HONDURAS
One Hundred Days Lobbying For
International Recognition
By Thelma Mejía
TEGUCIGALPA (IPS) - In his first one
hundred days in office, Honduran
President Porfirio Lobo has lobbied hard
for international recognition of his
government, in order to pull the country
out of the isolation it has faced since
the Jun. 28, 2009 coup that overthrew
Manuel Zelaya.
Since Lobo was sworn in on Jan. 27,
Honduras has restored diplomatic ties
with 51 countries, according to the
Foreign Ministry.
But the country's reinsertion in
subregional and regional bodies remains
uncertain, as in the case of the Central
American Integration System (SICA) and
the Organisation of American States
(OAS).
Relations have been normalised with the
United Nations, where the new ambassador
is Lizzie Flores, the daughter of former
president Carlos Flores (1998-2001), of
the opposition Liberal Party.
Lobo represents the right-wing National
Party, while Zelaya belonged to
Honduras's other traditional party, the
centre-right Liberal Party.
But after he became president, Zelaya
alienated his own party and the rest of
the country's conservative elites when
he veered to the left, and his attempt
to organise a non-binding Jun. 28
referendum on electing a constituent
assembly to reform the constitution
triggered the coup, which ushered in a
political crisis that has left the
country heavily polarised.
Good news was not awaiting Lobo when he
reached his 100th day in office
Thursday. OAS Secretary General José
Miguel Insulza told the Honduran daily
Tiempo that the regional body would not
discuss the question of the Central
American country's reinsertion until
December.
The president and his advisers had hoped
to achieve that goal in June.
Insulza, who took part Tuesday in the
ceremony held to launch a truth
commission that over the next eight
months will investigate the events
leading up to, during and after the
coup, said Honduras must also meet other
conditions, besides the creation of the
commission.
He cited, for example, the need for an
investigation into reported human rights
violations and for guarantees that would
allow Zelaya, who faces lawsuits in
Honduran courts, to return to the
country.
Political analyst Ernesto Paz said the
OAS wants to wait until December, to
have the conclusions of the truth
commission in hand. "The truth
commission will presumably release its
results then, so they are waiting for
the report before deciding on Honduras's
reincorporation, which makes sense," he
said.
Paz told IPS that in his first few
months in office, "the president has
shown himself to be a centrist leader
who has forged agreements to achieve a
certain minimum level of governance, in
order to slowly build an atmosphere of
calm and negotiation."
He also said Zelaya's return from exile
in the Dominican Republic would be one
of the keys to the normalisation of the
country's international relations.
Zelaya, who had slipped back into the
country in September and was holed up in
the Brazilian embassy for four months,
was allowed to fly to the Dominican
Republic the day Lobo was sworn in.
In the analyst's view, the ousted
president's return "is extremely
important for reconciliation, and if he
comes back before December, the
country's reinsertion in the regional
bodies might be just around the corner."
International pressure was ratcheted up
Tuesday, when a majority of the
presidents of the 12-member Union of
South American Nations (UNASUR)
threatened to boycott the May 18
EU-Latin America/Caribbean summit in
Madrid if Lobo attended.
The next day, Lobo said he would
probably not take part in the summit. "I
do not wish to cause problems, and if I
have to make the sacrifice in order to
avoid triggering another unnecessary
conflict, I will think it over and reach
the best decision," he said.
On Thursday, Honduran foreign minister
Mario Canahuati announced that Lobo
would not attend the main summit, but
would take part in a meeting between
Central American and EU leaders the day
after in Madrid.
Eugenio Sosa, a sociologist, told IPS
that "these rearrangements and schedule
changes make the recognition of Honduras
-- Lobo's main focus in his first 100
days -- an uphill task."
Sosa said that in terms of international
legitimacy, UNASUR is the bloc that is
most staunchly opposed to recognising
Lobo, who won a landslide victory in the
Nov. 29 elections.
Support for the elections was
conditioned by UNASUR and most of the
international community on Zelaya's
reinstatement to finish out his term,
which ended in January.
Of the 12 members of the South American
bloc, only Colombia and Peru have
recognised the Lobo administration.
Sosa said that at any rate, Zelaya's
return would not be as easy as it might
seem. "Honduran society is highly
polarised over this issue; the Zelaya
question is more divisive than the
existing radical left-wing and orthodox
right-wing ideological positions."
In the view of the analysts consulted by
IPS, Lobo's challenge is to strike a
balance between his foreign policy
priorities and domestic concerns, which
have taken a back seat to the urgent
need for recognition by the
international community. |
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