Lula: Recognizing Honduran Poll Would Be Dangerous Signal

Recognizing the outcome of the presidential elections in Honduras would send a dangerous signal to Central America, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said late Sunday.

“It’s not possible for us to accept a coup,” Lula said when entering his hotel to attend the Iberoamerican Summit that started here Sunday and ends Tuesday.

Conservative Porfirio Lobo has claimed victory in Sunday’s poll in Honduras, the first presidential election in the Central American nation since the ousting in June of elected President Manuel Zelaya.

Zelaya’s foreign minister Patricia Rodas is in Estoril to rally support to reinstate Zelaya, who remains in the Brazilian Embassy in Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa.

The U.S. has signaled it is likely to recognize the outcome of Sunday’s elections, along with Peru, Panama and Costa Rica.

But many Latin American nations have said they won’t support the outcome, and Spain has urged Zelaya to be reinstated.

Central America has a history of turbulent politics.