By Axel Schwarzfeld on March 17, 2024.
Photo: Alfons Rodríguez
The violent situation in Haiti escalated to a point that last week forced the Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, to resign and begin the process of establishing a transitional presidential council to elect an interim prime minister and pave the way for presidential elections. Instead of easing the political, security and humanitarian crisis plaguing the Caribbean country, criminal gangs have redoubled their efforts, while international aid in every aspect is not enough.
Without going any further, on Thursday violence reached its peak: in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince there were attacks, looting and fires against public institutions and private properties. The main targets of the fires were the residence of the head of the National Police, Frantz Elbé, and the National Penitentiary, the largest prison in the country. Two weeks ago, this and another prison facility were attacked, resulting in the escape of some 3,000 prisoners, including gang members and leaders.
The absence of the State
In a dialogue with PáginaI12, political scientist and professor at the National University of San Juan (UNSJ), Sergio Guzmán, explained that as long as institutional order is not reestablished in Haiti, it is impossible to determine what may happen in the coming weeks. “The State lost its territorial control, therefore the institutions are devastated,” he said. “Right now there is absolute anarchy and we don’t know what may be in store for this beautiful nation that has a population that is mired in absolute poverty,” he added.
Jean Rosier Bonaparte, a graduate in international relations of Haitian origin from the National University of San Martin (UNSAM), told Pagina 12 that Henry governed without legitimacy or counter-power, due to the fact that “the Parliament is non-existent and the Judiciary is a fiction”.
He also mentioned that previously the armed groups were at the service of corrupt politicians, but that they later acquired autonomy and strength. “These groups are well armed, even better than the National Police forces,” he assured. “I would actually say that they are the State because they have the capacity of agency: they have the resources to act and make decisions over the civilian population,” he said.
The lawyer indicated that the arms and ammunition that the criminal gangs have come from the US and that the authorities did nothing to prevent this illegal market. According to the 2023 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), weapons purchased legally in states with flexible gun laws are often hidden in consumer products, electronic equipment, clothing, frozen food or even in the hulls of cargo ships.
Haiti has no firearms or ammunition industry, and there are laws restricting their legal possession. Despite these regulations and the restrictions imposed by the UN on the importation of weapons into the Central American country, these measures proved insufficient in the face of U.S. smugglers and Haitian gangs attacking the ports.
Foreign influence
Regarding humanitarian aid for Haiti, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre announced on Friday at a press conference that the U.S. will allocate $25 million, in addition to the $33 million announced on Monday. The European Commission, for its part, will send 20 million euros. These funds were established after the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) warned in a statement that it urgently needed $10 million to be able to continue distributing hot food in Port-au-Prince.
“It is a country that is experiencing a new phenomenon that is occurring in international politics: the ‘onegeization,’ that is, there is an extreme presence of non-governmental organizations,” Guzman said. “We return to the same thing: in the absence of a State that can logistically manage all this international aid, it is impossible to achieve changes, added to natural disasters and the situation of criminal gangs that took power for themselves under the undoubted influence of foreign powers, specifically the U.S.,” he added.
Bonaparte argues that the interventions of the international community come with ready-made recipes to help, but do not take into account the particularities and idiosyncrasies of Haiti. “The solution has to be a Haitian solution,” he remarked. “The accompaniment of the international community is obviously needed, but it has to be a sincere accompaniment. The solution has to be between parties: nations, politicians, organizations and civilians, to define a course for this country, because there is a situation of extreme poverty. People have no water, electricity or food,” he explained.
Haiti is the poorest country in the continent. Under this condition, it is suffering one of the most serious food crises in the world: nearly 50% of the population suffers from food insecurity and half of its slightly more than 11 million inhabitants live in poverty, further worsened by the escalation of violence, reported EFE news agency.
After learning of Henry’s resignation, Kenya announced that it was suspending the deployment of its troops as part of a UN-backed international mission until the new authorities were installed.
“I assured (Antony) Blinken that Kenya will assume the leadership of the United Nations Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti to restore peace and security in the country as soon as the Presidential Council is in place according to the agreed process,” Kenyan President William Ruto said Wednesday on social network X after a phone call with the U.S. Secretary of State.
Guzman said that even if assistance comes to Haiti, the African nation “is in a position to be helped, not to help the people,” in containing the violence. “It’s a third-rate country that has too many internal and institutional problems to be able to help. There is little it can do,” said the UNSJ academic.
The first independent Latin American country
Both interviewees agree that the problem of poverty and famine in Haiti goes back to its very origins. The country declared its independence from France on January 1, 1804, thus becoming the first independent state in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, there was a problem: it had to pay Paris an indemnity known as the “debt of independence”. It was not until 1947 that it finished paying it.
Regarding these more than 140 years of Haitian debt, Guzman stressed: “Haiti is paying the consequences of having had the daring act of rebelling and being the first black slave nation to become independent. The Western powers have had no other means of pressure than to prevent its development”.
Bonaparte indicated that the Caribbean country redefined the concept of freedom, since the freedom prioritized by the French Revolution was the freedom of Western man. “Haiti universalized that concept to all men of the world, because the black man was not considered a person and with the Haitian revolution, yes,” he detailed. “The slaves beat the best navy of the time, the navy of, nothing more and nothing less, Napoleon Bonaparte. Today we are paying our price. Unfortunately we are alone,” he remarked.
Source: Pagina 12, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English
Photo: Alfons Rodríguez