On the other hand, we have seen a trend in a number of our Latin American countries for the executive to bypass the legislature and judiciary by calling for popular referenda that seek to constitutionally eradicate term limits. These ``legal'' circumventions of the checks and balances of power become an auto-immune-like disease of the democratic system. With unlimited term limits, even a leader who was at first democratically elected can consolidate enough power to manipulate future elections, thereby undermining the original legitimacy of democracy.

In Honduras, the Supreme Court and legislature asserted their ``immune response,'' through the military, against an attempt at executive overreach in clear violation of the Honduran Constitution. The actions of the government to restrain its executive branch are therefore qualitatively different than a military coup.

The solution to the Honduran crisis is to immediately call for new, transparent elections that respect the term limits set by the state's current constitution. These elections should be carried out with the free-handed participation of the national institutions, such as the electoral board and other pertinent bodies, and the close supervision of the international democratic community, such as the OAS, NDI, the Carter Center, The European Union and other specialized regional institutions.

Democracy and freedom cannot be defined by the single day of an election; we must demand of our leaders that, once elected, they also govern democratically.

Alejandro Toledo was President of Peru from 2001 to 2006 and is currently a consulting professor at the Freeman Spogli Institute-CDDRL at Stanford University and president of the Global Center for Development and Democracy.