Martelly’s Online Popularity a Deciding Factor in Haitian Presidential Victory

April 27, 2011

After his landslide victory in the March 20 presidential runoff, Haitiian President-Elect Michel Martelly joined Ruben Blades (Panama’s minister of tourism from 2004-2009) and Gilberto Gil (various positions including Brazilian minister of culture from 1987-2008) as an artist who has made a successful transition into politics. But his presidential election is also unique for its use of social media to ride to victory.

Known affectionately to the Haitian people as “Sweet Micky” or tet kale (bald head), Martelly is a popular kompa and carnival artist renowned for his racy lyrics and flamboyant stage persona. It came as no surprise that many initially doubted Martelly’s potential as a serious political candidate. Early predictions had Jude Celestin, a construction tycoon endorsed by incumbent President René Préval, as the favorite to win. Martelly also had to compete with Haitian-American hip-hop/pop artist Wyclef Jean for media attention, until the Electoral Council (CEP) barred Jean from running in September of last year.

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Duvalier’s Return to Haiti Reignites Préval Debate

February 1, 2011

The unexpected arrival of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier has incited another plot twist in the tragic-comedy known as Haitian politics. Duvalier’s reasons and/or ambitions for this return has elicited endless speculation from the moment his Air France flight touched down in Port-au-Prince. One of the first writers to solve this mystery was Huge Desrameaux. Writing in the Miami Herald, Desrameaux revealed that Duvalier had returned to Haiti in a quixotic attempt to reclaim what’s left of his ill-gotten fortune, which is currently being withheld by Swiss authorities. These fortunes will now be easier for the Haitian authorities to reclaim after the Duvalier Law—a Swiss law that eases the ability of a country to retrieve ill-gotten gains—went into effect today.

In spite of Duvalier’s efforts at arguing that his motives are more benevolent (he’s allegedly returned to help with earthquake relief and to donate his remaining bounty to the Red Cross) the audacity of returning to the island that he and his father plundered requires a voluminous amount of hubris. After all, did Duvalier seriously believe he could return home to Haiti and everyone would turn the other cheek?

Duvalier’s impromptu homecoming also offers another opportunity to debate the efficacy of President René Préval’s tenure in office. “Baby Doc” may be the spectacle du jour, but the real question that Haitians must address at this moment is, what is its post-Préval future?

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A Surge For Haiti?

April 19, 2010

In the immediate aftermath of January’s earthquake in Haiti a number of American government officials and Haitian leaders began deliberating a proposed “Marshall Plan for Haiti.” Writing in The Wall Street Journal on January 30, Haitian Ambassador to the United States Raymond A. Joseph punctuated his appeal: “ ‘poor Haiti’ has contributed greatly to the wealth and the freedom of many. Now it seems that the whole world is poised to return the favor.”

Interest in this proposed Marshall Plan has waned since January; even as governments and development agencies continue assessing the eventual costs of rebuilding Haiti (e.g. the Preliminary Damage Needs Assessment (PDNA) projects the tally at 11.5 billion). However, calls for Haitians around the world to rally together have persisted. In New York, a group of Haitian Americans have begun promoting “A Surge for Haiti”—a term borrowed from the U.S. strategy in Iran and Afghanistan.

The United Nations Association (UNA) Haiti’s “Surge” has two main goals: normalizing life for Haiti's children through a month-long Olympic-style event; and helping families in desperate need earn an income while helping youngsters with music and artistic talents through microfinance.

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Are Donors Done Giving to Haiti?

April 5, 2010

As international dignitaries gathered in New York last week to announce their nation’s pledges to relief efforts in Haiti, this outpouring of support could not alleviate concerns that donors might be growing tired of giving to Haiti.

With January’s earthquake now almost three months back in the rear-view mirror, an inevitable onset of donor fatigue seems to be emerging. Events such as the recent Health Care Reform debates have pushed Haiti off the front pages and off the all important top-ten trending topics list on twitter. As with recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, waning media interest usually translates to dwindling funding interest.

This issue was addressed in a post on the Haiti by Hand blog in February. Haiti by Hand, an artisan group of Haitian women founded by Rebecca Sower shortly before January’s earthquake, offers an interesting case study for the complex nature of donor mobilization as it pertains to Haiti. In addition to this Haitian women’s artisan collective, Haiti by Hand also organizes an etsy-group “to sell items donated by artists and crafters who want to help this group of Haitians rebuild and establish themselves after the devastation of the earthquakes.” So Haiti by Hand is at once an economic development project and a conduit through which people can offer aid, a dual-purpose underscored by the urgency of Sower’s appeal to the blog’s readers: “We cannot let [these women] down now just because the words "Haiti" and "help" are making us yawn.”

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