The Destruction of the Haitian Economy before the Earthquake (Full Documentary)

United States Foreign Policy in Haiti: A Study in Failure Ulric S. Haynes, Jr. United States Ambassador to Algeria, 1977-1981 American "Operation Restore Democracy" in Haiti has failed. The blame for failure must be shared both by Haiti and the United States (US). For Haiti's part, a popularly elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whose return to power as the country's legitimate chief of state we engineered, is now encouraging techniques of political assassination, terrorism, and election tampering to ensure his return to power. All independent observers of the May 21, 2000, legislative elections agree that the process was flawed, resulting in an overwhelming victory for ex-President Aristide's Lavalas Party. In the next round of elections on November 26, 2000, Haitians are scheduled to vote for the President and a number of additional seats in the legislature. However, because of the flawed election process in May, the major parties in opposition to Lavalas have decided to boycott the November elections. This virtually guarantees that Aristide will be re-elected and the legislature will be dominated by his Lavalas Party. In this connection, Leon Manus, president of Haiti's independent election commission, fled to the United States after receiving death threats for refusing to validate the May election results. After the May elections, Haiti's present President, Rene Preval, dissolved the legislature and has ruled by decree. Preval is generally accepted as being a puppet for Aristide. For our part, these tainted elections have cost the United States about $23 million to print ballots, set up polling places, and train election workers.