That anti Chavez crusade.......

As the days pass it looks more and more like not only Chavez is losing his Honduras bid, but that the whole thing is slowly turning around him, a distraction that allows the Tegucigalpa new power holders to clamp down on any pro Zelaya group media access. A few depth bombs can be read today.

Maria Anastasia O'Grady strikes again at the WSJ. Besides making again her case in why Zelaya ouster was necesary she writes this: "Besides eagerly trampling the constitution, Mr. Zelaya had demonstrated that he was ready to employ the violent tactics of chavismo to hang onto power." And this: "Other Chávez protégés -- in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua -- have done the same, refusing to accept checks on their power, making use of mobs and seeking to undermine institutions." And furthermore: "You can bet that Venezuela will try to orchestrate similar troubles in an attempt to bring condemnation to the new Honduran government." Clear, no?

You may think that, well, she writes for a conservative paper. Fair enough, let's go to a more centrist one, the WaPo. Jackson Diehl's column is hardly any softer than the one from Anastasia and thus probably more effective. It is cleanly titled "Double Standards on Latin America". And to witness he brings the Ledezma case to the forefront: "Yet while the Organization of American States has been united in demanding Zelaya's return to his post, and in suspending Honduras for violating the Inter-American Democratic Charter, it has studiously ignored the case of Ledezma -- who, since his election, has been illegally driven from his office by a mob, stripped of most of his powers and budget, and subjected to criminal investigation by the regime of Hugo Chavez." This set the tone for the rest of the article which is simply a charge on recent constitutional violations of Chavez and how the OAS has been turning a blind eye to it. A must read summary of an informed quality rarely found in international press. Dielh does his research job on Venezuela!

Courtesy of PB I also got this note from pro Chavez YVKE which tells us how the OAS was backing the "encuesta" of Zelaya which was forbidden by the Honduras court (Spanish, sorry). Showing once more, if needed, that the OAS is actively meddling in favor of Chavez under Insulza's tenure. From the horse's mouth, so to speak....

And for the conservatives among you who have been reading so far, a little bit of red meat from Gustavo Coronel. The title of his piece might still be a little bit of wishful thinking, but as a summary piece of the ALBA strategy it is well worth a read.

What is noteworthy about all of this, it is that the "liberal" media (the one who tends to support knee jerk chavismo) has been unable to write an equally articulated and structured article to defend Zelaya, unable to go past the "coup" aspect of the whole affair. Most conservatives have no problems in condemning the coup while at the same time point their finger at Chavez. Heck, even moderates like Diehl or Liberal Light like yours truly have no problem at balancing this. Why? Well, democrats, real ones, have no double standards and simply condemn all attacks on democracy.

This all might be an indication that as time passes the coupsters of Tegucigalpa might in the end allow for a return to Zelaya but as a fully castrated president, "pour inaugurer les Chrysanthèmes" (to open floral exhibits) as we said of the Third Republic presidents in France who had no power.

Certainly Chavez has the means to come back but right now he seems to have suffered a major set back. And let's not mention all the Venezuelan money put up for Zelaya which now has no chance whatsoever to come back to Venezuela's treasury. Well, with Zelaya in office it would not have had a much more of a chance to come back but at least there was the wishful thinking.

-The end-