Haiti: Land of the corrupt and of dirty politics

Five days ago, the Haitian president Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his private residence in Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital. No motive has been identified yet, however this homicide comes after months and months of protests.

Source: Office of U.S. Ambassador to U.N.

While we cannot come to any reliable conclusion, given the circumstances and the timing, speculation is brewing. All of this seems to be the culmination of what seems, in the larger context, a country and people who have mostly suffered, who have time and time again been forced to fight for what they have always sought as right, even if the odds were against them. However, they seem to repeatedly come back to square one. But who is to blame for this? And do the consequences of the past still affect the first emancipated black republic?

Source: Miami Herald

Haiti, despite being a nation which was strong enough to fight off its foreign rulers, could not have anticipated the consequences that their alien exploiters had put upon them. This was worsened by the lack of international help due to racial policies against the country by neighboring states and the perpetrators of their exploitation.

Source: The New Tropic

When Columbus arrived in Hispaniola, the island upon which Haiti sits today, he brought with him the exploitation of the land and the population soon came with. With the passage of time, bloodbath took away the autochthon population, the Taino, a workforce that was needed. This workforce was replaced and would come in the form of slaves brought in from Africa.

At the same time, the Nine Years' wars had just ended with the signing of the Ryswick treaty in 1697. This treaty divided the former island of Hispaniola into two, giving one half to the French crown, and the other to the Spanish Empire. The french Saint-Domingue was heavily exploited for sugar and other crops popular in the New World at the time. Their slaves were just as heavily exploited.

Source: Library of Congress

However, unlike its Spanish neighbor which integrated with the remaining population

and looked elsewhere for exploitation of land and slaves(i.e.: Mexico, El Salvador, etc...), this exploitation would eventually lead to resentment from the black population, who eventually revolted against the French and successfully gained independence in 1804.

Despite their emancipation, they were still heavily sanctioned by other nations, including their former rulers, France, and the land of the free, the United States, who wanted to avoid their own slave rebellion. In the end, the consequences of the colonisation were dramatic with only 11.3% of the land being highly sustainable for crops and 31.7% of land was sustainable with risks from erosion and other natural phenomena.

Furthermore, the effects of past economic sanctions against Haiti are still felt today. Compared to its neighbor the Dominican Republic, its economy lags behind completely, with a GDP significantly lower than the DR, sitting at around 14.8B$, while the DR sits at 78.84B. Their GDP per capita shows an equally significant gap. with Haiti sitting at 2969$ per capita while the DR sits

Source: New York Public Library

at around 19,799$ per capita.

Source: The Guardian

As mentioned, Haiti is a nation impoverished by its foreign rulers. Its situation was not helped by numerous corrupt politicians which came after the republic was declared independent, further plunging the country into economic and social disarray. This is another example of how poverty invites corruption.

Source: CBS News

Everything from the police force to the highest courts and branches of government are known to be unreliable and untrustworthy. The distrust between the population and the government has caused it to be very politically unstable, constantly undermining the values established by their own forefathers. Thus, causing the nation to become a hive for criminal organizations. Even their own police force is involved in criminal activities despite the fact that they were trained in US police camps in the aftermath of Operation Uphold Democracy which “freed” Haiti from military rule.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Defense

While Haiti has always been known to be a corrupt nation, some trace this modern day instability to Jean-Claude Duvalier, president of Haiti from 1971 up until a coup in 1986. The President and his allies would raid state run monopolies, completely ignoring basic transportation infrastructure and failing to pay taxes. He would later be overthrown by an uprising. Despite this, a wave of like minded successors, such as Aristide and Preval, furthered Haiti’s descent to corruption. Artiside, rather ironically, ran on a campaign against political corruption despite the fact that his presidency is considered to be one of the most corrupt eras in the nation’s history.

Source: Jamaican Observer

The assassination of president Jovenel, while tragic and violent, seems to be another footnote in the larger context of Haiti’s history.He is just another corrupt politician, who probably made another wrong move, just like his predecessors. Just that this time instead of an exile which Aristide had received, or a coup like Duvalier, it ended up being death that caught up to him. The circumstances however, stays the same.

Source: NY Press

It is unlikely that Haiti will change for the better anytime soon. If anything, the assassination of the president proves that Haiti is a country so corrupt and distraught, it looks toward radical solutions for any sort of change. Whether it is the fault of American insiders or the fault of Colombian nationals, the death of such an important figure, especially after a politically unstable period, is definitely something worth thinking about.

Source: IB Times

In conclusion, we are to blame not only corrupt politicians for their misbehavior as servants of the people, but also foreign powers who have abused their power and have put Haiti down for their own personal interests and goals. Their past actions, especially from the French and their slaves, have destroyed the land permanently and has left a scar on the economy, forever damaging Haiti.