The presidents of Brazil and Nicaragua, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Daniel Ortega, had a series of meetings to discuss the question of Honduras and that country’s reintegration into the Organization of American States.
In June 2009, a coup in Honduras supported by local military authorities, the Congress and the Supreme Court, removed the democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya from office.
A de-facto regime was installed headed by the president of the Congress Roberto Micheletti. Then, in November 2009, regularly scheduled elections took place and a new president Porfirio Lobo was elected.
However, a number of Latin American nations never recognized the de facto regime or the election – among them Brazil and Nicaragua.
At this time, more than a year after the coup, the main sticking points are the status of Manuel Zelaya and his supporters, along with questions regarding the independence of the different branches of government and human rights in Honduras. In March, three journalists involved in civil rights investigations were murdered.
Meanwhile, president Lobo has been visiting Latin American countries seeking support for his administration. On July 21, the group known as Central American Integration System, which has seven members, voted 6 to 1 to reinstate Honduras in the OAS.
The only vote against was Nicaragua (voted for: Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama). Within the next few days a special commission at the OAS will take up the matter, followed by a full OAS vote. It is expected that Lobo will get 22 of the 33 votes.
