Before the June 28 coup, some in the Honduran left and grassroots movements had looked to the scheduled Nov. 29 general elections as a chance to break the monopoly on power held for decades by the Liberal Party (PL) and National Party (PN). Currently the two parties control 95% of electoral posts and government positions; of the 15 Supreme Court justices, eight are from the PL and seven from the PN. But the social movement was divided: union leader Carlos Humberto Reyes was registered as independent presidential candidate, while legislative deputy César Ham was running as the candidate of the small leftist Democratic Unification (UD) party.

On Aug. 25 the US State Department announced that it had temporarily stopped issuing visas to Hondurans in an effort to pressure the de facto Honduran government to allow President Zelaya's return to office; there will be exceptions for emergencies and for people who are immigrating to the US. On Aug. 26 US deputy assistant secretary for Andean, Brazilian and Southern Cone affairs Christopher McMullen indicated that the US might apply additional sanctions. More than half of Honduras' trade is with the US.

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) announced on Aug. 26 that it was freezing credits to Honduras as a result of a coup that removed Honduran president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales from power two months earlier, on June 28. The move is provisional, since the banks' governors are still considering whether to join the many multilateral agencies and foreign governments that have suspended financing for aid projects until Zelaya is returned to office. The BCIE has provided about $971 million in financing for Honduras over the last five years. (Associated Press, Aug. 27)

On Aug. 22 a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR, or CIDH in Spanish), an agency of the Organization of American States (OAS), issued what it called "preliminary observations" on the human rights situation in Honduras since a June 28 coup removed president José Manuel Zelaya Rosales from office. The delegation, headed by Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero, said that from its visit it had "confirmed the existence of a pattern of disproportionate use of public force, arbitrary detentions, and the control of information aimed at limiting political participation by a sector of the citizenry."

Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, the wife of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, called Aug. 20 on followers to continue marching in support of her husband. "We will manage to defeat them, let's keep marching," she told local broadcaster Radio Globe. "We are very clear that history is allowing us to change our nation. We are fighting for real change that comes from the base of the people." (Xinhua, Aug. 21)

Deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, speaking to reporters on a visit to Lima, Peru, asserted that "Barack Obama is the president of the United States, but not the chief of the empire... To be chief of the empire, Obama has to put in order the CIA and the Pentagon, which behind his back are undertaking processes of destabilization of our peoples."

Coup-installed Honduran President Roberto Micheletti for the first time admitted Aug. 17 that forcing the deposed President Manuel Zelaya to leave the country, instead of arresting him, was a mistake. "There was an error by a certain sector," Micheletti said in an interview in Tegucigalpa. "It wasn't correct. We have to punish whoever allowed that to happen. The rest was framed within what the constitution requires." Micheletti nonetheless reiterated that the military was following the law in seizing Zelaya at his home early June 28. He also said that Honduras is now vulnerable to a military attack from its neighbors because the US has cut off military support. (Bloomberg, Aug. 17)

A leader in the movement opposed to re-opening the El Dorado goldmine in El Salvador is in stable condition after being shot eight times in the back and legs Aug. 13. Doctors at San Salvador's Rosales Hospital said it was "miraculous" that Ramiro Rivera survived the attack, which occurred in front of his home. Rivera identified one of two assailants, who was detained by police in Cabañas.