Polls show that Hondurans are eager for the elections to occur. They have little taste for Mr. Zelaya, who embraced the leftist populism of Hugo Chávez while in office and was trying to follow the Venezuelan's model for dismantling democratic institutions. Last month, Mr. Zelaya accepted a U.S.-brokered deal that endorsed the elections while providing for the Honduran Congress to vote on whether to restore him to office for the remainder of his term. Yet when he was not immediately returned to power, Mr. Zelaya repudiated the plan. Now he and his supporters claim the election must be regarded as illegitimate, because Congress will not vote on his status until next week. Hondurans understandably wonder whether Mr. Zelaya's intention all along was to disrupt a democratic process that will send him to a well-deserved retirement.
Unfortunately, Mr. Zelaya has the backing not only of Mr. Chávez and his satellites but also of governments such as Brazil -- with which the Obama administration hoped to forge a regional partnership. The lesson of the Honduran crisis is that the United States cannot always pursue such multilateralism and also support democracy. Too many Latin American governments are more interested in backing leaders who share their political inclinations than in upholding the rule of law. While loudly denouncing the "coup" against Mr. Zelaya, they have ignored the rigging of elections and the violent suppression of opposition by fellow leftists. In rejecting their attempt to nullify Honduras's democratic vote this Sunday, the Obama administration has taken a relatively isolated stance -- and a correct one.
- Washington Post
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