Volume 50, Number 5 · March 27, 2003
Haiti's Betrayal
By Peter Dailey
Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy
by Robert Fatton Jr.
Lynne Rienner, 237 pp., $55.00; $19.95 (paper)
In the hours following Jean-Bertrand Aristide's inauguration on February 7, 2001, thousands of his supporters celebrated late into the night in the blocked-off streets around the Champ de Mars, dancing to the rhythm of the rara bands and passing around tots of rum. Three months earlier, the Haitian people had voted overwhelmingly to elect Aristide to a new five-year term. The outcome had never been in doubt. Although there was widespread disillusionment with the corrupt and authoritarian character of both the Haitian government and Fanmi Lavalas (FL), Aristide's political party, after fifteen years in the public eye Aristide remained far and away Haiti's most popular political figure. Since the contest had been boycotted by the opposition, Aristide ran virtually unopposed.
Review, 5037 words
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