Deconstructing News

[bcholmes]

Chavez courts Haiti.

[Chavez] left after signing a $100-million assistance package, including cheap oil, medical support, airport construction and electricity generation.

The announcement is part of Chavez's aggressive effort to use his country's oil wealth to wean countries in the hemisphere off Washington's influence.

I've heard this discussed a fair bit last week. What isn't directly mentioned is that Chavez has given his aid to support the government of Haiti, which in recent years has had an annual operating budget of around $300 million.

U.S. officials don't sound too worried about Chavez's latest push. The United States is Haiti's largest foreign aid donor, handing out $600-million since 2004. American aid programs provide food to 335,000 poor Haitians, as well as funding for school textbooks, HIV-AIDS treatment and other things.

The key difference, of course, is that the US (like Canada) bypasses the government of Haiti, and gives its money to non-government agencies (NGOs). Some of those NGOs are respected charities, and others are not. In Canada, aid funding like this goes through an organization called CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency). Something like 9 out of every 10 such aid dollars in Haiti is spent on "securing democracy", or (basically) military operations against people who opposed the interim government. Also, during the 2006 Haitian election, CIDA hired André Apaid ("and 1500 of his closest friends," quipped Anthony Fenton) to monitor the elections for fairness.

So who is Andy Apaid? He owns a sweatshop in Haiti, and he was the most public opponent of Aristide. He's the head of the Group of 184, which is the major opposition to the Fanmi Lavalas party.

So, back to the news article:

In a major boost to Haitian clothing manufacturers, President Bush signed into law this week a measure giving Haiti duty-free entry into the United States for locally sewn apparel.

Wow. That's pretty convenient. Cui bono?

U.S. officials may be wary of the close ties between Castro and Haiti's left-leaning president, Rene Preval. But Washington has no reservations about Preval's democratic credentials.

[...]

"Haitian foreign policy under Preval has shown a lot of pragmatism," said Robert Maguire, a Haiti expert at Trinity College in Washington, D.C. "He's not putting his eggs in one basket."

Also worth noting: personal security for the President is arranged by the newly-formed Haitian National Police. The Haitian National Police were formed and organized by the interim government (with the "help" of the UN and MINUSTAH), and is comprised of many former Haitian Army officers. Who, by the way, don't have army jobs because Aristide disbanded the army after his first return to the country. Why? Because the Haitian Army, which had been formed by the US during the occupation of 1915-1934, has never raised its weapons against any other foe except Haiti itself. It has been involved in several coups (including the 1991 coup against Aristide). This passage, from Wikipedia, seems worth quoting:

As in other countries occupied by the United States in the early 20th century, the local (U.S.-trained) military was often the only cohesive and effective institution left in the wake of withdrawal. This sowed the seeds for a sequence of military-backed dictatorships, all attached to American patronage, which would define the next 50 years of Haiti's history.

So. The people who ousted Aristide are now the personal security force for President Preval. Canada's role in organizing and training this police force is described as "aid" by people like Stephen Harper and Paul Martin.

Comments

[nexstarman.livejournal.com]

What happened to the Tontons Macoutes?

[(Anonymous)]

They didn't last after the Duvaliers. (Although there are rumours that the Macoutes never disbanding; they just went into hiding. Such rumours aren't given much credence).

Haiti

[trema-slo.livejournal.com]

Being aware of Chavez, thanks to local small film presenters and community organizers, I am now well pleased to learn more about what's going on in Haiti. You Canadians sure do keep an eye on things. Thank you, BC, for this well done post.
T.L.