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The Nov. 29 elections are growing more
and more uncertain and the divisions in
this Central American country are
deepening. The de facto government, the
economic and political groups that
planned and perpetrated the coup, and
the armed forces are using the elections
as a strategy to firmly establish
themselves in power, with the aim of
legitimizing their hold on the
government in the eyes of the Honduran
people and the world. The Resistance, on
the other hand, maintains that there can
be no elections if the institutional
order shattered by the coup is not first
restored. In the middle - equally
ambiguous and divided on the issue of
the elections - stands the international
community, which appears to be willing
to make any concession to the de facto
government as long as it gets it out of
this labyrinth dominated by doublespeak
on the part of many countries - in
particular the United States - and an
outdated and obsolete structure of
organizations, like the OAS and the UN.
To find out how the Resistance
groups are approaching this delicate
situation and how they are organizing
themselves to reach a final decision on
their participation in the elections
through a broad popular consensus,
Sirel spoke with Carlos H.
Reyes, a presidential candidate who
is running on an independent ticket (the
Popular Independent Candidacy). Reyes
is president of the Union of Beverage
and Related Industry Workers of Honduras
(STIBYS) and member of the IUF’s
International Executive Committee.
-What has the Popular Independent
Candidacy decided with respect to its
participation in the Nov. 29 elections?
-A few days ago, the High Electoral
Court (TSE) issued a request to
the Popular Independent Candidacy to
ratify within 24 hours whether it will
participate or not in the general
elections. In my capacity as
presidential candidate I confirmed my
decision to participate provided that
the constitutional order is first
restored. In the letter we sent to the
TSE we also made a number of
observations.
-What kind of observations?
-We pointed out that the circumstances
that arose with the Jun. 28 coup are
still intact, for example, the
systematic violation of human rights,
with people murdered, injured, exiled
and persecuted, and the dictatorship’s
refusal to restore the constitutional
order.
We also stated that we don’t trust the
observers appointed by the TSE to
guarantee that the electoral process
will be conducted safely and
transparently, as these observers belong
to the same organizations that have
justified the coup and the repressive
actions against the people. Moreover,
these organizations would be operating
as Electoral Custodians, and that’s
unacceptable and is indicating that the
elections will be rigged.
Lastly, we highlighted the fact that the
Protestant Church’s involvement in the
electoral process would violate the
principle of religious independence of
the State.
Nonetheless, we acknowledge that the
agreement signed is the result of a
negotiation and that the restoration of
the constitutional order has not yet
been resolved. As long as this process
is not completely exhausted, the
restoration of the constitutional order
remains a real possibility, and if it
occurs it would legitimize the
elections.
Which is why the Popular Independent
Candidacy has not withdrawn from the
electoral process.
-What is your opinion of the dialogue
that has just concluded?
-I was opposed to any dialogue that
denied the reinstatement of President
Manuel Zelaya. It is obvious that
the oligarchic sectors that staged the
coup seized power because they wanted to
hold on to it, and they’re going to try
to find the way to maintain their hold
until January 2010. But we must keep on
struggling to restore democracy and we
maintain our position that if the
constitutional order is not restored, it
is they who are keeping us out of the
electoral process. We’re not pulling
out, it’s the coup perpetrators who are
preventing us from participating
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The Resistance must continue
as a Resistance, challenging
the illegitimate government
that wants to hold elections
to legitimize its hold on
power. The government
elected in that way will not
be recognized nationally or
internationally, and it will
face an economic crisis that
will make it impossible for
it to remain in power. The
Resistance must move
forward, with its own
agenda, demanding the
establishment of the
Constituent Assembly.
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-How is the Resistance’s consultation
process going?
-We’re holding meetings in different
parts of the country to consult with our
supporters whether we should participate
in the elections. So far, our surveys
tell us that the vast majority does not
want us to participate under dictatorial
conditions.
-Are the Independent Candidacy and the
other candidates that did not support
the coup coordinating a possible joint
rejection of the elections?
-Of the various groups that oppose the
coup, we were the first to state our
position regarding the withdrawal of
candidates. On Oct. 23, we participated
in an activity along with all the
anti-coup candidates, and we all agreed
that if the constitutional order is not
restored we should not participate in
the elections.
But each group is conducting its own
consultations with their supporters, and
we haven’t set a deadline. As an
independent candidacy, we believe that
it would be a mistake to set deadlines,
because things evolve very rapidly.
Instead of setting dates, what we do
think is that if the dictatorship
continues, our withdrawal should come
when it’s most prejudicial for the coup
perpetrators.
With each passing day, Hondurans have a
clearer picture of the situation and the
need to refrain from participating in an
illegitimate process such as this. And
that realization is key.
-What is your opinion of the
international community’s attitude to
the electoral process?
-What matters most is what happens
inside Honduras, although what
the international community does
contributes and is also decisive. In the
case of the OAS we know that
there are many decisions it cannot make
because it is constrained by its
Charter, and in this sense there should
be a discussion on the need to reform
the organization.
We also know that there are internal
divisions regarding the elections. But
it would be important for it to issue a
categorical statement announcing that it
will not recognize a government
resulting from elections called by
Micheletti without the restoration
of the democratic order.
-With or without elections, it seems
that the Honduran people have awaken and
that Honduras will never be the same...
-The elections are not a solution to the
leading problems the country has. The
first step towards solutions is to work
for the establishment of a
Constitutional Assembly and the drafting
of a New Constitution. In the second
place, the Honduran people have taken a
new political stand. We don’t want to
turn the National Front Against the Coup
into a political party, because that
would mean tying the social
organizations to an agenda that is not
theirs.
The
Resistance
must continue as a
Resistance,
challenging the illegitimate government
that wants to hold elections to
legitimize its hold on power. The
government elected in that way will not
be recognized nationally or
internationally, and it will face an
economic crisis that will make it
impossible for it to remain in power.
The
Resistance
must move forward, with its own agenda,
demanding the establishment of the
Constituent Assembly.
It may be sooner or later, but we will
succeed. There’s no turning back!
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