Wondering about these so-called "flawed elections" of 2000 that, according to the popular press, has directly led to the rebellion in Haiti?
This article gives some background to the situation. Like me, I'm assuming you've been wondered why most news accounts leave out substantive information on Haiti's past and current political situation including its relationship with the U.S.
The information provided here is actually pretty tame, especially its description of the coup in 1991. The official story goes that coup leaders overthrew Aristide, but he was restored to power in 1994 after negotiations led by Jimmy Carter. What is still little known is that the U.S. imposed no real embargo on Haiti from 1991-94 (other than on paper) and waited to restore Aristide until all the grassroots organizations that helped put him in power were dismantled by force and until he agreed to the standard IMF/World Bank "restructuring package" that has been so lucrative to international investors, but less so to citizens of countries like Argentina where it has been instituted. That information is out there (I gleaned it from Chomsky's book Understanding Power and supplemental references).
This article focuses on 1994-present and clarifies who the opposition is, what their complaints are, and how Aristide has performed since his re-election.
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0224-09.htm
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(755 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
