Before I make up my mind about whether the coup d'etat today in Honduras was justified, can someone with more knowledge in Honduran affairs tell me if it is true that the President totally disregarded a Supreme Court decision that the referendum set to occur in a few days is unconstitutional?
BLOOMBERG (6-28-09): The president had planned to use results from a poll this weekend, which is being managed by the president's supporters and the National Statistics Institute, to press for a national referendum in November on whether to change the constitution. That vote was to be held in tandem with national elections, a process the Supreme Court has already ruled illegal.
If that is the case, should we protest against a coup against the executive while turning a deaf ear to a coup against the equally important judicial branch?
If one day our President disregarded a decision by our highest court, what would we think? Would not we view him as a threat to the United States of America?
Some might argue that perhaps Congress should have the last word on such decision, but turns out that the Honduran congress also called for the ousting of the President, as you may have read in news reports. In fact, Congress had also declared the referendum unconstitutional.
NEW YORK TIMES: Last week, the Supreme Court and Congress both declared the referendum unconstitutional. But on Thursday, the president led a group of protesters to an air force installation and seized the ballots, which the prosecutor's office and the electoral tribunal had ordered confiscated.
Was the President's action itself a coup against the Constitution?
These questions should be pondered.
