Honduran Crisis Cools but Judge Remains in Jail

A constitutional crisis pitting the executive and legislative branches of Honduras’ government against each other cooled Saturday, although a newly named chief justice of the Supreme Court remained in jail for a second day and was arraigned on charges of treason.

Leaders on both sides began a search for compromise in the conflict over appointments to the court. The confrontation arrays President Roberto Suazo Cordova, the first civilian to effectively hold the Honduran presidency in two decades, against a majority of the deputies of Honduras’ Congress--many of them members of Suazo Cordova’s governing Liberal Party. A scheduled march by congressmen was called off.

The armed forces--no longer running the government but still looked to by both sides as arbiters in the dispute--stayed mainly on the sidelines, and rumors of an impending military coup slacked off.

“It’s a mess,” a Western diplomat said. “But so far the army has shown a lot of restraint.”

American officials watched the dispute with some embarrassment. The United States has poured millions of dollars worth of economic and military aid into Honduras, based on this country’s development as a fledgling democracy.

Right now, the justice system, which is administered by the Supreme Court, is in disarray. There are two competing Supreme Courts. Besides the jailed chief justice, four other newly named justices are in hiding from Suazo Cordova’s orders that they be arrested. Congress is threatening to cut off the salaries of five justices who remain in office against its will.

On the surface, the conflict appears to be a constitutional struggle of major proportions, raising such questions as: Does Congress have the legal authority to dismiss five members of the Supreme Court and replace them? Can the President declare Congress’ action unconstitutional?

A Politicians’ Squabble

But the root of the conflict is simply a politicians’ squabble, involving personal ambitions for high office, that got out of hand.

Congress, led by Efrain Bu Giron, its president, dismissed the original five Supreme Court justices, allies of Suazo Cordova, on allegations of corruption. Suazo Cordova, a portly country doctor, called the action illegal. He ordered the arrest of Ramon Valladares Soto, whom Congress named to be the new chief justice.

Valladares was charged with treason, although his only “offense” was to accept the appointment of the nation’s Congress. Although Valladares passed another day Saturday in Tegucigalpa’s Central Prison, local political observers doubted that he would be held much longer.

Under Honduras’ jumbled political system in a campaign year, control of the Supreme Court has become a key to choosing a successor to Suazo Cordova in presidential elections scheduled for November.

The chief justice is a member of the Electoral Tribunal, which by law resolves disagreements within political parties.

Could Influence Rulings

His rivals say that Suazo Cordova has controlled three votes on the tribunal, including that of the chief justice dismissed by Congress, and that he could therefore influence decisions affecting not just his own party but also those of the National Party, the main opposition. Among issues ruled on by the tribunal is the validity of delegate lists to party conventions.

Those delegates will nominate candidates for November’s election. Through the lists, his adversaries say, Suazo Cordova could conceivably name the Liberal and National Party candidates and perpetuate his own rule through a puppet successor. By law, the president cannot succeed himself.

Bu Giron, the congressional leader and another Liberal Party politician, is a declared candidate for the nomination to succeed the president. Suazo Cordova, however, opposes his candidacy. Bu Giron led the congressional move to shake up the Supreme Court and was backed by dissident Liberal Party deputies and as well as representatives from the National Party.

Bu Giron, whose nickname is Bimbu and whose followers are popularly called Bimbuistas, claims that his move against the Supreme Court was not motivated by his own political ambition.

A Close-Knit Country

Valladares, his choice for chief justice, is Bu Giron’s law partner.

It was not yet clear Saturday which side might give in, or when such a retreat could occur. The only known contact between Suazo Cordova and Bu Giron so far was a telephone conversation that, unbeknown to Bu Giron, was broadcast on a local radio station.

During the conversation, Suazo Cordova accused Bu Giron of trying to foment disorder, while Bu Giron charged that Suazo was buying votes against his candidacy.

Suazo Cordova sent emissaries to the opposition National Party, seeking a means of compromise in the confrontation, perhaps through the naming a second new set of Supreme Court justices.

Both Suazo Cordova and Bu Giron also appealed by letter for support from the armed forces chief, Gen. Walter Lopez--a reminder that the military still holds effective power here.

Military Being Careful

Suazo Cordova is not especially popular among military officers, but political observers cite several factors they say would keep the army from throwing him out of office.

First, the United States opposes any coup. The overthrow of an elected president would undermine the Reagan Administration’s position that one time military dictatorships are convertible into workable democracies.

Moreover, the military is also affected by rivalries among ambitious officers. The unanimity needed for a coup would be hard to attain.

The top military leadership met Friday and decided to merely observe the squabble in the politicians’ ranks.