Sunday, 8 November 2009

Honduras: Deal signed for Zelaya’s return, but struggle continue

by Stuart Munckton Green Left Weekly, Australia After more than 120 days of mass resistance by the poor majority against a coup regime that overthrew elected President Manuel Zelaya [pictured right], the regime has finally signed an agreement for Zelaya’s reinstatement. On October 30, Zelaya and the coup regime signed an agreement opening the way for the elected president to take office once more. However, the key demand of the mass resistance for a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution is excluded by the deal until Zelaya leaves office in late January. The National Resistance Front against the Coup (FNRG) is pledging to continue its campaign of protests around this demand and it is unclear whether it will continue with a planned boycott of the November 29 elections. Only one month away, preparations and campaigning for these presidential and Congressional elections have occurred in the context of brutal repression and the silencing of anti-coup media. This makes a free and fair vote almost certainly impossible. Although the victory is only partial and involves significant compromises, it is an example of people’s power forcing its will on one of the most extreme right-wing oligarchies in the region. Mass resistance has stopped plans to consolidate a savage dictatorship that gives free reign to the rich.

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