Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Society and Its Environment
public office as parliamentarians, mayors, and members of new
rural governing councils in keeping with the constitution of
1987.
For most of Haiti's history, the Haitian peasantry has been
notably isolated from national institutions, excluded from a
voice in government, and subject to unfair taxation and urban
domination. In the late twentieth century, especially in the
period since 1986, peasants have become highly politicized.
Rural areas have civilian local government bodies for the first
time in history. Peasants have unprecedented contact with the
outside world for a variety of reasons, including radio, the Creole
media, severe economic crisis in rural Haiti leading to high
rates of out-migration to Port-au-Prince and abroad, political
turbulence for more than a decade, and the presence of international
civilian and military personnel.
Urban Lower Class
The urban lower class is concentrated in Port-au-Prince and
the sprawling slums of major coastal towns, especially Cap-Haitien,
Gonaives, and Les Cayes. An estimated two-thirds of Portau-Prince
is concentrated in slum districts, some dating back to
colonial times and others dispersed more recently into ravines
and lowland flood plains. High rates of rural-urban migration
feed the growth of high-density neighborhoods. As early as
1976, field research found the average density of Port-au-
Prince slums to be 890 inhabitants per hectare, with a quarter
of this population exceeding 1,200 persons per hectare. In contrast,
high-income neighborhoods of the city averaged 100 persons
per hectare.
Urban slums are composed largely of displaced peasants, primarily
young people. Many residents maintain contact with
home communities in rural Haiti. Rural points of reference
influence urban social organization in low-income districts.
Studies of Cite Soleil—the capital's well-known coastal slum district—found
only 9 percent of residents native to the district,
67 percent rural born, 50 percent single young people, and 33
percent made up of households headed by single-parent
females. There is evidence of high demand for education in
slum districts, and a much higher than average rate of literacy—75
percent—compared to the nation as a whole (at most
50 percent). In the politically turbulent period since 1986,
pressure groups have emerged in urban slum neighborhoods.
Despite problems of internal disunity and fragmentation, these
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