Brazil, Venezuela condemn Honduras vote result

Brazil and Venezuela have condemned the result of the Honduran presidential election after a military coup ousted President Manuel Zelaya.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday that failure to oppose the move could encourage other adventurers to stage coups in Latin America.

“If the countries that can … make gestures do not do so, we do not know where else there could be a coup,” Lula said.

Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said earlier on Thursday that Brazil would not recognize the disputed election as that would be paramount to legitimizing the coup.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a close ally of Zelaya, called the vote an ‘electoral farce’.

Zelaya has been residing at the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa since his return to the country from exile in September.

The ousted leader told his supporters to boycott the election and said the winner would not be a true president.

“He is going to be a very weak leader without recognition from the people and most countries,” Zelaya told Reuters.

During the election on Sunday, police fired tear gas and used water cannons on Zelaya’s supporters, wounding some and arresting many others. Angry protesters rejected the election result, claiming that about 75 percent of the electorate failed to participate in the vote.

Honduras’ conservative opposition National Party said on Sunday that its candidate Porfirio Lobo won the election. At the same time, Lobo’s main rival Elvin Santos of the ruling Liberal Party admitted defeat.