Peace vs. Power: A Conversation with Jean-Bertrand Aristide

by Geoffrey Cook

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

[ Ed. Note : The following article is based on a visit to Haiti by the author in late 2000, when Jean-Bertrand Aristide was campaigning to be re-elected president of Haiti after a five-year absence from the office. Initially elected in 1990, he was deposed in a military coup months later, and only served out the final year of his five-year term from 1994-95. Prevented from serving two consecutive terms in office, Aristide was re-elected in December 2000 to a second five-year term, which began in February 2001. Now, in February 2004, opposition insurgents are demanding that Aristide step down despite the fact that two years are remaining in his term in office.]

Jean–Bertrand Aristide's compound stood as a fortress on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Its imposing presence impressed upon this writer the deadly nature of politics on this Caribbean island of Hispañola. Yet Aristide, the former Roman Catholic priest, has dedicated his life to selfless political service to his impoverished people. And he is well aware that this work “could very well mean my life.”

Inside the thick, high walls of the compound, armed personnel kept a vigilant watch with automatic weapons hoisted on their shoulders. Packages were thoroughly checked [although this was prior to Sept. 11, 2001]. Adjoining the conference room a sizeable contingent of security men gathered: despite the tropical climate, they wore suits that marked them as a “Praetorian” guard.

Aristide, who professes to be a “man of peace,” proclaimed, “If we want peace, we have to decentralize the country.” Indeed, the political environment was a dangerous one during his quest for a second presidential term – even after the expulsion of the junta regime and the disbanding of its army during his first term.

Our fact-finding delegation represented a group of North American human rights NGO's. We donated a school bus to his foundation for street children, who abound in the capital. Jean-Bertrand is especially known for his service to the children, some of who have lived as virtual slaves in the impoverished country.

In January 2004, the independent Republic of Haiti celebrated its 200 th anniversary, and its president, often criticized for resisting economic “liberalization” and for building close ties to Cuba, stated, “We will invest in education and health care. . . Today [with the demise of the armed forces] instead of buying weapons we will invest in buying books . . .we are convinced, wherever we have the political will, we will find resources – human and financial – resources to invest in education and health care. . . Where we have a lack of political will, it will be very difficult to find the resources. . . It is more the political will than the resources.”

He continued, “Children will be connected to their roots, connected to agriculture. . . they will feel proud about their roots.”   What the government wished to emphasize was building scalable development instead of providing cheap labor for the First World. This policy raised the ire of Washington, and turned the Organization of American States (OAS) against the Creole nation.

But Aristide's chief obstacle to achieving this vision has been the fiscal mismanagement of repressive past regimes. They had depended upon and squandered international loans and credits, so that today the nation is at the mercy of the international lending hierarchy.

But Aristide's chief obstacle to achieving this vision has been the fiscal mismanagement of repressive past regimes. They had depended upon and squandered international loans and credits, so that today the nation is at the mercy of the international lending hierarchy. ”Structuralization is linked to globalization, which, in turn, is linked to neo-liberalization. In the year 1980 many countries started [its] implementation,” the President argued.

The debt dilemma is not new for Haiti. Early in the 19 th century, the impoverished republic had to repay France and even the U.S. for monetary losses generated through the island's revolution for freedom from colonialism in order to gain diplomatic recognition, and, thereby, international legitimacy. This acerbating state of affairs has been with the republic throughout its history, and has re-emerged in force due to contemporary international pressures of the First World upon the Third.

Commenting on these political-economic conditions, Mr. Aristide observed, “We see states . . .becoming weaker for having less financial resources that means they have to repay the debt, which is also linked to structural adjustment . . .those countries [in the Western Hemisphere] pay one billion U.S. dollars to the IMF [the International Monetary Fund] which is more than they [originally] got as credit from the IMF.   So, those states are becoming weaker, [and] investing less in human things; less in education; less in health care.   In Haiti we have one doctor for [every] 11,000 patients, about 6,000 [hospital] beds in all.”  

“Unfortunately, because of our debt we will have less financial resources to invest in education.   Our debt is about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars.”   Curiously, under the arrangement – endorsed by the U.S. – that allowed the dictator Baby “Doc” Duvalier to leave, he was a permitted to pock 800 million dollars of the public treasury. Yet recently, the younger Duvalier filed for bankruptcy in France!

Aristide thoughtfully reflected, “I try to avoid two mistakes. . . One is hypocrisy with myself. The other one is obsession with myself. By hypocrisy I would say . . .there is no chance for me to be back in the Palace . . .[yet] the other one [obsession says] I have to be back to the Palace no matter what.

In responding to my query about the political and spiritual dynamics of running for a second term as president, Aristide thoughtfully reflected, “I try to avoid two mistakes which I consider two fixtures [extremes]. One is hypocrisy with myself. The other one is obsession with myself. By hypocrisy I would say . . .there is no chance for me to be back in the Palace . . .[yet] the other one [obsession says] I have to be back to the Palace no matter what. . . Wanting to avoid these two mistakes, I try to be rational by thinking about the possibility to be back; myself getting together people who know; who can help; who want to help. So, we have human resources with the vision and the strategy [ready] to serve in case it happens. Then we never will be in the position we never thought it could happen. But we try to share in terms of vision. In the light of vision . . if we miss this time. . . it will be a detrimental mistake. So, it is a priority. It is up to us to prepare in case we have to act. But that doesn't mean we'll only act to get back into power.” In light of the current political crisis, his perspective now seems prescient.

As we left, President Aristide commented on the relationship between his island nation and progressives in North America. “We [can] accomplish much despite the distance, [for there is a] communication of spirit. Small that it is.”

A tropical storm burst down upon us.

Geoffrey Cook is a journalist based in Berkeley, California, whose work carries a special focus on Central & South Asia and Latin America & the Caribbean. A long-time member of the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, his articles appear in international sources such as Pakistani News International. Geoffrey may be reached by email at gcook69833@aol.com .