Looking forward, we must consider the possibility that Haiti, by itself, may never stabilize, never see economic growth, and never pull itself from abject poverty. Let's look back on where Haiti has been for the last two decades. Since 1986, we have seen the last full year the Duvalier regime controlled Haiti; one dictator ousted by another and then again by another; the first democratic elections in Haiti's 180+ year history, which too were curtailed; a hemisphere-wide, economic embargo of Haiti that in retrospect only hurt the poor and not the junta; the second US occupation, (check out Hideous Dream by Stan Goff); tainted election after tainted election; and the evaporation of the Haitian military and the Legislative Branch. Needless to say, Haiti has seen much turmoil. Read more »

In getting Haiti to where it is today, it has had many internal and external actors. There is, of course, the horrific toll slavery took upon the Taino Indian population (eradicated by colonizers by the late 17th century) and blacks taken from West Africa to replace them. In 1825, Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer conceded to French demands to pay reparations for the property and investment colonizers had lost due to Haitian independence. Boyer, afraid of invasion, agreed. This sum, which has been valued at more then $21 billion in today’s money, crippled Haiti’s economy as it stripped the countryside in order to make payments. Read more »