Haiti's Perpetual Transition Illusion
Apparently, Haiti is once again without a stable government, as its latest 'transition council' packs up its briefcases. For those new to the geopolitical soap opera that is Haiti, this might seem like a sudden development. For those of us who've been watching, it's just another rerun of the same old program, with slightly different props and actors. FIRST INSTANCE: The Legacy of Debt and
Intervention (1825) Curiously, the first instance of external powers dictating Haiti's future post-independence wasn't a coup, but crippling debt. After successfully fighting off France to become the world's first free Black republic in 1804, Haiti was forced in 1825 to pay an 'indemnity' of 150 million francs (roughly $21 billion in today's dollars) to France for lost 'property' – read: enslaved
people. This wasn't charity; it was extortion, and it shackled Haiti with debt that wasn't fully paid until 1947, effectively crippling its ability to build infrastructure or independent institutions for over a century. One might wonder why mainstream coverage rarely begins the narrative of Haiti's troubles here. REPETITIONS: The U.S. Occupation and Subsequent Puppetry (1915, 2004) The U.S. Marine
occupation from 1915 to 1934 provides another clear blueprint. Ostensibly to restore order and protect American interests (read: sugar plantations), the occupation dismantled Haiti's constitution, rewrote it to allow foreign land ownership, and imposed a puppet government. Fast forward to 2004, when democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted in a coup backed by the U.S.,