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Manuel Zelaya

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Manuel Zelaya
President of Honduras
Disputed
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 January 2006*
Vice PresidentElvin Ernesto Santos
Arístides Mejía
Preceded byRicardo Maduro
Succeeded byRoberto Micheletti*
Personal details
Born (1952-09-20) 20 September 1952 (age 71)
Catacamas, Honduras
Political partyLiberal Party
SpouseXiomara Castro
Alma materNational Autonomous University of Honduras (Incomplete)

José Manuel Zelaya Rosales (born September 20, 1952) is a Honduran businessman and politician. A son of a wealthy businessman, he finished high school and attended college. He inherited his father's title "Mel." Zelaya was involved in his ranch, logging and timber trade businesses. He was elected President of Honduras on November 27, 2005, with a narrow margin and was inaugurated on January 27, 2006. During his presidency, Zelaya lost the support of much of his own party.[1]

Zelaya's order to hold a non-binding poll of public opinion [2][3], sheltered in Article 5 of the "Law of Citizen Participation", generally referred to as a referendum by international media, led to a political crisis and a military coup against Manuel Zelaya. [4][5][6][7][8][9] The poll intended to assess the population's desire for a National Constituent Assembly. The Supreme Court of Honduras, Congress, the country's attorney general, and the supreme electoral tribunal opposed the poll. [10][11][12] Congress, including Zelaya's own party, began discussing how to impeach Zelaya.[13] A first instance court in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa deemed the poll unconstitutional, despite the government's claims that it was a non-binding opinion poll, and not a binding referendum about forms of government, presidential periods, re-election or Honduran territory, as Zelaya's opponents claimed. The Honduran Constitution forbids reforms to the articles in the Constitution that refer to these aspects, but it says nothing about the conformation of a National Constitutent Assembly, with a mandate to write a completely new constitution. Zelaya's non-binding opinion poll intended to ask Hondurans what they felt about including a fourth ballot box in November 2009's elections, to ask Hondurans if they wanted to conform such a National Constituent Assembly. This November referendum would have needed additional 2/3 of the votes in Congress in order to take place. This was the case he presented to the court, but his participation in the process was denied. Zelaya unwillingly complied with court orders revoking decrees PCM-005-2009, PCM-019-2009 and PCM-027-2009, which referred to the poll as a consultation. However, the judicial power never treated formally Zelaya's last decree PCM-020-2009, which explained that the Executive intended to perform a non-binding poll, which the Honduran Constitution does not forbid and is sheltered in article 5 of the "Law of Citizen Participation". Therefore, president Zelaya accused the court of judicial activism and violation of the Constitution. The crisis escalated when the court violated the principle of a unitary executive and ordered the head of the Honduran military staff, General Romeo Vásquez Velásquez not to distribute the poll materials. When General Vásquez denied to distribute the materials, he was dismissed by president Zelaya. The case moved up the Honduran Supreme Court, which ruled the dismissal of General Vásquez unconstitutional. Days after, president Zelaya formalized decree PCM-020-2009 on 26 June. The president was kidnapped by the Army on June 28, 2009 and expatriated to Costa Rica, in violation of the Honduran penal code, something that has been confirmed by the legal advisor to the Honduran Armed Forces, Col. Bayardo Inestroza [14] The head of Congress Roberto Micheletti has attempted to succeed him formally, but no country has recognized the change in office.[15][16][17] Zelaya could face 20 years in prison if he is arrested.[18]

Background

Zelaya was born to Manuel Zelaya Ordoñez y Hortensia Rosales Sarmiento.[19]

Zelaya was born the oldest of four children in Juticalpa, Olancho. He attended Niño Jesús de Praga y Luis Landa elementary and the Instituto Salesiano San Miguel. He studied Industrial Engineering in The National University of Honduras (UNAH) but left after four years with 11 courses passed to engage fully in the agroforestry business sector. Two of his brothers remain alive, one is Carlos Armando and the other is Marco Antonio, while his mother, Ortensia Rosales de Zelaya, has been described as his best campaigner. He has engaged in various business activities, specifically timber and cattle, which were handed down to him by his late father. He is now a landowner in the department of Olancho. His family first lived in Copán then they moved east to Olancho.

Political career

He joined the Liberal Party of Honduras (Partido Liberal de Honduras, PLH) in 1970 and became active a decade later. He was a deputy in the National Congress three consecutive times between 1985 and 1998. He held many positions within the PLH and was Minister for Investment in charge of the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS) in a previous PLH government. During the government of Carlos Roberto Flores Zelaya introduced an Open counties programme to decentralize decision making and return power to the local communities. He used both the official division according to Municipality and another method which categorised people according to their indigenous or traditional communities, with said categorisation creating 297 different groups and he planned to revive this scheme during his presidency.[citation needed]

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In the 2005 presidential primaries his faction was called the Movimienta Esperanza Liberal (MEL). He received 52% of the 289,300 Liberal votes, to 17% for Jaime Rosenthal Oliva and 12% for Gabriela NúÑez, the candidate of the Nueva Mayoría faction.[20] During the election campaign Zelaya promised to double police numbers from 9,000 to 18,000. He also promised to initiate a programme of re-education amongst the Mara Salvatrucha gangs.[citation needed]

Presidency

George W. Bush and Manuel Zelaya greet each other in New York, 18 September 2006.
File:Zelaya Raul Fidel Castro.jpg
Manuel Zelaya and his daughter with Fidel Castro, Raul Castro at Castro's house in Havana, 2008

General opinions about his presidency were very divided by political, ideological, party and class lines, although by the time of his ouster in 2009, polls showed a meager 25% supported his tenure.[21]

People have expressed their opposition to both his foreign policy, particularly his alliance with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, friendship with Cuba's Raúl Castro and his adhering Honduras to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas as well as for his periodic attacks on the United States, and periodic confrontations with the business sector.

On February 22, 2008, Zelaya called on the United States to legalize drugs, in order, he said, to prevent the majority of violent murders occurring in Honduras. Honduras is used by cocaine smugglers as a transit point between Colombia and the US. Honduras, with a population of 7 million, suffers an average of 12 murders a day, an estimated 70% of which result from the international drug trade. He also said that Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico face the same problem.[22]

On July 22, 2008, Zelaya revealed that he was seeking to incorporate the country into the ALBA. In fact, he said that the country had been "observer member" "four or more months".[23]

The Economist gave Zelaya mixed reviews for his first year in office, saying that "Despite success in fulfilling some of his campaign promises [...] Zelaya’s lack of a coherent programme has limited the government’s ability to address Honduras’s long-standing problems," and that "introducing far-reaching reforms will be difficult" in the face of vigorous opposition and "simmering social tensions."[24] At the time of his ouster, the newsmagazine said "Mr Zelaya's presidency has been marked by a rise in crime, corruption scandals and economic populism".[25]

In 2008, Zelaya's popular approval dropped amid the 2007–2008 world food price crisis and worsening drug-related violence that gave Honduras one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America. [26]

On April 1 2009, Zelaya announced desire to start monitoring all cellular phones in the country. The highly regarded National Committee for Human Rights (CODEH) has called the wiretapping "police terrorism" and has warned that they could lead to the formation of a national police state.[27]

Zelaya refused to give money to National Electoral Tribunal and the National Persons Registry, which oversee elections in Honduras. It is believed that the reason was to "financially asphyxiate the electoral process".[27]

Conflict with media

On May 24, 2007, Zelaya ordered ten two-hour cadenas (mandatory government broadcasts) on all television and radio stations, "to counteract the misinformation of the news media."[28] The move, while legal, was fiercely criticized by the country's main journalists' union, and Zelaya was dubbed "authoritarian" by his opposition.[29] Ultimately, the broadcasts were scaled back to a one-hour program on the government's plans to expand telephone service, a half hour on new electrical power plants and a half-hour about government revenues. According to the University of New Mexico's electronic bulletin NotiCen, "Zelaya's contention that the media distort his efforts is not without merit," citing reports which gave the public the impression that murder rates were rising, when they actually fell by 3% in 2006.[28]

Journalists who have criticized Zelaya's rule have been murdered and harassed.[30] Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the United Nations criticized murders of journalists during Zelaya rule.[31] Other critical journalists, such as Dagoberto Rodriguez and Hector Geovanny Garcia, have been forced to exile because of constant murder threats.[32]

In 2008, The Organization of American States (OAS) accused Zelaya of imposing "subtle censorship" in Honduras. A study, "Censura sutil en Honduras: abuso de publicidad oficial y otras formas de censura indirecta", was released in September 2008.[33]

Referendum

Main article: Honduran constitutional referendum, 2009

On November 11, 2008, Zelaya announced that he is seeking a fourth ballot box to be installed at polling places on November 29, 2009 (alongside presidential, congressional and local elections) on holding a National Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and allow him to run for reelection.[27][34] Then on March 24, 2009, Zelaya issued executive decree PCM-05-2009 for the National Statistical Institute to hold the national referendum by June 28, 2009.[27] Zelaya has refused to publish the full text of PCM-05-2009.[27]

Using congressional majority, the president can amend the constitution without any referendum. However, eight articles can't be amended. These include term limits, system of government that is permitted, and process of presidential succession.[27] Because president can amend 368 of 375 articles without any constituent assembly, Zelaya's true intention appeared to be extending his rule.[27] Honduran political analyst Juan Ramon Martinez has argued that Zelaya is attempting to discredit democracy, "There appears to be a set of tactics aimed at discrediting institutions... he has repeated on several occasions that democratic institutions are worthless and that democracy has not helped at all".[27]

The Supreme Court in Honduras ruled that the referendum would be unlawful because of the constitutional ban on reforming some of its clauses.[35] Zelaya rejected the ruling and dismissed Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, chief of armed forces of Honduras, as he had refused to help with the referendum because he did not want to violate the law of the land. Both the Honduran Supreme Court and the Honduran Congress deemed the dismissal of Velásquez to be unlawful.[35][36]

Not only the Supreme Court but the Congress of Honduras, the attorney general of Honduras, and the top national electoral body declared Zelaya's proposed referendum to be illegal.[11][12][13] Congress began to discuss means to impeach Zelaya.[37] On June 27 and again on June 30, 2009, thousands of protesters opposed to Zelaya's rule marched through the capital city.[37]

The Supreme Court, the Congress, and the military have recommended that voters stay home because the referendum would be neither fair to nor safe for voters. The National Human Rights Commissioner, Ramón Custodio, said, "I would tell the people to stay calmly at home in order not to get involved in any incident or any violence by going to vote 'no,' because they might be assaulted by these mobs," referring to Zelaya's supporters. However, unions and farm groups supported the referendum as a necessary precursor to economic reforms favoring Honduras's poor majority.[26]

Zelaya has supported Foreign Minister Patricia Rodas as the next president. Critics believe Rhodes would have become Zelaya's puppet until Zelaya's re-election in 2013.[19]

Ouster

Main article: 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis
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On June 28, 2009, President Zelaya was seized by soldiers, acting on the orders of the Honduran Supreme Court,[38] and taken to an air force base.[39][40] Honduran radio station HRN reported that Zelaya had been sent into exile. He has been taken to Costa Rica, a neutral country.[41] Article 102 of the Honduran Constitution states that no Honduran can be expatriated or handed over to a foreign State. [42][43][44]

Following his ouster, Zelaya spoke to the media from his forced exile in San Jose and described the events "a coup" and "a kidnapping." He stated that soldiers pulled him from his bed and assaulted his guards. Zelaya stated that he will not recognize anyone named as his successor and that he wants to finish his term in office. He also stated that he will now be meeting with diplomats,[45] and plans to attend the Summit of Central American Presidents in Managua, Nicaragua to be held June 30, 2009.[46]

The National Congress unanimously voted to accept what they said is Zelaya's letter of resignation, but Zelaya said he did not write the letter.[47]

National Congress President Roberto Micheletti, the next person in the presidential line of succession, assumed the presidency following Zelaya's removal from office.[48] National Congress supported unanimously Micheletti, although members of the pro-Zelaya Democratic Unification Party were not allowed to vote.

Latin American nations as well as the United States, Spain, France, and others, have publicly condemned the forced removal of Zelaya and many have labeled it as a coup d'état. U.S. President Barack Obama said "We believe that the coup was not legal and that President Zelaya remains the President of Honduras."[49][50] Hugo Chávez threatened to invade Honduras.[51] Micheletti's government says to have received support from Israel and Taiwan.[52] UnoAmerica (Union of Democratic American Organizations), an international organization founded by Venezuelan opposition organizer Alejandro Peña-Esclusa, has recognized Micheletti and the new government. [53] Venezuela has said it would suspend oil shipments, and Honduras's neighbors—El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua—announced that they would stop overland trade.[54] A one-page United Nations resolution, passed by acclamation in the 192-member body, condemned the removal of Mr. Zelaya as a coup and demanded his “immediate and unconditional restoration” as president.[55] The resolution calls "firmly and categorically on all states to recognise no government other than that" of Mr Zelaya.[56]

See also

References

  1. ^ Profile: Honduras' Manuel Zelaya
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ "Honduras Lurches Toward Crisis Over Election". [...] wants to hold a referendum on Sunday [...]
  5. ^ "Honduran leader forced into exile". His arrest came just before the start of a referendum ruled illegal [...]
  6. ^ "Honduran President Ousted by Military". After Congress declared the Sunday referendum illegal [...]
  7. ^ "Honduran leader defies top court". He wants to hold a referendum on Sunday [...]
  8. ^ "Honduras supreme court 'ordered army coup'". [...] in recent days ahead of today's planned referendum [...]
  9. ^ "Honduran president calls arrest a 'kidnapping'". Zelaya was detained by army troops early Sunday, shortly before he was to have held a controversial referendum [...]
  10. ^ "Honduran president seeks exile". Al Jazeera. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  11. ^ a b ALBA bloc leaders' main obsession: indefinite rule Cite error: The named reference "alba" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Honduras Lurches Toward Crisis Over Election Cite error: The named reference "wsj1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "Honduras Crisis Opens Regional Rift". Cite error: The named reference "wsj2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Bayardo Inestroza Ejercito Violo la Ley".
  15. ^ "Honduran Congress names provisional president". CNN. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  16. ^ "New Honduran government under pressure to quit". UTV News. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  17. ^ "Comunicado del Buró de Coordinación del Movimiento de Países No Alineados sobre la situación creada como resultado del golpe de Estado militar contra el Presidente constitucional de la República de Honduras". MNOAL. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  18. ^ Honduran AG: ousted leader faces 20 years prison
  19. ^ a b [3]
  20. ^ U.C. San Diego Library, Latin American election results.
  21. ^ AngusReid, President Zelaya Drops to 25% in Honduras
  22. ^ "Zelaya sugiere a EUA legalizar drogas". La Prensa (in Spanish). February 23, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  23. ^ [4]
  24. ^ "Honduras politics: Mixed report card for Zelaya". Economist Intelligence Unit. May 10, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  25. ^ [5]
  26. ^ a b Weissert, Will (June 27, 2009). "Honduran leader pushes ahead with divisive vote". The Miami Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h 21st Century Socialism Comes to the Honduran Banana Republic. Council on Hemispheric Affairs
  28. ^ a b "HONDURAS' PRESIDENT TAKES ON MEDIA MOGULS FOR ACCESS TO THE PEOPLE". Access my library. 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  29. ^ Grant, Will (May 25, 2007). "Honduras TV gets government order". BBC News. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  30. ^ Journalist murdered following threats, government harassment of critical radio station
  31. ^ [6]
  32. ^ [7]
  33. ^ Honduras: Government advertising allocation as 'subtle censorship'
  34. ^ "Zelaya Leadership Analysis". Honduras News. 2009-05-29.
  35. ^ a b Cuevas, Freddy (June 26, 2009). "Honduras heads toward crisis over referendum". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  36. ^ "Honduran leader defies top court". BBC News. June 26, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  37. ^ a b Luhnow, David (June 27, 2009). "Honduras crisis opens regional rift". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  38. ^ "Leader's Ouster Not a Coup, Says the Honduran Military".
  39. ^ Flores, Alex (June 28, 2009). "Presencia de nicas y venezolanos en Honduras aceleró captura de Zelaya". El Heraldo (in Spanish). Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  40. ^ "Secretary: Soldiers arrest Honduran president". Yahoo News. Associated Press. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  41. ^ Cuevas, Freddy (June 28, 2009). "Honduran military sends president into exile". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ ""Un regreso al país en este momento podría desatar un baño de sangre"". 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  43. ^ "Honduran Episcopal Conference's Communiqué" (PDF). 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-07-05. (english)
  44. ^ ""Constitution of Honduras, with reforms (in spanish)"". Retrieved July 7th, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. ^ "Honduran president calls arrest a 'kidnapping'". The Washington Post. Associated Press. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  46. ^ "Exiled Zelaya insists he is rightful Honduran president". Yahoo News. Agence France-Presse. June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
  47. ^ Weissert, Will (June 28, 2009). "Honduran military ousts president ahead of vote". Yahoo News. Associated Press. Retrieved June 29, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ Bremer, Catherine (June 28, 2009). "Q+A: Honduras president ousted in military coup". Reuters. Retrieved June 29, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  49. ^ "Obama says coup in Honduras is illegal". Reuters. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  50. ^ "Obama Says Coup in Honduras Would Set a "Terrible Precedent"". ABC News. 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-06-30. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  51. ^ Venezuela's Chavez threatens invasion of Honduras
  52. ^ "Micheletti, Vowing Zelaya Prosecution, Open to Talks". Bloomberg. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  53. ^ "UnoAmérica recognizes Roberto Micheletti". Diario LaPrensa.hn. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  54. ^ "Two Hondurans Headed for Clash". Washington Post. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  55. ^ "U.N. Backs Ousted Honduran Leader". The New York Times. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  56. ^ "UN backs Honduras leader's return". BBC News. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
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Political offices
Preceded by President of Honduras
Disputed since 2009
2006–present 		Succeeded by
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