On Sunday, Hondurans were expecting to vote in a first ever nation-wide survey. In stead they woke up to find out that the military had taken control of the streets and their elected President Manuel Zelaya had been kidnapped and flown to Costa Rica. Soon after, an emergency convening of the National Congress appointed Zelaya's political rival, Roberto Micheletti, as the new President. However, Hondurans were quick to take to the street and world leaders just as fast to denounce the move, demanding the return to power of Manuel Zelaya and refusing to deal with the coup leaders.

Miguel Tinker-Salas is a professor of History and Latin American studies at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is co-author of Venezuela: Hugo Chavez and the Decline of an Exceptional Democracy and author of Under the Shadow of the Eagles . And his latest book is entitled The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela.