The Failure of the Haitian Economy and the First Steps Needed to Improve It

In Haiti, agriculture has been damaged:
 Physically by deforestation and the soil damage that results and to a much lesser extent by occasional hurricanes.
 Economically by the forced take downs of import tariffs and other economic factors
 Politically by the lack of progressive laws on land concentration and other political factors.

Nevertheless, any lush tropical country where vegetation grows rapidly and continually but which has agricultural shortcomings can always stop what they have been doing, make a fresh start on agriculture, and eventually reap big rewards. There are countries in Africa that would practically give everything they own for the kind of "pro agriculture" climate that Haiti has. It is absurd that Haiti should have to import anything that grows there.

My main point regarding the Haitian economy is that in general corporations see relatively few opportunities in Haiti where they can get competitive returns as compared to many, many other countries. It is ridiculous to expect that international corporations will be providing a decent living for any more than a very small number of Haitians for at least the next three decades and probably for much longer than that. Any Haitian or anyone else who thinks that international corporations are as a result of the Quake going to now all of a sudden raise Haiti up to the Dominican Republic's level is living in a dream world.

This is precisely why it is even more criminal than you might think that Haiti has a right wing, murderous government that the people don't want foisted on them by the "thanks but no thanks" corporations and by Washington. Haitians need the opposite type of government because that is a prerequisite for them to develop indigenously, with agriculture leading the way.

Note that I am not saying I would support the current Haitian government even if the corporations were investing heavily in Haiti. I am saying that if Haiti is going to move forward they have no choice but to be rid of the current government.

How about some reference for my point about the corporations being in the "thanks but no thanks" mode regarding Haiti? Here you go:

The World Fact Book (Central Intelligence Agency) Foreign Direct Investment in Countries

Wikipedia Foreign Investment Listings

and finally, here is a detailed spreadsheet showing foreign investment by country and by year.

The amount of investment in Haiti is so small that Haiti DOES NOT EVEN SHOW UP in the first two of the foreign investment by country lists above! If anything I am understating the problem, which wouldn't be the first time.

Haiti is a complete and total economic failure because it has been living a complete lie: that foreign investment will come as long as a regressive government eliminates tariffs and eliminates reasonable land distribution and so forth, and as long as the "security situation" is "handled" by a right wing government.

The government has to be replaced as a first and very important step toward discontinuing living the lie.

Given the actual lack of investment despite the government requested by the corporations being imposed on Haiti over and over again for many decades, and despite the specific policies requested by the corporations being imposed, it is completely absurd, obscene, and criminal for Haiti to have the type of government it has.

Even in New Orleans, investment by mega corporations has been far less than what was envisioned in the wet dreams of the far right free market drones. In Haiti, post quake investment will be miniscule, especially if you don't count the cruise ship landing facilities, laugh out loud. You see, in the free market, corporations can and do say "thanks but no thanks" all the time.

When the corporations say no thanks to post-Quake Haiti more so than ever before (they were already mostly investing elsewhere) the relevant questions become:

1. Will Haitians act to remove, curtail, territorially outflank, or at the very least ignore a formerly counterproductive and now irrelevant Haitian government led by Rene Preval and a Prime Minister?

2. Will the US take over from the now crippled Haitian government the roles of oppressor and killer so that those pesky dissenters now running loose can be kept in check? Or will the US say "Why bother oppressing, jailing, and if necessary killing?' in a country where there is no gold, no oil, virtually no Muslims, and very little investment interest among corporations?

3. (The real long shot...) Assuming (1) happens and regardless of whether (2) happens or not, will 2010-2020 Haitians eventually look at being occupied by the American military in roughly the same way as they eventually looked at the French plantation owners in the late 18th century?

But then, realizing that they are totally outgunned in Port-au-Prince, will they concentrate on keeping sweatshops, Haitian oligarchs, and troops out of at least North and Central Haiti?

Haitian history is all about things never working out the way they were supposed to despite foundations being laid, or about never working out in good ways, if you prefer. The Quake’s destruction creates a theoretical opportunity for at least some Haitians to get out of the rotten dynamics of oppression, killing, and economic backwardness that have been powered from both within and outside the country.

In other words, an opportunity has arisen for things to go right for a major change. It would truly be a shock if things went right in Haiti, wouldn't it? It would be sort of a new Quake as big as the first Quake.

The first step is for Haitians who could create a viable government to get out of Port-au-Prince, which is happening. We await signs for another step in the forward direction.

The above was in response to this article.
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