The Return Of The Coup

From Foreign Policy Blog:

The Wall Street Journal's Mary O'Grady argues that the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was not in fact a coup, since the president was himself holding a referendum in violation of an order by the country's supreme court. But I don't think one need defend Zelaya to argue that sending troops to break into a president's house and put him on a plane out of the country is generally not the best way to protect "the independence of institutions that keep presidents from becoming dictators."

Read more ....

My Comment: The trend is no longer to send the soldiers in the early morning hours to boot out a leader, the trend is to use the levers of power of the state to squeeze and/or suppress your opponents, to use the media to promote your message (denying everyone else the same privilege), and to insure that come election time, every advantage is put in place to favor your candidacy, and every disadvantage is put in place for your opponent.

Countries that fit this bill in Latin America are .... hmmmm .... Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. Hell .... even Brazilian President Lulu is thinking of running for a third term, a clear violation of the Brazilian constitution.

From where I stand, coups against constitutions and the rule of law are happening in Latin America almost everyday now.