Wait... Following the Law is Illegal?

So I've been trying to follow the "coup" in Honduras. Why? Because I just love it when the democratically elected congress of Honduras, supported by both the Supreme Court and the Constitution decide to do whacky things like use the Army in its constitutionally mandated role to support the popular will and remove a threat to stability. It's all so cloak and dagger. Very Che.

Here's how it works: The Constitution in Honduras limits presidential power to a single term. The people, being wise Latinos, recognized that there is something in the Central and South American political psyche that leads to strong-man dictatorships. So, they rather cleverly decided to build in protections, like term limits and the smart choice not to allow military figures to hold power for even a single day. Then this Zelaya guy comes along, after winning by the skin of his teeth, and decides he needs more than one term to accomplish his social agenda (and presumably attend more cocktail parties at his buddy Hugo's place). The Supreme Court notifies him that it is unconstitutional. So he tries to get Congress to change the constitution. Not only does Congress refuse, but they point out the Constitution actually explicitly forbids constitutional amendments regarding term limits. So Zelaya tries to hold a plebiscite, which the Supreme Court declares an illegal action (mainly because the President doesn't have that authority, Congress does and they weren't playing ball). Now the President decides that the law doesn't really apply to him, and he (this is my favourite part) publicly tells the Supreme Court and Congress that he is going to do what he needs to in order to stay in power anyway. He also gets Hugo Chavez to give him a ringing endorsement. Green Berets worldwide perked up like dogs hearing that silent whistle, and started lacing up the old jungle boots. But, darn it all, before those big bad Americans could start another jungle civil war, the Hondurans dealt with it themselves. Congress, in an emergency session, invoked the Constitution yet again (seeing a theme here?) and used the Army to arrest the President. They then voted in an interim President, and started getting ready for an election. Here's the weird part: rather than summarily executing Zelaya, as is the usual practice, they hustle him in his PJs onto a plane for Costa Rica. I bet Isabelle Allende is pissed.

And yet, somehow, this is a coup! It's bad! The will of the people, and the Law have been broken. Why? Because Barack Obama said so. The cognitive dissonance of having to agree with a US President must be making Chavez's head explode.

So, to summarize, the legitimately elected Congress of Honduras, in accordance with the Constitution, used the Army in a limited police action to prevent de facto dictatorship. And the "Free World" is pressuring them to take Zelaya back. It's almost like an Arnie movie...