My Personal Witness of the Honduran Election

By Adolfo Franco.

Porfirio Lobo, Credito: LaPrensahn.com

It’s official—the Honduran people have voted into office a president of their own free choosing, despite the best efforts of Hugo Chavez and his allies to install a subservient clone of themselves.  By so doing, the Honduran people have demonstrated that the best strategy for defeating the assaults on freedom and democracy by leftist caudillos such as Chavez is a vigorous defense of liberty and self determination.  Little Honduras did what the United States has to date failed to do–stand up to the growing threat to U.S. interests and the security of the Hemisphere.

Fearing a loss of power through the upcoming elections, Manuel Zelaya attempted to preserve his hold on power by dismantling Honduras’ hard-won democratic institutions.  When the constitutional authorities in Honduras stepped in to prevent his planned coup and removed him from office, Chavez and his cronies threatened military intervention, with nary a criticism from the world community.  Predictably, Morales, Ortega, Correa, and other thugs added to the bullying with Argentina, Chile, Spain, and other countries shamefully joining in.  But the Honduran people held firm.

The election that I witnessed in Honduras last Sunday was the culmination of a democratic process that began in 2008, well before the events of June 2009 that led to the removal of Zelaya.  The victor Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo of the National Action Party will become Honduras’ next president on January 27, when the interim government of President Roberto Micheletti of the Liberal Party–the same Party of former president Zelaya — relinquishes office in accord with the constitution.  Prominent among the other winners of this election is Honduras’ independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal which oversaw the election with a professionalism that in the past was termed by the Organization of American States a “model” for Latin America.

Completing a process that Zelaya himself agreed to, the Honduran Congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday not to restore him to power for the interim two months until President-elect Lobo takes office.  Most stunning of all was that the verdict was delivered by Zelaya’s former colleagues in his own Liberal party, who had turned against him in opposition to his attempted coup.

Casualties of the election include the illusions of officials in the Obama Administration who not only misjudged the resolution of Micheletti and the Honduran people but naively believed that they could actually work with Chavez and other self-proclaimed enemies of the U.S. to forge a “new consensus” in Latin America.  Worse, this episode fulfills Joe Biden’s prophecy that Barack Obama would be tested with a foreign policy challenge within the first six months of his presidency–and fail.  The Obama Administration’s posture toward Honduras has been wrong-headed from the start and clearly illustrates, as President George W. Bush understood, that there are clear limits to the wisdom and effectiveness of a multilateralist foreign policy.  There is no substitute for American leadership, and neither our allies nor national interest should ever be negotiable.

When I met with U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorns in Tegucigalpa last week, I asked him how he could possibly believe that working with the Organization of American States, which is dominated by the likes of Chavez, Morales, Correa, and Ortega, could produce a result that would promote democracy and our interests.  His response was a stony silence, followed by an acknowledgement that “you may be right.”  By contrast, when I met with President Micheletti, he confirmed his resolve to do what right for Honduras without regard to consequences.

To its credit, the Obama Administration eventually realized that its approach was undermining U.S. interests and reversed course in early November, becoming a strong supporter of the democratic process in Honduras.  It is now incumbent upon the United States to press for the international community to honor the choice of the Honduran people, recognize the interim government of President Micheletti, and help ensure a seamless transition to a new government on January 27.

The election in Honduras is a shining demonstration that Latin Americans do prize democracy and freedom and are prepared to defend their institutions and sovereignty even against formidable odds.  For their exemplary accomplishment, Roberto Micheletti, the Honduran government, and most of all the Honduran people are far more deserving of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize than is Barack Obama, whose foreign policy in Latin America and elsewhere has done little to promote peace.

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