Great Decisions 2011 Fall Updates: Rebuilding Haiti
On May 14, Michel Martelly was sworn in as the president of Haiti, months after the disputed runoff election in which he defeated former first lady Mirlande H. Manigat. Politics and the rebuilding effort in Haiti, however, are still in limbo. Martelly, a popular musician known as Sweet Micky, first nominated Daniel-Gerard Rouzier, a businessman, to be his prime minister. However, with Martelly unable to marshal any significant support in Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies or Senate, Rouzier was resoundingly rejected on June 21 by a vote of 42–19 in the Chamber of Deputies. Lawmakers questioned Rouzier’s citizenship and accused him of tax evasion.
On August 2, the Senate rejected Martelly’s second choice for prime minister, Bernard Gousse. Gousse was an even more controversial figure because he had served as justice minister in the interim government that took power following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004, and he was accused of persecuting Aristide’s supporters and false imprisonment during his tenure.
These setbacks have been a blow to Martelly’s government, and the tide of popular support appears to be turning against him: rather than cheering, crowds have been throwing debris at him during public appearances. Martelly’s lack of political experience, his failure to build consensus, and the political deadlock that has paralyzed Haiti since his inauguration have been a serious concern to many donor countries, including the U.S. At the time that these Updates went to press, Martelly had not yet offered a third choice for prime minister, and the reconstruction effort is in danger of stalling.
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The cholera epidemic continues to ravage the tent camps of displaced Haitians, with 86,000 new cases reported between April and June of this year. Despite the efforts of international aid organizations, the number of cases is expected to increase during the potentially catastrophic summer hurricane season, when heavy rains and a lack of plumbing contribute to the contamination of water. In mid-August, Haiti escaped the brunt of Hurricane Irene, which only caused minor flooding.
Efforts to stem the epidemic have been rocked by the revelation that the Haitian government refused an offer of cholera vaccines from the Dutch pharmaceutical company that produces Dukoral—the leading vaccine— late last year. Furthermore, a number of reports claim that United Nations peacekeepers introduced cholera to Haiti, as the strain of the disease in the Haitian outbreak matched a strain found in South Asia, from which many UN peacekeepers hail. An inquiry conducted by the UN also pointed to the sanitation and sewage facilities of a camp for UN peacekeepers in Mirebalais as contributing factors to the epidemic that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
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According to the Economist, some 600,000 Haitians were still living in tents in August 2011, and only one third of $6.5 billion in international aid had been disbursed. However, a new report commissioned by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) argues that the Haitian government’s estimate of the death toll is vastly inflated. The report estimates that a maximum of 85,000 people lost their lives during the earthquake, while the Haitian government has claimed that 316,000 people were killed. Additionally, the report claims that fewer than 67,000 Haitians are living in tent camps, a fraction of the estimate made by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that there are over 600,000 camp dwellers. The report, which was leaked in May, was not published at the time these Updates went to press.
Note: The Great Decisions fall Updates were researched as of 8/25/2011.