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| Socialist
Party USA: Statements |
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Statement
in Solidarity with the People of Honduras
by
the SPUSA National Action Committee (July 7, 2009)
The
Socialist Party USA condemns the coup recently carried out in Honduras
by the military and backed by a section of the Honduran elite. We call
for the immediate reinstatement of democratically elected President
Manuel Zelaya. We also support the call made by pro-Zelaya protesters
to have all charges against Zelaya dropped. Finally, we demand an
independent investigation into the brutality and murder carried out by
the Honduran military while repressing pro-Zelaya protests.
Although
Zelaya was elected in 2005 on a mild center-left reform platform,
deteriorating economic conditions, the refusal of the elite to
implement even the most basic reforms and pressure from popular
movements have pushed his Presidency in a more militant direction.
Honduras remains the third poorest nation in the hemisphere with 40% of
the population living on less than $2 a day. To combat this, Zelaya
attempted to implement reforms such as, raising the minimum wage by
60%; a move which infuriated elites who fired workers or ignored the
new regulations. Popular organizations have supported Zelaya in this
process by initiating a series of strikes and mobilizations in the name
of wealth re-distribution and social equity.
Honduran
elites have disregarded these movements, choosing to use parliamentary
process and the security forces to preserve political and economic
control. They have attempted to paint Zelaya as a puppet of Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez. "What I believe we were seeing was the evolution
of a democratic dictatorship," Elizabeth Zuñiga of the
Nationalist Party stated. Such illogical hyperbole mirrors the false
proclamations issued by elites in Venezuela and Bolivia in the face of
challenges by leftist governments and popular movements. The Honduran
elite care little for democracy. Their sole concern is the maintenance
of social and economic privileges.
The
new left in Latin America has demonstrated a consistent commitment to
organize itself democratically. Endless elections in Venezuela have
been combined with electoral victories in Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay and
Nicaragua. In each case, electoral campaigns have been backed by
grassroots mobilizations of a myriad of worker, community and
indigenous groups. This has had a general democratizing effect in the
region, which has served to reverse the history of US-backed military
coups and dictatorships. The elite coup in Honduras is an attempt to
return to a bankrupt political model. But the people of Honduras are
resisting.
As
socialists, we therefore stand firmly with the popular movements in
Honduras who are demanding that President Zelaya be returned. As
socialists in America, we also recognize the negative role that US
foreign policy has played in the region. We pledge our solidarity to
the people of Honduras as a means of repairing the damage done by the
US government. We share in the sentiments recently expressed by
President Zelaya, "Do not bring weapons. Practice what I have always
preached, which is nonviolence. Let them be the ones who use violence,
weapons and repression.”
No
the Coup!
Return
Zelaya!
Justice
for working and poor Hondurans!
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