The showdown between the president and virtually all other circles of power in Honduras plunged the impoverished Central America country into a political crisis with no solution in sight. Congress — led by members of Zelaya's own Liberal Party — has opened an investigation into his mental stability and could declare him unfit to govern.
Thousands of Zelaya opponents marched through the capital of Tegucigalpa to demand his ouster Friday, chanting "he must leave now!" Many shops, gasoline stations and some schools were closed for fear of disturbances.
In Washington, the Organization of American States held a session to discuss the situation in Honduras. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged "restraint by all concerned in order to prevent any further escalation" of the crisis, said U.N. associate spokesman Farhan Haq.
Zelaya lashed out at Congress early Friday for considering his ouster.
"Congress cannot investigate me, much less remove me or stage a technical coup against me because I am honest, I'm a free president and nobody scares me," Zelaya said in his two-hour speech, at one point bursting — Chavez-like — into song.
"But we have to forgive them. Glory to God! We have to forgive, and I know who to forgive because the people are my support and my best ally in this political process," he said.
He referred to Congressional President Roberto Micheletti — a member of his own party — as "a pathetic, second-class congressman who got that job because of me."
Micheletti, who by law would take over the presidency if Zelaya were ousted, retorted, "We should not have to suffer the aspirations of a disturbed man who wants to hold onto to power."
Demostrators opposed to Honduras President Manuel Zelaya, protest in Tegucigalpa, Friday, June 26, 2009. President Manuel Zelaya is promoting a Sunday referendum on constitutional changes that has plunged the country into crisis by setting the president at odds with the military, the courts and the legislature that have branded the vote illegal.