Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world and also one where neoliberal programs have been in full swing for a long time. This is something that some want to deny, but I don't know how it can be denied.
In December of 1990 the top two candidates for President in Haiti were a former World Bank official, Marc Bazin, and Jean Bertrand-Aristide. Bazin was the US favored candidate because the World Bank and IMF are the primary implementers of neoliberal policies, the implementation of which is frequently referred to by the term Washington Consensus. Bazin's plans are simple. Cut import restrictions beyond their already non-existent level, reduce tariff's, and variously do all the other things favored by business. These supposedly will be a tremendous benefit for the poor.
Aristide is basically a progressive. He wants to do the very opposite. Rebuild Haiti's industries to where they can be self sufficient again. This means tariffs, taxes, and government that provides services to the poor. Make companies pay social security taxes. Increase minimum wage. There is some info on his policies here.
The assumption was that Bazin would win. He had all the money and all the power. But Haiti shocked the world. Aristide earned 67% of the vote and Bazin got 14%.
But that didn't matter. Haiti's first ever excursion into democracy would be brief. Aristide was immediately overthrown in a coup and Bazin was appointed acting Prime Minister. The US, while verbally objecting, did what it took to give the coup regime legitimacy and sustain it.
In 1994 Clinton allowed Aristide to return, but on conditions. He had to accept the harsh neoliberal regime of the defeated Bazin. Aristide had no choice but to comply, and did so.
The results were predictable. What happened was not unlike what happened to Haitian pig farmers when USAID mandated that they destroy all of their pigs and replace them with Iowa pigs in the early 80's. Haitian rice farmers were pretty efficient and the industry is important to the peasants, just as the Haitian pig industry was a backbone of the economy for many of the nation's poor. But how can they compete with American rice? Haitian rice production languishes as it has been doing for a while. A condition of IMF loans in the 80's was reduction in tariffs on rice and other agricultural products. US subsidized rice imports continue to rise. Peasants are driven off their land and into sweatshops near the slums. This makes sense because they are pursuing their comparative advantage. They need to be in the factories, not producing rice. That's more efficient.
The same is true of poultry. Tyson chicken floods the market with dark meat, which is not wanted by US consumers. Most other countries have functional governments that block that garbage. So Tyson first tried to dump it in Mexico and Canada, but since they have functional governments they were able to prevent it. Not Haiti, with it's non-existent governmental agencies. This destroyed the native Haitian chicken production. It's interesting that even Clinton, who comes out of Arkansas, which is where Tyson headquarters is, has admitted the destructive nature of these policies on Haiti. He doesn't mention Tyson, but only "Arkansas farmers."
All kinds of additional cause and effect relationships related to neoliberal policies within Haiti are discussed here. Ultimately Aristide was removed from power again in 2004 because he did not implement the neoliberal policies fast enough. Today his political party is banned from participating in the elections.
The results are of course a catastrophe. People on the very edge of subsistence. And the poverty exacerbates all the other problems. When an earthquake hits Cuba or Chile there may be a few deaths. When it happens in Haiti it's hundreds of thousands dead. As food prices rise the first riots are in Haiti. Just as the many millions killed in China due to Mao were not necessarily killed because Mao intended it but because he enacted policies that lead to their deaths, so Haitians die due to economic policies imposed on them by force by people, like Clinton, that for some reason don't recognize the destructive nature of these policies until it is too late.
The results were predictable. What happened was not unlike what happened to Haitian pig farmers when USAID mandated that they destroy all of their pigs and replace them with Iowa pigs in the early 80's. Haitian rice farmers were pretty efficient and the industry is important to the peasants, just as the Haitian pig industry was a backbone of the economy for many of the nation's poor. But how can they compete with American rice? Haitian rice production languishes as it has been doing for a while. A condition of IMF loans in the 80's was reduction in tariffs on rice and other agricultural products. US subsidized rice imports continue to rise. Peasants are driven off their land and into sweatshops near the slums. This makes sense because they are pursuing their comparative advantage. They need to be in the factories, not producing rice. That's more efficient.
The same is true of poultry. Tyson chicken floods the market with dark meat, which is not wanted by US consumers. Most other countries have functional governments that block that garbage. So Tyson first tried to dump it in Mexico and Canada, but since they have functional governments they were able to prevent it. Not Haiti, with it's non-existent governmental agencies. This destroyed the native Haitian chicken production. It's interesting that even Clinton, who comes out of Arkansas, which is where Tyson headquarters is, has admitted the destructive nature of these policies on Haiti. He doesn't mention Tyson, but only "Arkansas farmers."
Nothing new here. Duvaliers were never the nationalist they pretended to be. And people still consider Aristide great because he was so concerned about the poor...smh.
Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world and also one where neoliberal programs have been in full swing for a long time. This is something that some want to deny, but I don't know how it can be denied.
In December of 1990 the top two candidates for President in Haiti were a former World Bank official, Marc Bazin, and Jean Bertrand-Aristide. Bazin was the US favored candidate because the World Bank and IMF are the primary implementers of neoliberal policies, the implementation of which is frequently referred to by the term Washington Consensus. Bazin's plans are simple. Cut import restrictions beyond their already non-existent level, reduce tariff's, and variously do all the other things favored by business. These supposedly will be a tremendous benefit for the poor.
Aristide is basically a progressive. He wants to do the very opposite. Rebuild Haiti's industries to where they can be self sufficient again. This means tariffs, taxes, and government that provides services to the poor. Make companies pay social security taxes. Increase minimum wage. There is some info on his policies here.
The assumption was that Bazin would win. He had all the money and all the power. But Haiti shocked the world. Aristide earned 67% of the vote and Bazin got 14%.
But that didn't matter. Haiti's first ever excursion into democracy would be brief. Aristide was immediately overthrown in a coup and Bazin was appointed acting Prime Minister. The US, while verbally objecting, did what it took to give the coup regime legitimacy and sustain it.
In 1994 Clinton allowed Aristide to return, but on conditions. He had to accept the harsh neoliberal regime of the defeated Bazin. Aristide had no choice but to comply, and did so.
The results were predictable. What happened was not unlike what happened to Haitian pig farmers when USAID mandated that they destroy all of their pigs and replace them with Iowa pigs in the early 80's. Haitian rice farmers were pretty efficient and the industry is important to the peasants, just as the Haitian pig industry was a backbone of the economy for many of the nation's poor. But how can they compete with American rice? Haitian rice production languishes as it has been doing for a while. A condition of IMF loans in the 80's was reduction in tariffs on rice and other agricultural products. US subsidized rice imports continue to rise. Peasants are driven off their land and into sweatshops near the slums. This makes sense because they are pursuing their comparative advantage. They need to be in the factories, not producing rice. That's more efficient.
The same is true of poultry. Tyson chicken floods the market with dark meat, which is not wanted by US consumers. Most other countries have functional governments that block that garbage. So Tyson first tried to dump it in Mexico and Canada, but since they have functional governments they were able to prevent it. Not Haiti, with it's non-existent governmental agencies. This destroyed the native Haitian chicken production. It's interesting that even Clinton, who comes out of Arkansas, which is where Tyson headquarters is, has admitted the destructive nature of these policies on Haiti. He doesn't mention Tyson, but only "Arkansas farmers."
All kinds of additional cause and effect relationships related to neoliberal policies within Haiti are discussed here. Ultimately Aristide was removed from power again in 2004 because he did not implement the neoliberal policies fast enough. Today his political party is banned from participating in the elections.
The results are of course a catastrophe. People on the very edge of subsistence. And the poverty exacerbates all the other problems. When an earthquake hits Cuba or Chile there may be a few deaths. When it happens in Haiti it's hundreds of thousands dead. As food prices rise the first riots are in Haiti. Just as the many millions killed in China due to Mao were not necessarily killed because Mao intended it but because he enacted policies that lead to their deaths, so Haitians die due to economic policies imposed on them by force by people, like Clinton, that for some reason don't recognize the destructive nature of these policies until it is too late.
Haiti is simply a "cash cow" for the "Aid The Poor" community based in the USA.
Haiti remains as it is because of the money trail that it is on.
Haiti kept as a depraved state is a good thing for the Aid The Poor industry.
It must be that way for the money trail to remain intact.
Whether Haiti gets rice from the USA or Haiti; or whether Haiti gets small scale industry; or small scale infrastructure doesn't matter.
It has no affect on the money trail.
ONLY large scale focused efforts in infrastructure or industry can alter the trail and that is why Farmer so opposes massive infrastructure development.
Small scale this or that is okay with the NGO system one way or the other.
« Si vous consommez les œufs et la viande, issus de nos poulaillers, vous vivrez beaucoup plus longtemps, parce que ce sont des produits organiques », rappelle t-il.
« Avec 150.00 gourdes, nous pouvons nous procurer plusieurs morceaux de poulets et même un poisson de dimension respectable », fait-elle valoir en agitant la variable des prix comparatifs.
$300,000.00 worth of contraband intercepted by authorities....and this is just one find...one day.
Haiti's GDP listed as 7.4 billion dollars..........imagine the damage done to our economy by such criminal acts.
