Haiti’s hot mess: Miserable politics make the economic chaos acute

The Caribbean island nation of Haiti is once more in a first-class political mess.

Its previous elected president, Michel Martelly, a former entertainer, stepped down in February with no successor in place. On June 14, the 120-day mandate of the provisional president, Jocelerme Privert, expired, with no permanent or provisional successor lined up. Haiti’s two-house legislature, currently composed of 22 senators and 92 deputies, was supposed to meet either to extend Privert’s term or to choose another provisional president, but it didn’t, two days running.

Therefore, the nation of some 11 million, sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, is left with no president at all and a clearly dysfunctional legislature, also incapable of governing.

Haiti’s problems remain manifold. It still hasn’t recovered from the 2010 earthquake that claimed an estimated 46,000 to 85,000 lives, originally overstated to be 316,000. That disaster attracted a considerable amount in aid pledges, including more than $4 billion from the United States.

Some of the promises of aid have turned sour because many donors have not respected their commitments.

Another major problem is that for years Haiti has depended on regional charity, particularly in the area of petroleum provided by neighboring Venezuela. That country, with the death of President Hugo Chavez, followed in its presidency by Nicolas Maduro, has fallen into disastrous circumstances and its ability to help Haiti has dropped to zero.

Haiti’s first order of business is to put in place an interim president. New elections are scheduled for October. The political mess is not new for Haiti, but that doesn’t relieve the situation of its very poor population, probably the most miserable in the hemisphere.

— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette