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Hondurans take their term limits very seriously
By: David Freddoso
Commentary Staff Writer
07/03/09 1:38 PM EDT
This excellent piece by Francisco Toro at The New Republic provides some very important context that most of the media has missed regarding the situation in Honduras. The most important thing you probably haven't heard on CNN: Article 42 of the Honduran Constitution specifically makes “inciting, promoting, or supporting the continuation or re-election of the President of the Republic” one of six crimes for which one can lose Honduran citizenship. That provision is specifically named later as one of the so-called "cast-in-stone" provisions that cannot be changed "en ningún caso" -- under any circumstance (see Article 374). Honduran presidents can serve only one term, period, end of story.
In that context, the arrest and exile of President Manuel Zelaya, at the order of the Supreme Court, actually does make a lot more sense legally than you might otherwise suspect.
That's not to say it was done according to Hoyle – in fact, at least one army official has admitted it was not. The relevant article of the Honduran Constitution appears to require that Zelaya be tried and sentenced first for seeking to stay in power, and only then deported. The decision to exile him immediately, according to another military official, was made at the last minute, supposedly to prevent violence.
But there is still time to do things right – Zelaya plans to return to Honduras on Sunday.
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