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Honduras standoff

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Honduras’ interim president said talks may begin Saturday to address the political crisis enveloping the country since the military deposed the country’s sitting president two weeks ago. Anchor Jeb Sharp gets the latest from Jennifer McCoy, director of the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Listen

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JEB SHARP: No more curfew this week in Honduras. The country’s interim government lifted the restriction last night for the first time in two weeks. But the standoff continues over the status of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. Zelaya was removed from office and thrown out of the country by the army. Critics say he was planning an illegal referendum to amend the constitution to allow himself to run for a second term as president. Zelaya, who was democratically elected, had six months left in his first term. Jennifer McCoy directs the Americas Program at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor McCoy, give us a little perspective. Why is the issue of being President for more than one term such a loaded one there in Honduras, and indeed, in Latin America?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Well, after Honduras went through a period of dictatorship, and returned to democracy in 1980, they wrote a new constitution to prohibit re-election in order to avoid the recurrence of presidents saying in power through illegal means, and turning into a new dictator. They were really trying to avoid the repeat of the historical legacy of much of Latin America having long-term strong men in office, who sometimes stayed in office through manipulated elections in the 19th and 20th centuries.

JEB SHARP: So even though this situation in Honduras is being seen as a kind of illegal coup, is your reading of the current situation that the motivation for removing Zelaya was a real fear that democracy would be endangered if he stayed in office?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Well, there was an added element in terms of the fear, in this particular case, and that was that president Zelaya had been growing increasingly closer to Venezuela. And so there were some important sectors in Honduras who feared that alliance with Venezuela, that he would intend to bring Honduras to a more leftist and anti-US policy. So that was an added component to, I think, this gear about his intentions. And the assumption was, that he would be asking for re-election. But, we’re seeing a growing trend across the board in Latin America, to change those single terms, and begin to allow for re-election. And this is the majority of the countries today, that now have this prevision.

JEB SHARP: And can you take us further back, and give us a sense of the history of term limits? I mean, when did they start being established in the first place, and where and why?

JENNIFER MCCOY: Yes. Most of the countries, as they were implementing democracy throughout the 20th century, did put in single term limits, again, to counter that historical past, especially from the 19th century at the strong men dictators. But, by the 1990′s, there was a desire, in certain cases, particularly Brazil and Argentina, I think, of those new democratic president to have a longer chance to implement the reforms, especially the economic reforms, that they were trying to carry out. And they actually started the trend toward changing the constitution to allow for re-election for at least one additional term.

JEB SHARP: Jennifer McCoy is a professor of political science at George Estate University, thanks so much.

JENNIFER MCCOY: Thank you.

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