Haiti

Haiti The western third of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, it achieved independence from France through a slave rebellion in 1804. The political system degenerated gradually into a state of virtual anarchy until an occupation by US troops in 1915. This was caused by the US policy of extending its influence in the Caribbean in general, and the significant German influence on the island in particular, at a time when World War I had broken out. Despite the partial modernization of the economy due to US investment, growing nationalist pressure in Haiti, and Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy in particular, led to a withdrawal of US troops in 1934, though direct US fiscal control continued until 1947. In subsequent decades, power passed from the mixed-race Mulatto minority to representatives from the Black majority, which made up 95 per cent of the population.

This process was completed by the election of François Duvalier in 1957. He established a ruthless authoritarian regime and methodically reduced the influence not only of the USA but also of the various internal powers, notably the military, the Roman Catholic Church, the business community, and the trade unions. Upon his death, the new power structure proved so stable that his son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, was able to succeed him effortlessly in 1971. Promising to follow his father's political ‘revolution’ (as he put it) with an economic one, his economic policies failed. This eroded the support for his regime of key groups such as the Black business community. Furthermore, the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1983 restored some of the self-confidence of the Church, which subsequently became a principal voice of opposition. Given the increasing poverty of the population, in what was already one of the poorest countries in America, which stood in stark contrast to the corruption of the regime, Duvalier increasingly preserved his power through terror exercised by his personal death squads, the Tonton Macoute. As violence escalated, US hostility to the regime grew.

Duvalier was finally forced into exile on 9 February 1986, though subsequent efforts at democratization were stopped by a military coup on 19 June 1988. Following the overthrow of the military regime, US pressure led to the first truly democratic elections in Haitian history on 16 December 1990, which were won by Aristide. He was deposed by another military coup in October 1991 and fled to the USA. Given the accelerated rate of Haitian emigration to the USA, President Clinton decided in favour of a military intervention in September 1994 in order to restore Aristide to power, though skilful last-minute negotiations by Carter and Powell led to a voluntary withdrawal from power of the Haitian military junta.

On 19 September 1994, 15,000 US troops landed in Haiti to restore order and help in the establishment of civil authority and a civilian police force. Subsequently, US forces were gradually displaced by an international force consisting mainly of soldiers from neighbouring Caribbean countries and Canada under the authority of the UN. With opposition parties boycotting the elections, on 17 December 1995, René Prevál from Aristide's Lavalas movement was elected with 87.9 per cent of the popular vote to become President on 7 February 1996. In 2000, the presidential elections were won by Aristide with over 90 per cent of the vote. However, the opposition accused the government of massive electoral fraud, and in early 2001 it appointed a rival President of its own, Gerard Gourgue. Although Aristide's government tried to suppress the opposition, it was forced to agree to negotiations by its creditor nations. The economy continued to be hampered by political uncertainty and administrative incompetence, and during the 1990s the economy declined in real terms as growth lagged behind population growth.