Friends of Haiti,
We start this letter with an article that appeared in the Washington Post concerning Haiti, the problems of the new President, and how those relate to the country’s continuing problems.
Haiti, Stuck in the Mud
The Washington Post – August 15, 2011
“Three months after his inauguration, the presidency of Michel Martelly, Haiti’s new leader, is dangerously close to running aground. Two of his nominees for prime minister have been rejected by Haiti’s opposition-dominated parliament. In the absence of a fully functioning government, international aid and investment have slowed to a crawl. So have Mr. Martelly’s own top priorities, resettling hundreds of thousands victims of last year’s earthquake that are living in tent cities and reviving the nations shattered public schools so that children have access to education.
No one expected miracles from the new president, a political neophyte whose celebrity as a bawdy singer helped catapult him to the presidency. The keys to his elective success were his popularity as a performer and his status as an outsider. But, with no real party structure of his own, he’s also been unable to work his will in parliament. Hence the rejection of his two candidates for prime minister.
