Bill Clinton is Still a Rock Star–in Haiti

Photo by U.S. Department of State

Few doubt that in pursuit of political stability and a better way of life for its people, Haiti faces a steep, uphill struggle. Where there is far less consensus is whether, and the extent to which, Bill Clinton’s appointment as the new U.N. envoy to Haiti will advance this agenda. The debilitating impact of prolonged despotism and major hurricanes on Haiti is well-worn territory.

In contrast, one of the most interesting and underexplored aspects of this development, has been the divergence in reaction to the appointment. While some commentators and Haiti advocates have sharply criticized Mr. Ban’s choice, the throngs which recently greeted Mr. Clinton on his visit there confirmed his continued popularity in that part of Hispaniola.Upon reading one A.P. report, I almost thought they were talking about Bono. Or better yet, Haiti’s native son Wyclef Jean. It described a scene where, ‘Shrieking girls clamored to have their photo taken with the former president and men pushed their elderly mothers through the crowd for a chance to shake his hand.’  This enthusiasm has its roots in several factors. Perhaps the most critical was his role in returning Jean Bertrand Aristide to power in 1994 after President Aristide was ousted in a coup three years earlier. Additionally, the Clinton Foundation has been undertaking important health care initiatives in the country for years.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Clinton has received decidedly less adulation outside Haiti. One pointed critic, Jeremy Scahill, paints quite an unflattering picture of the Clinton Administration’s activities in Haiti. His informants allege that Clinton tried to stall the return of Aristide for as long as possible. Moreover, it was not actually Aristide that was returned to Haiti to much fanfare, but Aristide-lite. As a condition of his return, Aristide was forced to undergo an ideological transformation and take a range of economic policy decisions which badly hurt the most vulnerable in Haitian society.

Political stabilization and democratic development will be very difficult, if not impossible, without a vastly improved economic climate. Watching the footage that is shown in the great majority of stories about Haiti, you get the impression that there is no  real economic activity occurring. This is not the case. It’s just that the type of economic activities being carried out do not create enough jobs, and pay people enough, to allow many Haitians to escape poverty. Randall Robinson, a long-time  advocate on behalf of Haitian causes, recently told Democracy Now that Haiti needs capital investment to enable it build infrastructure and foster agricultural expansion. Mr. Robinson was adamant that the country does not need any more investment which only seeks to take advantage of the desperation of its people and operate in an environment where minimum wage or environmental regulations can be ignored. While it is early days yet, it is not clear from the pronouncemnts being made how Mr. Clinton will succeed in generating this kind of investment.

With the presence of such sharp differences in perspective on Mr. Clinton’s Haiti track record, at least two questions spring to mind. Firstly, is there a greater range of opinions among Haitians regarding Mr. Clinton’s role? Secondly, why haven’t concerns over his administration’s involvement in Haiti been more widely reported outside Haiti?