As Reuters bureau chief for six (count 'em, six) countries in South America, Fiona Ortiz wields a tad of influence on the way the world understands the continent.
In a blog entry posted this morning called The little coup that could, in Honduras, Ortiz stands firm and raises her middle finger in a salute to Honduran movements for peace and democracy.
She starts by setting the scene in Tegucigalpa, the nation's capital. Think bad music and bad fashion that's like, so mid-80s. Oh, and don't forget the commentary on the security guards with big guns. I swear to you, I've never met someone who doesn't comment on those security guards after their first trip to a Central American capital. Insightful stuff from a Reuters honcho, to say the least.
Ortiz goes on to talk about Honduras as a "deeply conservative country of 7 million" with a business elite that knows how to flex its muscles.
She diminishes the betrayal and political game playing at work by US and big business backed coup leaders, calling it "bickering." She refuses to do any kind of structural analysis of elite media control. Instead, Ortiz decides that because most of the TV stations in Honduras support the coup, so do Hondurans.
As for the resilient pro-democracy movements in Honduras, Ortiz writes them off with a single stroke as a "so-called resistance movement."
Ladies and gentleman, the grand pooh-bah of Reuters in South America has spoken.
The natural next step is to look elsewhere for our news. I suggest Upside Down World, and Narco News, for starters.