Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
President Preval placed a strong emphasis on agrarian reform,
winning parliamentary support for an increased budget for the
National Institute of Agrarian Reform (Institut National de la
Reforme Agraire—Inara) and mandating it to focus primarily
on the Artibonite Valley, Haiti's breadbasket. Preval himself
traveled frequently to the countryside to promote his agricultural
reform programs.
Concurrently, international economic assistance resumed
principally as a result of the Smarck government's advocacy of
economic reform measures that included policies for the modernization
of state enterprises. This approach called for the
reform of state enterprises through public-private sector partnerships
rather than outright privatization. Still, key parliamentary
leaders resisted modernization and managed to garner
enough support for their position to block or delay passage of
required economic reform legislation.
In January 1997, the ruling Lavalas political movement was
shaken to its roots, when a new political party personally identified
with former President Aristide, the Lavalas Family (La
Famille Lavalas—FL) , was formally registered. This development
further complicated the political picture. As the new
organization coalesced around the still-popular, charismatic
leader, the Lavalas movement began to splinter into two principal
groups. Elected officials and political activists either gravitated
to the FL or stayed loyal to the OPL, which soon changed
its name to the Organization of Struggling People (Organisation
de Peuple en Lutte), a name that enabled the organization
to distance itself from Lavalas while maintaining its highly
recognized acronym. Rumors and speculation swirled around
the political allegiance of President Preval and the ability of the
OPL-led government of Prime Minister Smarth to win support
for its programs and policies in a now starkly divided parliament.
Balance of Power and Political Gridlock, April 1997-January
1999
The first opportunity for the FL to demonstrate its political
power would be the elections set for April 6, 1997, that would
renew one-third of the Senate and that would create two key
institutions in the decentralization of government: the communal
section assemblies and town delegations. As voting day
neared, controversy surrounding several FL senatorial candidates,
particularly one with prior FAd'H affiliation, overshad-
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