In Honduras and Haiti, the U.S. Rules by Proxy

In Honduras and Haiti, the U.S. Rules by Proxy
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford


“Wherever the U.S. has the power to thwart the democratic process, it does so.”


The
Barack Obama presidency was supposed to signal a new era in U.S.
foreign policy, including in Latin America, which had turned decisively
against George Bush’s blustering, bullying and coup-making. What has
emerged under Obama is not a reversal of historic U.S. imperial
policies in the Americas, but a cosmetic adjustment.President Obama
uses far less warlike language than his predecessor, but he deploys
every trick and deceit in the book to maintain U.S. dominance in the
region. And like all bullies who have had their noses bloodied, he
tries to create fear in the hemisphere by picking on the smaller
countries.

For most of the 20th century, Haiti and Honduras were
de facto colonies of the United States. Haiti was occupied by the U.S.
military for nearly 20 years, between 1915 and 1934. Honduras was the
original, prototypical “banana republic,” ruled by a local oligarchy
totally subservient to the United States.

Both
Haiti and Honduras are prime examples of a U.S. strategy to
under-develop its neighbors – a deliberate policy of impoverishment and
petty tyranny.

But blatant gunboat diplomacy doesn’t work very
well anymore for the United States in most of Latin America, where a
popular consensus has been achieved that rejects U.S. hegemony.
Recognizing the drawbacks of overt American aggression, President Obama
artfully pursues a policy of smiles and handshakes all around – while
undermining democratic forces through proxies whenever the opportunity
arises.


“What has emerged under Obama is not a reversal of historic U.S. imperial policies in the Americas, but a cosmetic adjustment.”


In

Haiti, the U.S. proxy is the United Nations, which took over the job of
military occupier from George Bush in 2004, after the Americans sent
democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile.
Aristide's Lavalas Family party has been suppressed ever since.

In
Honduras, the Americans still find it possible to act in the
old-fashioned way, through the local oligarchy and its U.S.-dominated
military. Back in June, the Honduran military bundled democratically
elected President Manuel Zelaya into a plane, made a stop at a U.S.
airbase, and sent him into exile in Costa Rica. Zelaya then snuck back
into Honduras, living under the protection of the Brazilian embassy.
The U.S., standing virtually alone in the hemisphere and the world,
refused to call the removal of President Zelaya a coup, and announced
that Washington would recognize the results of last weekend's elections
to succeed Zelaya even though they were held under military martial
law. Hondurans who opposed the coup had no one to vote for, so of
course, the oligarchy's candidate won in a very low turnout.

President
Aristide's party was last week barred from taking part in legislative
elections scheduled for February, in Haiti. The oligarchy-controlled
elections commission claimed the party failed to fill out some forms
properly. Back in June, only about ten percent of the people turned out
for elections in which Aristide's party was excluded.

These two
electoral travesties are the true face of President Obama's policy on
democracy in the Americas. Wherever the U.S. has the power to thwart
the democratic process, it does so, and then bides its time, waiting
for another opportunity to stab its neighbors in the back. For Black
Agenda Radio, I'm Glen Ford. On the web, go to
www.BlackAgendaReport.com.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.


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Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network
http://www.ezilidanto.com/
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Two-faced Democracy in Haiti by Kevin Pina
http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/11_26_9/11_26_9.html

Where was mr.Glen Ford when the leadership of the Lavalasse goons barred a significant section of the haitian electorate from holding public office for ten years ? They even wrote it into the constitution !Now that was an outrage from a pack of brainless wolves passing themselves as jurists or constitutionalists !

The cycles of life never cease to amaze me . Indeed ,the left-leaning foreign commentators responsible for putting a good word on the poor performance of the international circus in my country always manage to make me laugh .They have those haughty doctrinal opinions that reach for the heights of hypocrisy and idiocy .