Reactions to the Cartagena Accord, Part 4: The UCD responds

The Union Civica Democratoica (UCD) has spoken, and they don't like the Cartagena Accord.

No surprise there.

Speaking for the UCD, Fernando Anduray said

"What we are not in agreement with is an accord that was signed to aid the initiatives of the government of Venezuela and the president of Colombia without consulting Honduras."

So, Porfirio Lobo Sosa clearly doesn't speak for Honduras in Anduray's universe.

The directorate of the UCD held a press conference on May 26 to denounce the accord. According to Rina Callejas de Guillen

"I regret that President Porfirio Lobo Sosa continues to humiliate and act behind the back of the Honduran people, officiating and sacrificing our dignity to the highest bidder..."

Callejas de Guillen was speaking as the new President of the UCD.

Their "constitutionalist", Irma de Acosta Fortin got right to the point, following the lead of Jimmy Dacaret and Fernando Anduray of a few days earlier.

"the pretense of the Cartagena Accord is to make possible the installation of a National Constituent Assembly, which is absolutely unconstitutional."

She sees no reason for constitutional reform anyway; she noted that after all, 98 percent of the constitutional clauses can be modified without resorting to a National Constituent Assembly.

I guess she missed the discussion over the last two years that made it clear there was a significant desire to reconsider all of the clauses of the 1982 constitution, which was crafted largely with US help and with an agenda that had more to do with ensuring governmental rigidity than allowing change.

Also at the press conference was a spokesperson for the Association of Reservists of Honduras, Aversio Navas, who suggested that the US might reject the actions called for in the Cartagena Accord, and cut off economic cooperation with Honduras.

In fact Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, has already lauded Lobo Sosa for carrying out the negotiations, so Navas's profession of fear of US rejection was already without merit when pronounced.

(You will remember that it was the Association of Reservists who responded when the UCD issued its call for marches in support of Roberto Micheletti Bain, the so called "white shirts".)

So the UCD proves true to form.

They think the fix is in for a National Constituent Assembly. It's not.

The Frente could try to make a call for a National Constituent Assembly by means of a plebiscite or referendum thanks to the new set of laws passed by Congress, but in order for that to get on the ballot, it will require the approval of Congress.

It would surprise me if this conservative, Nationalist party dominated, neoliberal Congress would approve such a referendum.

The UCD is still fighting the ghosts of the 1980s, not "twenty-first century socialism", its professed enemy.

Everyone else has moved on; it's time they did too.

"There's A Hidden Agenda"

"There's a hidden agenda," or so says Fernando Anduray, a UCD Member. Jimmy Dacaret, former had of the UCD, who stepped down a few weeks ago, said the Cartagena Accord quarrels with the Honduran constitution.

Are either of these statements the official policy statement of the UCD?

No.

The UCD itself has formally remained silent, like so many other golpista parts of Honduran civil society,

ANDI and COHEP each said last Sunday that they would make formal statements last Monday, yet, if they've made them, no one has seen fit to cover them. The Catholic Church, through a spokesperson, said last Sunday that it would need a day to analyze the document. It spoke out late Monday in favor of the accord.

Nonetheless, when the UCD does formally speak, if ever, it probably will sound a lot like what Dacaret and Anduray had to say.

Dacaret, speaking to Tiempo on Sunday, said

"The politicians continue to play with the law, with this Accord - although they say its based on the constitution - it disrespects it completely."

Dacaret, however,failed to cite any examples of this disrespect. He predicted that Lobo Sosa and Juan Orlando Hernandez would find themselves in a fight with Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

Fernando Anduray is another often heard voice of the UCD. In Wednesday's La Tribuna, he said the Cartagena Accord has a hidden agenda.

"We are preoccupied by the things that we don't see of the Accord that was signed; on the one hand, we have a call to a National Constituent Assembly, but disguised in the form of constitutionalism and it does not say the time in which these situations will happen."

Anduray goes on to launch an attack on Lobo Sosa:

"There's a hidden agenda; this has been the permanent conduct of President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, who has never told the Honduran people the truth and the things which are behind [this]; here, nonetheless, is behind the participation of Honduras in this famous society of nations the Hugo Chavez wants to form."

Anduray sees all of this as a plot in which Manuel Zelaya Rosales and the FNRP are political instruments for those who seek macroeconomic control for the next twelve years.

The UCD does not like anything that Manuel Zelaya Rosales or Hugo Chavez are part of. Lobo Sosa is being tarred with that brush for having agreed to the Chavez - Santos mediation that resulted in the Cartagena Accord, and for saying that a plebiscite is the way to begin the road to convene a National Constituent Convention.

So from a fair proxy for the extreme right of Honduran society, we would have to say the Cartagena Accord has gotten a pretty thorough rejection, and Porfirio Lobo Sosa along with it.

UCD Lobbies Congress

The Unión Cívica Democrática, represented by Jimmy Dacaret and others, is in Washington, D.C. today to lobby Congress. Dacaret said they had meetings planned with Congressman Connie Mac (R., FL) , David Rivera (R., FL), and Lamar Smith (R., TX). They had also planned to meet with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen(R., FL) but she was traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Haiti.

So why have these intrepid golpistas come to the US Congress? Dacaret told El Heraldo

"In the first place what we are looking for is cooperation; second that they help us with strengthening the UCD, also we will lobby for the cooperation with Honduras."

Interesting priorities. They are lobbying first for cooperation between the US Congress and the UCD, then strengthening of the UCD by Congress, and only then for cooperation between the US and Honduras. I suspect they're seeking more financial aid through the International Republican Institute (IRI), which initially funded them into existence in Honduras.

The UCD also intends to propose the implementation of Social Auditing of the aid programs to somehow guarantee the aid is getting to the poor in Honduras. I guess they think they're the government and can implement new rules around international aid.

What's next? The Mara Salvatrucha lobbying Congress?

1.3 Million versus 200

The Unión Cívica Democratica (UCD) held a rally a couple of days ago in Tegucigalpa. Crowd estimates in the press vary between 100 and 200 people. Among the crowd were former members of the golpista regime of Roberto Micheletti, including María Martha Diaz and Martha Lorena Alvarado, and the right wing pundit, Jorge Yllescas. Jimmy Dacaret, their leader, read a statement questioning the intentions of the government in even discussing with various civil groups their view on a constitutional convention, since

"the Hondurans have it clear that the only reason to install a constitutional convention is to make possible presidential reelection and change our democratic system."

Another speaker, Secretary of the National Register of Persons, Fernando Anduray addressed an unveiled threat at Porfirio Lobo Sosa, saying

"we are your friends, the white shirts, who put you in power, but just as there was a constitutional succession, we could do it again."

The UCD group ended their rally with their mantra "No one is above the law."

Hearty bravado, but not the kind of rhetoric that Honduras needs now. Threatening to carry out another coup is hardly pro-constitution speech.

Compare the small size of this crowd with the 1.3 million people who signed the petition for a constitutional convention. They're not threatening to topple the government because they don't like what its doing, but they do want to change it, in a legal fashion. They can see beyond the red herring of "presidential reelection" to find meaningful changes to the constitution that would let them participate in decisions, and to give them a better life.

Let's let Porfirio Lobo Sosa answer the UCD:

"In the discussions there were different positions, some to one side, others that didn't want to talk, and some who didn't understand others. In the middle is the large majority of different organizations that want peace, that want dialogue, that want that there be changes in Honduras, that will bring about a bettering of the conditions of life in our country..... I understand there are some who don't want anything to change, because no doubt they are doing well, but there is a large group of Hondurans, more than 80 percent, who say that there have to be changes, because the majority is not living the life they have a right to."

Honduras Is A Democracy, Isn't It?

"It is unacceptable and inadmissible to look for a solution to an act by violating the laws of the country"

(Article lead in El Heraldo on August 9, 2010)

We agree. However, the Unión Cívica Democrática (UCD), which promulgated this view in its protests in support of the Honduran Supreme Court Wednesday, revealed a very selective understanding of Honduran law.

The UCD based its protests Wednesday in support of the Supreme Court on the alleged "disrespect" of the Judicial Branch by the Legislative and Executive branches.

The evidence for this "disrespect": a bill approved by Congress that orders CONATEL to use its authority under Honduran and international telecommunications law to migrate Teleunsa S.A. from television channel 8 to another frequency.

According to the UCD this legislation, and the executive action it requires, violates the previous actions of the Judicial branch, which previously delivered a judicial decision that the UCD feels needs to be respected. That court decision ruled that Elias Asfura's Teleunsa company had the right to analogue television channel 8. Notice that Teleunsa isn't losing rights to a television channel-- just to this specific frequency.

The UCD muddies the water about the actions of Congress and the Executive branch, referring to the decision as "the virus of Chavez".

In Honduras, the UCD and business owners have forgotten that in a constitutional democracy, the legislature legislates, the court adjudicates, and the executive branch manages.

In the United States, Congress frequently writes laws to override judicial decisions. In fact, this is so common, there are books on the topic. These books point out that this process often serves the useful function of refining the federal legal code, removing ambiguity in the laws as passed by Congress, and reversing errant judicial interpretations through new legislation.

In short, this is part of the system of checks and balances in a democracy.

The Honduran constitution is not that different in this regard.

It is equally true that legislatures sometimes pass laws that are not in harmony with the constitution of their country. Such laws stay in effect until a court reviews and overturns them.

This seems to be what the UCD, the business interests, and even some legislators in Honduras have conveniently forgotten about democracy.

As Porfirio Lobo Sosa said in an interview in the August 10, La Tribuna,

"My friend (Elias Asfura) has the right, if he feels his rights have been violated, whether it's true or not; he has the right to appeal; the Court will know how to resolve it."

And Lobo Sosa is precisely correct.

Under the laws of Honduras, if Elias Asfura believes his rights have been violated, or that the law transferring his TV station (which is not yet on the air) to another channel is unconstitutional, then he has recourse to the courts.

Of course, the call by the UCD is deliberate forgetting, or better, an attempt to deepen the imbalance between the branches of Honduran government, building on the success of right wing and business interests in setting aside the entire judicial branch and replacing it with the former leadership of the Congress in 2009.

But it is not democracy.

UCD Condemns Lobo Sosa

The right-wing, coup-supporting Unión Civica Democratica (UCD) has awakened from its deep sleep (tired, no doubt, from all that marching to support Micheletti) only to condemn Porfirio Lobo Sosa for interfering in the Public Prosecutor's office and with the Supreme Court's autonomy.

It seems they don't like Lobo Sosa's announcement that he is willing to go to the Dominican Republic and bring Manuel Zelaya Rosales back, and to guarantee he will not be arrested on the spot once he returns to Honduras. After all, Jimmy Dacaret, the UCD president, reminds us, there are 3, count them 3, separate arrest orders for Zelaya; one for political crimes, and two for corruption.

Lobo's announcement caused an emergency meeting of the UCD governance. Dacaret, a rotary member, member of the administrative council of ANDI, and a bread magnate, complained that Lobo Sosa was interfering in the institutional independence of the Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor since he was going to guarantee Zelaya would not be arrested.

"It would appear as if there is a pact or arrangement between the people related to the case of Zelaya, to give him freedom without him presenting himself to the corresponding courts."

Dacaret continued

"The statements of the President leave a great preoccupation in the society because the primordial reason for the founding of the UCD is to protect the Constitution of the Republic, the respect for the laws in all senses."

The UCD is funded in part by the US State Department.

The UCD also requested that the Supreme Court hand over its decision on the four judges and one magistrate dismissed for anti-coup activity to the Inspector General of the government so that the international community can see the basis on which the court dismissed those individuals.

"With this we can determine if they proceeded on the basis of law, or if there was some kind of mistake that the Court could rectify, but not with pressure from the Executive branch or interference from foreigners because Honduras needs to proceed on the basis of respect for its laws."

With that, the UCD rolled over and went back to sleep. This was something it could not get excited enough about to put on its white shirts and march in the streets!