We condemn the coup d’état and support the struggle of the workers and people of Honduras

The member organizations of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations repudiate the coup d’état carried out by militarism and the Honduran oligarchy against the government of José Manuel Zelaya. This action, which was known by and had the support of the U.S. government, is not only an attempt to put a brake on the democratic process that had begun in that Central American country; it is also a test and a warning of what the reactionary forces are willing to do to halt and reverse the victories won by the peoples of Latin America, which have resulted in the formation of progressive and democratic governments in various countries in the region.

The development in that continent of a democratic, progressive and left-wing trend, which has blocked the way and in some cases pushed aside the neoliberal forces, worries imperialism and the local bourgeoisies which are conspiring against the political process underway. In April of 2002 they tried unsuccessfully to put an end to the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela; in 2007 a first coup attempt by the Bolivian oligarchy against the Government of Evo Morales was denounced. In both cases, the direct involvement of the United States Embassy was condemned.

U.S. imperialism, which has looked at the Americas as its back yard, now has great difficulties in developing its policy in the region. The formation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was prevented by the struggle of the workers and the people; the proposal for integration and solidarity through the Bolivarian Alternative for the America (ALBA) is receiving the sympathy of the peoples. The resolution adopted at the 39th session of the Organization of American States (OAS), which returned to Cuba its place in that Organization, shows the changes that have taken place in the relation of forces in the American subcontinent.

The developments in Honduras show that social and national liberation can only move forward under the leadership of the workers and are only achieved by the overthrow of the power of the capitalists and the domination of imperialism by the revolution and socialism. As revolutionaries we support any struggle and any democratic and progressive process, but we warn that it is wrong to feed illusions that change is possible by way of reforms.

The ICMLPO expresses its solidarity with the workers and people of Honduras, who have taken to the streets and countryside to repudiate this coup d’état, demanding the return to office of President Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran workers will understand along the way the need to link the struggle for democracy with the objective of the revolutionary transformation of society. In that fight they have our full support.

International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO)