Opinion Sur Joven

A coup d’état took place in Honduras, which ended (at least for now) president Manuel Zelaya’s government. The coup was not whimsically planned by an uncontrolled general, but it was a consequence Zelaya’s disrespect for a decision of his country’s Supreme Court. Of course there’s no justification for the Armed Forces to kidnap and oust a president, but the situation requires an analysis of the causes that led to such an ending.

Argentina has recently been through one of the worst electoral processes of the last thirty years. Not only were the disputes between the candidates rough, but this one was one of the poorest campaigns of the last years in terms of projects. Of course, the biggest responsibility for this relies upon the members of the current government (given their institutional responsibility), but the leaders of the opposing parties are to blame as well, because almost none of them are willing to maintain a dialogue or make concessions, not only with their opponents but also among themselves.

Both situations are very different, but they have something in common. Both situations are caused by the leaders’ difficulty to reach an agreement on basic matters. Here at Opinión Sur Joven, we propose that our societies, all Latin American societies, start moving forward through a sincere dialogue between all the figures of the political and social life of the country. All countries in the world that have managed to develop and live in peace have made it through consensus and agreement, which doesn’t imply losing the values and principles we stand for, but trying to move as forward as possible following those ideals without overrunning or humiliating others. It seems as if in some Latin American countries the only option was having it all or nothing. Actually, life is not about having it all or nothing. Life is always a negotiation; it’s something.