The Brazilian government does not have diplomatic relations with Honduras because of the coup of June 28, which according to Brazil, removed a democratically elected president replacing it with a de-facto, illegitimate government.
Furthermore, Brazil does not recognize the presidency of Porfirio Lobo because he was elected in an election run by that de-facto, illegitimate government. Brazil’s position has been consistently in favor of the return of the deposed president, Manuel Zelaya, followed by new elections.
That did not happen. On the contrary, there were elections won by Lobo and he took office at the same time that Zelaya left the country for exile in the Dominican Republic. In addition to all that, just before he took office, Lobo had an amnesty law approved pardoning any and all illegal activities before and after the coup.
Thus Zelaya will no longer face treason charges and the military gets off the hook for abuse of authority. It is obvious that a new situation has been created on the ground in Honduras.
Celso Amorim, Brazil’s minister of Foreign Relations, says that in order to recognize the government of Porfirio Lobo, Brazil has preconditions.
“We will now see what happens next. Everything depends on the new president. First, it must be understood that Brazil reduced the violence in Honduras by giving Zelaya safe haven in the Brazilian embassy.
“Then there is the way the new government treats Zelaya in the future, for example. Thus, the problem is not a question of recognizing or not recognizing the new government. It is a matter of what kind of relations we are going to have.”
