A CID-Gallup poll from December 2005, shows Rene Garcia Preval, the former prime minister for six months under Aristide's first administration before a brutal military coup in September 1991. An agronomist educated in Europe, he is also a former president of Haiti whose term ran from 1996 to 2001. He is ahead with 37% of the vote. His nearest competitor is with 10% of the vote is Charles Henry Baker,a wealthy sweatshop owner and a co-founder of the Group 184, a so-called civil society organization that helped to overthrow Aristide and was heavily funded by the United States, France and Canada through an intriguing web of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO's). There are over 30 candidates running for the presidency.
The supporters of Preval, come from the same base that supported the ouster of Jean Bertrand Aristide. A study conducted by Aristide opposition National Organization for the Advancement of Haiti (NOAH), shows 51% of the population, would welcome Aristide as a private citizen. The CID-Gallup election poll, inadvertantly, showed the support of Aristide's ouster was an illusion. Aristide had the support of the rural poor and city slum dwellers.
The main reason for stagnation in Haiti is not government spending, or inflation. It was lack of assistance. After Aristide refused to privatize state-owned enterprises, the US cut off assistance.
Under Aristide Haiti for the first time developed universal schooling. The budget went from 68% to 72%. More schools were built from 1994-2000, then between 1804-1994. A literacy program was developed.
More money went for healthcare than any previous government. It developed a lauded AIDS education program. The country received health professionals from Cuba.
I can go on and on with statistics, to show a progressive government was overthrown.
The US called for Aristide to privatize the telephone company, electricity company, three banks, a cement factory and a flour mill. He only privatized the last two on the list.
Voting booths are almost non-existent in the slum areas, making voting hard for several hundred most likely supporters of Preval. I believe you need over 51% of the vote in Haiti, or face runoff. Expect the anti-Preval forces, with US and French support, try to influence the election through NGOs.
I enjoy kiskeyAcity a blog that covers Haitian and Caribbean cultural issues. I hope you'll visit it. See also HaitiAction.
Note: This post is written before the election results are tallied.RENEGADE EYE
9 comments:
Nice Template! Took the darkness away!
Looks much much better than the two before.
Stick with it this time around!
very informative article. Haiti seems to us in Pakistan light years away, but now due to your post and due to kiskeyAcity's blog, I know much about it.
Thanks.
Off topic:
I too am worried about NOFTA.
Is that silly?
You are very sensitive to Haiti's plight. I wish them the best. I have seen so many malnourished children who are beautiful enough to break the heart.
I wonder if Baker and Andy Apaid (yet another wealthy American sweatshop owner and Group 184 member) will join forces w/the BushCo State Dept thugs to make trouble for Preval? If so, Preval better get ready for to be told that the US simply can't protect him from those "crazy marauding Haitian mobs" who have conveniently been given arms by BushCo's minions.
Second paragraph, first line:
The supporters of Preval, come from the same base that supported the ouster of Jean Bertrand Aristide.
Are you sure about that?
Thanks for the shout out, Renegade.
For the record, I do not endorse any presidential candidate. I don't particularly think that elections will change much - although yes, they do need to happen. What will help a lot is strengthening OTHER branches of gvt like the legislative and the judiciary which the executive branch routinely violates.
More later...
CHeck out:
www.ijdh.org "Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti"
Blurb: Brian Concannon Jr., Esq., IJDH’s Director, and co-manager of the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI) in Haiti since 1996. The BAI spearheaded prosecution of human rights cases, most notably the Raboteau Massacre case, one of the hemisphere’s most significant human rights prosecutions.
(I got to meet Brian a couple of months ago, he came to our law school...I am so glad to see you are giving updates on teh Elections....I wish I had more time to myself!!)
HaitiAction.net says the polling shows supporters of Preval, supported the ouster of Aristide.
Mohamed from the blog NOFTA, seems to have disappeared. He would post here often. It is not in character for him to not blog in a month. He has a great blog from Egypt.
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