Honduras In Our Future?

The 1982 Honduran Constitution prohibits the amendment of certain BEDROCK PROVISIONS, including, significantly, the term of office of the incumbent president, and prohibition against that incumbent from becoming the new President in the subsequent period as stated in Article 374 below.

TITULO VII: DE LA REFORMA Y LA INVIOLABILIDAD DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN
CAPITULO I
DE LA REFORMA DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN

ARTICULO 373.- La reforma de esta Constitución podrá decretarse por el Congreso Nacional, en sesiones ordinarias, con dos tercios de votos de la totalidad de sus miembros. El decreto señalará al efecto el artículo o artículos que hayan de reformarse, debiendo ratificarse por la subsiguiente legislatura ordinaria, por igual número de votos, para que entre en vigencia.
* Artículo interpretado por Decreto 169/1986

ARTICULO 374.- No podrán reformarse, en ningún caso, el artículo anterior, el presente artículo, los artículos constitucionales que se refieren a la forma de gobierno, al territorio nacional, al período presidencial, a la prohibición para ser nuevamente Presidente de la República, el ciudadano que lo haya desempeñado bajo cualquier título y el referente a quienes no pueden ser Presidentes de la República por el período subsiguiente.
* Artículo interpretado por Decreto 169/1986 

CAPITULO II
DE LA INVIOLABILIDAD DE LA CONSTITUCIÓN
 
ARTICULO 375.- Esta Constitución no pierde su vigencia ni deja de cumplirse por acto de fuerza o cuando fuere supuestamente derogada o modificada por cualquier otro medio y procedimiento distintos del que ella mismo dispone. En estos casos, todo ciudadano investido o no de autoridad, tiene el deber de colaborar en el mantenimiento o restablecimiento de su afectiva vigencia.

Serán juzgados, según esta misma constitución y las leyes expedidas en conformidad con ella, los responsables de los hechos señalados en la primera parte del párrafo anterior, lo mismo que los principales funcionarios de los gobiernos que se organicen subsecuentemente, si no han contribuido a restablecer inmediatamente el imperio de esta Constitución y a las autoridades constituidas conforme a ella. El Congreso puede decretar con el voto de la mayoría absoluta de sus miembros, la incautación de todo o parte de los bienes de esas mismas personas y de quienes se hayan enriquecido al amparo de la suplantación.

Now check out this Comment from "Alpha" on Fausta's Blog:

I am a Honduran, born and raised and still living in the country. I hold no allegiance to any party nor do I hold any preference. For those of you out there who still feel Honduras has acted rashly and “barbarically” against Manuel Zelaya there are things that should be clarified. Our constitution states in its “Articulos Petreos” (petreo deriving form the latin word for “rock” or “stone”) that a president may not be reelected and may not stay in the office for more than 4 years. This, was designed to protect us, the people, from the past experiences of political instabilities in the 70’s and 80’s.

Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales, intended with his so called “survey” to promote the alteration of these articles so that a president may be reelected. In order to modify these articles, the ENTIRE constitution must be abolished, this is the first characteristic of a Coup d’etat. Without constitution, the Honduran people would be entirely unprotected from a regime emulating those of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and now Nicaragua in which the constitution is manipulated at will by the president so he might remain “constitutionally” in office for as long as his twisted heart desires.

It is also extremely important to point out, that the ballots that were to be used for the questionable survey, were provided by the Venezuelan government.

There were several inconsistencies and failures in president Zelaya’s time in the office. This year, he has not even turned in his national budget plan for 2009, overdue since September 2008. He has focused efforts on this survey of his for several months, despite a 7.4 earthquake, overflowing rivers, increasing crime rates. As a final thrust upon his own “Harakiri” process, he went through with his survey despite being declared illegal.

I am utterly proud of my country and am glad to be part of this social and political uproar, for the first time in many many years, Honduras has risen strong against corruption and oppression and sets an example for Latin America.

Whoever "Alpha" might be is not perhaps that important at this stage because the basic message comes through loud and clear about Mr. Zelaya's attempts to perpetuate his hold on power.  

The analysis of Charles Krauthammer is cogent and puts on spotlight an apparent inconsistency in President Barack Obama's handling of two situations: Iran and Honduras.

But the parallels with the Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Honduran President Manuel Zelaya are striking.  We'll be discussing this matter today on The Explainer with Manolo Quezon on ABSCBN News All News Channel (ANC) at 6pm and 10:30 pm every Monday,  with replays all week and online. Catch it!