The agreement reached Friday morning, following the deposition of Manuel Zelaya and the legitimate substitution by Roberto Micheletti, is an important step in solving the political crisis that has struck the nation of Honduras.

In a gesture without precedent, President Roberto Micheletti accepted that the National Congress inevitably decides the return or not of Mr. Zelaya, and not his administration. Mr. Micheletti has now corresponded this message to the National Congress of Honduras, who will in turn make this most difficult decision on whether to return Mr. Zelaya to the office of the President. Hopefully, the congressmen will make the most suitable decision to exit this crisis decisively and indeed move forward with free elections. The Arcadia Foundation wishes to voice concern however over the threat of interference in these elections, most specifically from the regime of Hugo Chavez. We hope that these elections will be free from the besmirching of international rights, unfortunately recently displayed by the governments of Brazil and Nicaragua, which were unquestionably detrimental to Honduran sovereignty.

The international community that, lamentably, has not respected the self-determination principle, will have to now recognize the Honduran elections, which, without a doubt, will favor democracy and freedom in the country. Although the Foundation looks forward to the election proceedings, we are indeed aware of Mr. Chavez’sbolivarian strategy that seeks to invade the region through weakening its democratic political leadership.  The past few months have been an experience that will live on in the memory of Hondurans. What this noble nation deserves above all, is the recognition of its value, its dignity and its decision to live peacefully.

The Arcadia Foundation will be providing a retrospective on the events which occurred in Honduras from the standpoint of democracy challenged. Corporate Foreign Policy will be publishing the e-book on our site, and look forward to sharing the findings with you.