July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Representatives of deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and acting leader Roberto Micheletti will meet today in a bid to end a political stalemate, even as both sides show few signs they’re willing to ease their demands.

Zelaya this week gave Honduras’s acting government 72 hours from the start of today’s dialogue to reinstate him. Micheletti insists that Zelaya will never be allowed to return to power and that he’ll be arrested if he comes to Honduras.

“You have completely incompatible primary positions,” said Javier Corrales, an associate professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts who has research politics and constitutional reforms in Latin America. “It’s very rare for restoration to happen in coups.”

Neither Zelaya nor Micheletti have confirmed that they will attend the talks hosted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias in San Jose. A first round of talks on July 10 ended without an accord.

Zelaya was awakened by troops on June 28 and put on a plane out of the country after ignoring court orders to reinstate the head of the military. The army chief had refused to help organize a poll sought by Zelaya, aimed at changing the constitution, which the country’s Supreme Court had ruled was illegal. Micheletti says that Zelaya’s goal had been to seek another term in office, which is barred by the constitution.

Since his ouster from the presidency, the capital Tegucigalpa has seen daily demonstrations by groups that support his overthrow and by those that are against it. Zelaya’s backers this week put up blockades at the borders with Guatemala and El Salvador to demand his return, EFE reported.

Central America Travels

Zelaya, who has spent the past three weeks traveling throughout Central America and visiting Washington to secure international support, has said he plans to return to Honduras, defying Micheletti’s threat to arrest him.

He has the support of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who insists there are no grounds for talks and Zelaya should be immediately reinstated.

“Zelaya said that in the coming hours he’ll enter Honduras,” Chavez told reporters yesterday during a visit to Bolivia. “We’re with Zelaya. We have to support him.”

Chavez declined to provide details on how or when the ousted president might enter Honduran territory.

“We support a peaceful, negotiated resolution and urge other countries to play a positive role in achieving that outcome, and refrain from any actions that could lead to violence,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said July 16 in Washington.

Venezuela Jet

Zelaya, flying on a Venezuelan government-owned jet, attempted to land at the airport in Tegucigalpa on July 5. Military vehicles blocked the runway, and at least one of his supporters was shot dead at a demonstration outside the airport.

Both Chavez and Cuba’s former President Fidel Castro have accused U.S. President Barack Obama of failing to take a hard line against Micheletti, and have asked him to stop providing support to the Honduran military and withdraw the U.S. envoy in Tegucigalpa. Obama has called for Zelaya’s return to power.

Arias said this week that one proposal he’ll make today will be the creation of a “reconciliation government,” with Micheletti stepping down and new presidential elections being called before their scheduled date in November.

Restoring Zelaya will be the focus of the talks, Arias said.

Zelaya was in Nicaragua yesterday, and plans to attend a ceremony tomorrow in Managua to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said.

Zelaya Allies

Zelaya’s strongest support has come from the Chavez-led group of socialist presidents in Latin America, known as the Alba bloc, also which includes the leaders of Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Cuba.

Fidel Castro said July 16 that the “extreme right” in the U.S. was behind Zelaya’s overthrow. Chavez has said that recognizing the Micheletti government would open the door for similar overthrows in other countries in Latin America.

Zelaya “seems to be under considerable pressure from the Alba pole, and Chavez in particular will actively try to boycott any political settlement,” said Kevin Casas Zamora, a former vice president under Arias who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“I have the greatest respect for Arias, but it’s a pretty tall order,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Cancel in Caracas at dcancel@bloomberg.net; Matthew Walter at mwalter4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 18, 2009 02:01 EDT