Zelaya Could Be Returned to Presidency in Honduras

An agreement was reached late Thursday between President Jose Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti, who is the ruling president at the moment. The agreement would form a reconciliation government. Both the nation's congress and their supreme court would have to approve Zelaya returning to power. The new reconciliation government would only last until a new president is elected into power in November and takes office in January. Zelaya isn't guaranteed to be put back into power according to the pact, but analysts believe that congress will sign the agreement. The United States has played a large role in coming to this agreement. Other countries and leaders have tried to negotiate between the two sides before and failed. The United States is the first to get the Zelaya and Micheletti to come to any agreement. Extra pressure has been put on the Honduran government since a military-backed coup removed Zelaya from office four months ago. Economic sanctions were placed on the country by the United States and other countries. Honduras is beginning to feel the effects in their economy. Large numbers of Hondurans have crossed into Mexico to look for jobs. Beyond the economic motivations for an agreement, there was also a political side. It is important that the elections held on November 29 are seen as legitimate by the Honduran people. Under Micheletti's rule, the election would be considered illegitimate by not only the Hondurans, but also the United States and other nations. Most analysts believe the reason Zelaya accepted the agreement was because he had no other choice. He was running out of time, money, and people to support him. The pact does not give anyone amnesty for the actions taken against Zelaya. It is likely he will try to prosecute Micheletti, although analysts say it is not in his best interest to file any charges. Within the pact two commissions are formed. One is a truth commission to investigate how Zelaya was removed from power. The other is a verification commission to make sure that the agreement is followed. Finally the pact asks for a plea to the international community to remove the sanctions placed against Honduras. The most important thing is that the agreement allows for the election of a new president to be legitimate. Hopefully it will help Honduras to move on and start over.

By Kelly Martin