Haiti Corrupt Government
1613 words 7 pagesThe Haitian government has been plagued with corruption from the beginning of its existence. Haiti has been faced with many foul leaders and thus brought times of despair for the Haitian people. The empowerment of poor leadership has led to a country that "has never known a period free of tyranny, repression, political conflict, racial animosity, and economic hardship" (Haggerty). Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, is a place where "kidnappings and street crime are rampant, and the undermanned police force is rife with corruption" (Williams).
The island of Hispaniola was founded by Christopher Columbus in 1842 and claimed for Spain. The island was neglected by its mother country due to the lack of minerals on the island. The French …show more content…
Aristide's successor in office was Rene Preval. Preval took office in 1996 and became "Haiti's second democratically elected president in the country's 191 year history as an independent nation" (Haiti). Aristide was again appointed to office in late 2000 after many attempts by Preval to postpone elections.
Aristide remained in office for the next four years. During this time many questioned his effectiveness as a leader. "Amid charges that he funded armed gangs and tolerated widespread corruption, Aristide fled to South America in February 2004" (Williams). Post Aristide's flee to South America, "gangs have gone on a kidnapping spree and the country's few factories are closing because of security problems" (Farrington).
With no president in power, UN peacekeepers and local police have attempted to sustain the country. A problem with this is "Haiti's police force is riddled with corruption, implicated in drug trafficking and a spate of kidnappings" (Reed). "According to Haitian police chief Mario Andresol, one in five Haitian police is corrupt and most armed gangs count at least one police officer as a member" (Reed). In many areas "residents are as afraid of the police as they are of criminal gangs" (Reed). It is very obvious the police in Haiti are corrupt. In the Haitian national prison there are about "1,900 prisoners and fewer than 40 of them have been convicted of crimes" (Reed).
Amongst all of the corruption