-- new irrigation systems supplied farmers with water; rice yields (Haiti's main staple crop) increased sharply;
-- many thousands of Caribbean pigs were distributed to farmers;
-- efforts were made to collect unpaid taxes from the rich and business elites;
-- hundreds of community stores sold food at discount prices;
-- for the first time ever, a Haitian government participated in discussions with Venezuela, Cuba and other Caribbean states to discuss US-limiting regional economic strategies, including cooperative trade; and
-- low cost housing was built, and more in spite of enormous constraints, bare bones resources, the country nearly bankrupt, and an administration targeted for removal by overwhelming internal and external force.
In spite of overwhelming obstacles, the 1994 - 2003 decade was remarkable by any standard. "For the first time in its history, Haiti's people were ruled by a government of their choosing, one that adopted their priorities as its own." It made popular support for Aristide active, strong, and channeled through a network of "organisations populaire" (OPs) that played a central collective mobilizing role in the country. They provided an instrument for all kinds of social programs - education, construction, youth and cultural projects, sports, street cleaning, waste management, and more. It made FL "the single most important organized political force in the country" and also the main obstacle to elitist dominance. It made the movement and what it represents, far more than Aristide, the real 2004 putschist target.
Part II will continue the story. Watch for its posting on this site.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays from 11AM - 1PM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests.
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
Many thanks to Stephen Lendman for another review of another extremely important book.
"Damming the Flood" fills in the big picture on what U.S. human rights groups, such as Quest for Peace and Center for Constitutional Rights, were telling us about Haiti in the 1990s. It transcends Haiti as simply a national story; something big seems to be taking hold in Latin America. Perhaps, as we face deep recession in the U.S., those grassroots forces will redeem our nation also.
by
MyTwoCents (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 36 comments)
on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 1:53:33 PM
