Honduras takes a step forward

Since President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown and exiled by a right-wing coup on June 28 of this year, there has been an impasse between Zelaya and his followers and the supporters of the regime installed by the coup, headed by former congressional leader Roberto Micheletti. Almost all countries in the hemisphere have denounced the coup and attempted to pressure Micheletti to step down so that Zelaya can return to power, but Micheletti has been hanging on in the hope that national elections scheduled for November 29 will divert the world's attention from the situation. 

A mediation effort promoted by the Obama administration and headed by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias produced a plan whereby Zelaya would be returned to power under amnesty and with reduced powers, in exchange for concessions to the coup regime on the running of the elections. From the start, Zelaya was willing to accept this plan, but negotiations always broke down because Micheletti and his colleagues would not accept Zelaya's return.  On September 21, Zelaya managed to get into Honduras and has been in the Brazilian embassy ever since, while the Micheletti regime has done its best to suppress anti-coup protests by labor unions, farmers and other people's sectors.

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