A deal brings hope of an end to the political crisis in Honduras
FOUR months after Manuel Zelaya was hauled out of bed at gunpoint, flown to Costa Rica in a military plane, and replaced by Roberto Micheletti as president of Honduras, negotiators for the two sides have reached an agreement to put an end to the country’s political crisis. On Thursday October 29th, representatives of both the deposed and de facto presidents declared they would ask the Congress—which voted to name Mr Micheletti president after Mr Zelaya was exiled—to hold a new vote on whether to reinstate him for the remaining three months of his term. They pledged to abide by the result.
The deal was hailed for its importance in the consolidation of democracy in the region. There is no doubt that the agreement represents a significant victory for foreign leaders, and particularly for Barack Obama, whose decision to send a high-level diplomatic mission to Honduras two days earlier provided the decisive push to conclude the talks. It establishes both a path for a possible return to office for Mr Zelaya and stops him from calling a constituent assembly, a body with the job of rewriting the constitution. His opponents say this would have enabled him to eliminate the country’s ban on presidential re-election. ...
