Honduran bishop claims wealthy elite behind Zelaya's ouster.

Actually what Zelaya proposed was a ballot question as part of the presidential election that would ask voters if they wanted a constitutional assembly to change the constitution. It seems a bit difficult to understand how this would threaten democracy. What it would do is allow changes to the constitution that the elite would not like. Of course the most pernicious would be that the president could run for more than one term. This is a provision that Arias in Costa Rica managed to ram through and also Uribe in Colombia can serve more than one term. Of course it doesn't matter in these cases since these presidents are not threatening to elites. It is Chavez in the background that the Honduran elite worry about.

""Honduran bishop says wealthy elite were behind ouster of president

EUGENE, Oregon (CNS) -- A Catholic bishop in western Honduras said members of the country's wealthy elite were behind the ouster of President Manuel ZelayaManuel Zelaya. Bishop Luis Santos Villeda of Santa Rosa de Copan also said the country needs a dialogue between the elite and Honduras' poor and working-class citizens. "Some say Manuel Zelaya threatened democracy by proposing a constitutional assembly. But the poor of Honduras know that Zelaya raised the minimum salary. That's what they understand. They know he defended the poor by sharing money with mayors and small towns. That's why they are out in the streets closing highways and protesting (to demand Zelaya's return)," the bishop told Catholic News Service. In a July 30 telephone interview, he said it is misleading to consider Honduras a democracy, either before or after the June 28 coup. "There has never been a real democracy in Honduras. All we have is an electoral system where the people get to choose candidates imposed from above. The people don't really have representation, whether in the Congress or the Supreme Court, which are all chosen by the rich. We're the most corrupt country in Central America, and we can't talk about real democracy because the people don't participate in the decisions," he said.""""

NOTE: Bishop Villeda may find himself in trouble with his bosses since the Catholic Hierarchy has come out in favor of the coup citing among other things their worry about Zelaya becoming another Chavez. Chavez hasnt idyllic relations with the Catholic hierarchy in Venezuela!

The following excerpts are from Reuters.

""""Honduran Catholic hierarchy opposes Zelaya, Chavez
Wed Jul 15, 2009 6:41pm EDT
By Daniel Trotta

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' powerful Roman Catholic Church has backed the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya, surrendering a chance to be an impartial mediator because it would rather take sides in order to counter the influence of Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo ChavezHugo Chavez.

The political forces and military that toppled Zelaya on June 28 cited Chavez as a factor in their coup, saying they feared the Honduran president was adopting the Chavez brand of socialism and political tactics.

They accused Zelaya of violating the constitution by seeking to extend his rule through the lifting of presidential term limits, as Chavez has done" """"

NOTE: At one time Liberation Theology was prominent in the thinking of some Catholic Clerics. In earlier periods some of the clergy were active in movements to help the campesinos. The US wanted Honduras to go to war with Nicaragua as a way of getting rid of the Sandanista government.

""""Many priests supported campesino movements in the 1970s, and some were killed for it by the military. In the 1980s the bishops were strong enough to play a key role in resisting pressure from the United States for Honduras to go to war with Nicaragua.""""