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela." Cresencio Arcos, a former U.S. ambassador to Honduras, praised Clinton's move to isolate Chavez, "The United States seized the opportunity to take away the whole Honduran crisis from the palpable influence of the South Americans, i.e., Chávez, Kirchner, Correa, and put it under regional arbitration."
Of course, simply minimizing Chavez' influence just won't cut it for the Republican Coup Caucus in Congress. Just like President Bush.
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