Honduras 1949 and the Dominican Republic 2009

Through the magic of satellite TV and from the safety of my Catskills Mountain retreat in Upstate New York, I was able to see two events unfolding in front of me that speak of the progress in one country and the regression of another.

The Saturday before the Honduran military "coup" I had watched two old acquaintances in whom I trusted implicitly, criticize the Dominican "Circus of Clowns" known as the "Corporación" and their patronage shenanigans on the investigative journalist program "Nuria". Dominicans were paying extremely high energy prices while the company's payroll, perks and benefits ballooned.

On the program, I had seen these two old acquaintances give their opinion and evaluation on a touchy subject near and dear to everyone's heart-apparent government corruption in the electric company. Both spoke their minds without fear of reprisals. This was Santo Domingo of the 21st Century.

One was Celso Marranzini who I've known and trusted since he was a neighbor of mine in his twenties. The other acquaintance is my old friend, industry colleague and one of the smartest men I have known, Manuel Cabrera; head of the Herrera Industrial Zone Association. Both courageously posed intelligent questions on the subject. It was truly enjoyable.

However, that same evening events elsewhere were unfolding with different purpose. The Honduran Army was not going to sleep that night. They were busy conspiring just like 1949.

The next day residents of Tegucigalpa were waking up to a Sunday morning military "coup". President Zelaya was being put on a plane to Costa Rica. No "ifs" or "buts", he was out, "Adios!!! ", "punto".

My main point is that most people don't know how well they live until they travel to another country. Case in point.

On a sultry and lazy Managua Saturday afternoon I was invited for drinks with a friend to the local private Country Club. After introducing myself as a "Dominicano" one of the local "grand dame" present jumped with glee expressing how it was and still is her favorite country. I was taken aback by surprise.

She went on to tell us how her husband had been assigned an executive position in Santiago's "Zona Franca". In fact their best years were living in the Dominican Republic. She longed to return.

Then it hit me. I have been traveling as a tourist and filming through Mexico, Central and South America for 35 years.

First, Central America is a dangerous place today. The nicest place is Costa Rica, but although it's true that they have more teachers than soldiers they don't tell you that they extensively employ private protection services galore.

Guatemala has an unsurpassed high daily homicide rate and Salvadoran gangs with painted faces are deadly and scary. Nicaraguans would rather live in a political quagmire, lose to the opposition than compromise and "Mexico Lindo" is history. Honduras was quietly living in ancient fashion. Now the world knows.

And just one question for Venezuelans resisting Chavez from their air conditioned Miami homes. How come there were so many poor slums outside of Caracas for so many years when Venezuela was perennially one of the richest oil exporting countries in the world? Colombia's 60-year war speaks for itself. Cuba's future remains a mystery.

Therefore, I echo my Managua Country Club friend and say "Hooray" for the Dominican Republic. Thanks for courageous patriots in Celso and Manuel it remains a ray of hope in the Caribbean Basin.

In closing, one historical suggestion for President Leonel Fernández . In order to project authority and demand absolute obedience in solving problems such as the porous border, bombardments of Colombian packages etc., perhaps he should don a "Generalissimo's" uniform. Look at History, it worked for "El Jefe" and Heureaux.