Vol. 73/No. 39      October 12, 2009

The interim president backpedaled after criticism from abroad and from his own allies at home.

“We need to lower the pressure and all begin to calm down so that we can have a dialogue,” said José Alfredo Saavedra, president of the Honduran Congress, who headed a congressional delegation that told Micheletti to reverse the decree.

Manuel Zelaya was ousted from the presidency June 28 and put on a plane to Costa Rica by the military. His presidential term would have been up five months later.

The Honduran congress then voted overwhelmingly to appoint Micheletti, a former Zelaya ally and fellow Liberal Party member, in his place.

After several attempts to return were blocked, Zelaya slipped back into the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy September 21.

The embassy is surrounded by police and soldiers who used tear gas and water cannons to chase away thousands of pro-Zelaya protesters. More than 170 people were arrested in the two days after his return.

Honduran officials had issued an ultimatum giving the Brazilian government 10 days to hand over Zelaya for arrest or take him out of the country. Along with saying he would reverse the suspension of constitutional rights, Micheletti promised September 28 that nothing would happen to the Brazilian embassy.

Both Zelaya and Micheletti are wealthy businessmen. Zelaya owns ranches and runs a timber operation. Micheletti owns a large transportation business and once ran the Honduran telephone company.

Zelaya won the presidential election in 2005. As the world economic crisis unfolded, he began to use more left-sounding rhetoric and took limited measures that were popular among working people, such as raising the minimum wage for some workers.

After returning to Honduras, Zelaya has continued to say he is willing to reach a compromise with Micheletti prior to new elections scheduled for November 29.

Honduran capitalists and foreign investors are concerned that they will lose profits if an agreement is not reached. Jesus Canahuati, vice president of the Honduran chapter of the Business Council for Latin America, told Bloomberg.com that Honduras has lost as much as $200 million in investment since Zelaya was ousted.

Washington suspended some $30 million in aid and cancelled visas for members of the de facto government to show its displeasure. But Lewis Amselem, U.S. representative to the Organization of American States, criticized Zelaya’s return to Honduras as “irresponsible and foolish.”

Four of the six presidential candidates in the upcoming election met with Zelaya at the Brazilian embassy September 24.  
 
 
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