Monday, June 29, 2009

no dictator for me, thank you

The struggle against chavismo has never been about left-right politics. It is about defending the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators. This crisis clearly delineates the problem. In failing to come to the aid of checks and balances, Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Insulza expose their true colors.

- Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Wall Street Journal

I would say their "true colors" is ignorance of the particular situation Honduras was facing. Mel Zelaya was well on his way to becoming a Honduran version of Hugo Chavez. I am proud that the Honduran institutions stood up to this despot wannabe and that our constitution and our democracy have prevailed.

As is typical, our government is composed of three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. These checks and balances were put in place precisely to negate a rogue President the ability to unravel our democracy. The "international community" needs to wake the hell up, smell the Honduran coffee, and respect the actions taken by our institutions to ensure the continuance of democracy in this endeavoring little country.

1 comment:

Damian said...

Hey, Davinci, this is your cousin Damian Tatum in New Orleans. Boy, first the earthquake and now this!

I wanted to call your folks at Paya Bay to see how they're managing during these strange times, but I haven't been able to get through. Will you please tell Lurlene that she's in my thoughts and that I hope to visit soon?

It's a pleasure reading your blog, and good to get an opinion on the political crisis from someone who has real knowledge of the situation. What's been coming out in the US has been heavily filtered and very sympathetic to Zelaya. I hope that things remain peaceful, regardless of how this constitutional flap works out.

By the way, the Honduran population of New Orleans has been very supportive of the ouster. See here: http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/many_hondurans_in_new_orleans.html

Cheers,
Damian