Coups no longer the norm in Latin America

Friday, July 10, 2009 | 8:54 a.m. CDT; updated 1:57 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 10, 2009

Stuart Loory, Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies, Missouri School of Journalism: Masked, armed soldiers awakened Honduran President Manual Zelaya two Sundays ago at 5:30 a.m. and expelled him from the country in his pajamas. He had only three months to go before his term expired. He wanted to hold a referendum on whether the Honduran people thought another referendum should be held to reform the Constitution. Political and business leaders thought he was paving the way to keep himself in power for more than one term. They were also concerned that he was moving Honduras too far to the left. In former times, coups were a way of life in Latin America, but things have changed. The new government in Honduras has been condemned by the Organization of American States, the European Union and the United Nations. There is a very big meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica (Thursday) between President Zelaya and his supposed successor Roberto Micheletti. What is the purpose of the meeting and what is likely to happen?

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