Haiti
Baby Doc Duvalier in Haiti (tags)
despot returns
Post-Quake Haiti: One Year Later (tags)
Haiti worse off than ever
Haiti Earthquake: Capitalism, Occupation and Revolution (tags)
The earthquake that wrecked the capital of Haiti and surrounding areas on January 12 produced human tragedy of almost unfathomable proportions. It has been termed “the most destructive natural disaster in modern times.” Five months later, Haiti is no longer in the headlines or on the nightly TV news, but for the hard-hit Haitian population the scene has hardly changed. Now a new disaster is in the making as the hurricane season begins. This was a calamity made by capitalism: the earthquake was predictable and was predicted; the inferior construction methods are the result of Haiti’s poverty, and the swollen slums were the result of U.S. policies that have destroyed Haitian agriculture, forcing peasants off the land. On top of everything, Haiti is under imperialist occupation: Washington makes sure it has ultimate control of the strategically placed island, as it has throughout the Cold War and since. Haiti's devastation is not the result of “natural” causes or even “neo-liberal” policies – it is the product of the oppression of this semi-colonial country by the imperial masters ever since black slaves rose up to abolish slavery and throw out the colonialists two centuries ago. No new “economic model” can resolve this: what’s required is a new Haitian Revolution, a workers revolution overthrowing capitalism throughout the Caribbean and extending into the heart of imperialism.
Preparing Haiti for Exploitation and Plunder (tags)
America plans to ruthlessly plunder Haiti for profit
Washington Asserts Colonial-Style Control of Haiti at UN Donors’ Conference (tags)
"A Washington Post blog on Thursday noted: “Despite universal lip service about the necessity of Haitians taking ownership of their rebuilding, no one was really fooled. Hillary Clinton, as US secretary of state, was co-chair of the conference... Bill Clinton—the “United Nations special envoy for Haiti”—will be calling the shots in the near term in conjunction with Haiti’s prime minister as to the strategy, coordination and direction of that international aid. Can you say, ‘Mr. Viceroy?’” Of the $5.3 billion in short-term aid pledged at the conference, the US accounted for only $1.15 billion, less than the $1.7 billion pledged by the European Union and even less than Venezuela’s pledge of $1.3 billion. The US pledge to help a country whose devastation is largely the result of over a century of American imperialist domination, including repeated military occupations, is a tiny fraction of the amount allocated to bail out Wall Street."
abusing Haitian children
Haiti earthquake may have exposed gas and oil (tags)
From Miami Herald
Disaster Capitalism Headed to Haiti (tags)
worker exploitation follows disaster