As Haiti Becomes Hell on Earth, Europeans and Americans Will Be Blamed By Leftists

Haiti has long been a failed state, but that won't stop Marxists, social justice warriors, and leftists from blaming the free market to promote their cause

Few countries have struggled with development like Haiti. Since breaking free from French colonial rule over two centuries ago, the Caribbean state has weathered multiple foreign interventions, chronic political instability, social unrest, and devastating natural disasters. The confluence of these forces has transformed what was once the wealthiest colony in the Americas into the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. - Council on Foreign Relations

Publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post employ an army of advocacy journalists who devote their time and efforts to attacking capitalism and pointing fingers at the wealthy world. Recently a Washington Post journalist wrote about crime and despair in D.C. and blamed it on late-stage capitalism (which isn’t a real thing, it’s a Marxist theory) instead of blaming leftist prosecutors who are soft on crime.

The same narrative is being pushed regarding Haiti. Marxist and leftist journalists say the state has failed because of historical situations attributed to white Europeans, including Napoleon-era politicians and even Bill Clinton. Yet, they never look at the immediate past, or more importantly, the last 70 years of governance.

Haiti has been a failed state for a very long time. Created in 1804 by former enslaved people, the country started out as a beacon of hope and a blueprint for progress. In fact, Haiti was the first nation to permanently ban slavery.

However, there were complications. Since breaking free from French rule, Haiti has faced a mountain of challenges to its development, including interference by foreign powers (which is not unusual for a new country), internal political corruption, natural calamities, societal unrest, intense poverty and public health issues.

Despite achieving autonomy from France in 1804, recognition of Haiti's independence by France only happened in 1825, contingent on Haiti paying reparations, now valued at approximately $21 billion in present-day currency. It took 122 years to pay off the debt. This has been called the greatest heist in history, but that is a gross exaggeration - debt payments were estimated to be between 40% - 80% of the annual budget. While I don't know the specifics of the debt agreements, as a financier I wonder why the reparation payments were never restructured, respectfully.

That hasn't stopped leftist theorists from pontificating. In 2020, French economist Thomas Piketty argued that France owed Haiti at least $28 billion (French academics have a long history of being among the most leftist of thinkers - where do you think we got postmodernism?). The payment is unlikely to happen, but to be fair, $28 billion will not solve Haiti’s problems, and the money would almost certainly end up in corrupt officials' pockets or be consumed by violent gangs.

No matter how many leftist journalists want to blame Haiti’s current problems on historical grievances, the truth is, Haiti has been poorly managed well beyond the debt payments.

The biggest blows have come in the last 70 years. From 1957 until 1986, Haiti was under the spell of the father-and-son dynasty of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier, rumored to have siphoned over $500 million from Haiti’s coffers. François is also responsible for setting up the legacy of gang warfare that plagues Haiti today. At this very moment Haiti's numerous and powerful gangs are threatening civil war unless the prime minister steps down. They've already orchestrated a jailbreak, letting out over 4,000 violent prisoners.

In 1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president. In 1991 he was thrown out during a coup, only to be reinstated in 1994. In 1995 he was defeated in an election, but returned again in 2000. In 2001 there was an attempted coup, and in 2003 Voodoo was recognized as a religion (some consider this Haiti's national religion). In 2004 Aristide was force into exile. In 2004 and 2005 a series of natural disasters killed thousands. In 2007 the UN was mobilized to combat gang warfare in one of the shantytowns. In 2010 over 300,000 were killed by a major earthquake. Unfortunately, I could go on and on.

After the 2010 earthquake Haiti was in ruins, and to compound issues, there was a Cholera outbreak. International aid followed, over $13 billion between 2010 and 2020. Even Hollywood stepped in with intense pop culture pressure and endless fundraising campaigns. For a moment it seemed that Haiti would pull through, though political turmoil continued.

Then came the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 (he was the 43rd President of Haiti), which further exacerbated the chaos. Today, Haiti is left without a single democratically elected official.

If you look at countries with a long history, you will see that nearly every country has had historical issues like war, famine, and financial turmoil. It's not true that countries fail because of historical situations, unless they've been toppled and taken over by another country. Look at England. Look at the U.S. They have had civil wars. Look at Montenegro and Serbia, which were both formed in 2006. Have they failed from turmoil?

A country like Haiti, which is geographically close to the most powerful country in the world, in all actuality should be able to reform the government and institute some sort of power and civil stability.

A quick look at Haiti's GDP shows significant economic might. The country is a major global supplier of vetiver oil, a key ingredient in luxury perfumes, and also exports bananas, cocoa, and mangoes. More recently, Haiti has ventured into the production of Android-based tablets, sensors, and transformers. Economically there is hope.

It is rumored that a U.S. elite Marine force is being deployed to Haiti, and Kenya is also sending in troops. Haiti should champion its black-led history and use that history to bolster the future. Perhaps prominent black Americans should help Haiti rebuild. An ethnic economic handout to the first black led country in the western hemisphere makes sense.

Regardless, it isn’t much help having out-of-touch leftists in America's coastal capitals point fingers at historical grievances when literally every country in the world has historical grievances of some sort. It's well noted that leftists have no true solution to problems, the ecclesiastical tenets of communism and socialism are bogus and spread a constant fever of revolution and the false promise of liberation.