Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: Government and Politics
nascent democratic political process to triumph over the
attempt by the putschists to return Haiti to its past.
By late 1994, following eight difficult years of post-Duvalier
transition, Haiti's formula of governance by military strongmen
symbiotically linked with the country's elites had entered
into an advanced state of disintegration. The influence of political
charisma, however, especially in the presence ofJean-Bertrand
Aristide, had not decreased. As the junta's leaders were
escorted from power following the United Nations (UN) -sanctioned
and United States-led multinational military intervention
of September 1994, and Haiti's legitimately elected
officials were restored to office, the country exploded with
relief and joy. Once those emotions subsided, Haiti and its
leaders turned their attention to an uncertain political future.
Was the country witnessing an end to the difficult transition
from predatory rule and political exclusion to an era when
accountability and the politics of inclusion would characterize
patterns of governance, and the Haitian state would serve the
nation? Or, would Haiti witness the re-emergence of patterns of
politics and governance that would do little more than replicate
those of the past?
From an International Intervention to the Presidency
of Rene Preval, September 1 994-December 1999
Restoration of Constitutional Government, September 1 994-
September 1995
On September 19, 1994, the first contingents of what would
become a 21,000-strong Multinational Force (MNF) landed in
Haiti to oust the de facto regime and restore Haiti's legitimate
government to power. Because a last-minute permissive intervention
had been negotiated, bloodshed was averted, and damage
to Haiti's urban and rural infrastructure—already
crumbling from years of neglect—did not occur. As Haiti's
putschists were escorted from power, or fled on their own, however,
they left behind a country in total shambles. Public coffers
were empty. The economy, under international sanctions
for most of the previous three years, had shriveled. Damage to
Haiti's already fragile natural environment had worsened.
Political parties and civil society organizations were in varying
states of disarray, and most citizens carried either physical or
psychological scars of violence and terror.
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