Cat and Mouse

Events in Honduras have come down to a game of cat and mouse. After failed negotiations between Zelaya, the Honduran government, the President of Costa Rica, the Organization of American States, and the United States, Zelaya decided to camp out on the border between Nicaragua and Honduras in an effort to vie for citizen support and gain entry back into Honduras.

I don't recall any episode in the history of Latin America quite as ridiculous. There have certainly been deplorable human rights violations, military conflicts, political upheavals, and citizen revolts that destroyed local economic and political stability, but this takes the cake. The U.S. was sided with Zelaya until this past weekend when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement claiming that Zelaya's actions were impeding the negotiation process.

The Wall Street Journal ran an article yesterday written by President Micheletti that highlighted the facts - again - for an international community that is gradually beginning to realize just how mistaken they were in condemming Zelaya's removal. Fortunately, the Honduran Congress determined that allowing Zelaya to return and serve as President until January 2010 is a decision for the nation's Supreme Court - proving that President Micheletti and the Honduran Congress have held fast to their efforts to operate within the democratic processes afforded them by the Honduran Constitution.

Nicaragua is now asking Zelaya to wrap up his antics because his position on the border has halted Nicaraguan exports into Honduras - cause for concern for a nation where 25% of the population lives on less than $1.00 a day.

The story of Honduras is a story of the triumph of the rule of law (in the words of President Micheletti), the spirit of democracy, and the dangers of arrogant pride. Government officials in the twenty-first century have somehow assumed an air of entitlement. Manuel Zelaya, Hugo Chavez, and even federal authorities in the United States, often act as though their position "entitles" them to certain privileges and authorities. News flash for them all: Constitutions exist to protect the citizenry from this sense of entitlement and the negative effects over-reaching politicians can have on domestic stability. While the threat of incarceration or fines deter criminal activity on the part of the citizens, so to should a Constitution offer a threat of removal from office for elected officials who violate the terms of their office. Perhaps citizens in the U.S. ought to take a few lessons from the Hondurans before we, too, end up in a game of cat and mouse with Washington, D.C. over health care reform, fuel emissions standards, and stimulus packages. The Hondurans have proven that they don't want to be the ones standing on the border between Big Brother and Freedom.

Let Zelaya and the international community that supports him play their games.

Mice have to run out of cheese sometime, and the Honduran cats will be waiting ...