Resistance and change in Honduras
There is an interesting article in The Nation (by Dana Frank, a History professor at UC Santa Cruz) about the continued resistance to the government, and its degree of organization and commitment. It echoes many of the sentiments at Honduras Culture and Politics.
I am not conversant enough with the social movement literature, and what I would really like to see is an analysis putting Honduras into comparative perspective. Having a lot of angry people with a common purpose trying to fight against the powers that be (evidence of which is overwhelming in Honduras) is not enough. I keep thinking of AMLO in that regard. And Honduras in 2010 is even more tightly controlled than Mexico in 2006. Perhaps a similar example would be Guatemala in 1944, though in that case reform came as a result of a favorable presidential election, not people fighting against the president.
In a broader contemporary context, presidential elections have also been critical. But in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, to name a few, resentment and anger have been harnessed by a charismatic leader who eventually overwhelmed the establishment. There is (currently) no such person in Honduras.
So what is the appropriate comparison for Honduras?
3 comments:
Having a lot of angry people with a common purpose trying to fight against the powers that be (evidence of which is overwhelming in Honduras) is not enough. I keep thinking of AMLO in that regard.
I agree that it's not enough, but I don't think AMLO is the proper comparison. In the wake of Mexico's election, a relatively sizable majority of Mexicans would come to oppose AMLO's demands for a complete recount (with about 25% in favor of those demands). What happened in Honduras is quite different. Zelaya's demand for his own restitution had mass popular support. That wasn't enough, of course, but it is different than what happened in Mexico.
Clearly it wasn't Zelaya. The Resistance is still active here from what I can tell (Roberto Micheletti's recent plaque in San Pedro Sula gets a new paint-job weekly), but I suppose Mel wasn't enough of an inspiring leader. Which isn't a surprise, since he's long come across as lacking real ideology, to me.
Post a Comment