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UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE

© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

“After a series of initial 

missteps, the Martelly administration must now reassure 

the Haitian public and 

international donors that it 

intends to lead the country 

to a peaceful, prosperous 

and democratic future. ”

July 16, 2012

Haiti: Turning the Page?

Summary

•	 Progresstoward a better Haiti during President Michel Martelly’s first year was undermined by

a multitude of political crises.

•	 Confirmation of a new prime minister by Haiti’s parliament provides an opportunity to rectify

previous missteps and begin moving Haiti toward a peaceful and prosperousfuture.

•	 An important indicator of the new prime minister’s agenda for improving conditions among

Haiti’simpoverished majority will be the success of new social programs.

•	 Increased foreign direct investment and augmented domestic revenue—the latter linked

to an anti-corruption campaign—are important components of the new prime minister’s

strategy to revitalize Haiti’s economy and society.

Following President Michel Martelly’s first, crisis-prone year in office, there are indicationsthat

Haiti’s political leaders may be turning the page toward a more constructive future. The mid-May

confirmation of Laurent Lamothe asthe country’s new prime minister provides an opportunity

for a more positive working relationship between the executive and the opposition-led parliament. Even with this positive step, Haiti’s newly installed government facesthe Herculean task of

addressing the country’s widespread poverty and social inequality, a debilitated infrastructure and

natural environment, and the lack of jobs and economic opportunity—chronic problems made

acute by the 2010 earthquake. The government also must rectify first-year misstepsthat eroded

confidence among Haitians and international donorsin President Martelly’s ability to fulfill his

promise to lead the country to a peaceful, prosperous and democratically-governed future.

A Lost Year

With his electoral victory in February 2011, Michel Martelly created high expectations with his

announced intention to rebuild Haiti through a focus on the“Four E’s”of education, employment,

environment and rule of law (etat de droit). The new president tackled hisjob with great vigor as he

cut ribbons of completed projects, launched initiatives aimed at improving socialservices and the

economy, distributed patronage, greeted flurries of visiting dignitaries and celebrities, and traveled

extensively within Haiti and abroad. His first year in office, however, was characterized more by

political challengesthan by progresstoward achieving hisstated goals.

Overshadowing the president’s achievements wasthe deadlock that developed between the

executive and the parliament which was dominated by opposition political parties. The problem

surfaced when Martelly’s first two nomineesfor prime minister were rejected by lawmakers, but

Robert Maguire

E-mail: rmaguire@gwu.edu

Phone: 202.994.3342

PEACEBRIEF131
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

Haiti: Turning the Page? 

page 2 • PB 131 • July 16, 2012

became personal when parliamentariansraised the issue of whether the president was constitutionally disqualified from holding office because of his alleged dual, Haitian-U.S. citizenship.

The increasingly toxic relationship wasfed by the president’s public criticism of individual parliamentarians and the brief arrest of a parliamentarian on his arrival in Haiti after a trip abroad. Trust

wasfurther eroded by Martelly’ssupport for recreating Haiti’s defunct army. On April 17, 2012, 50

armed men in military fatiguesstormed the parliament building and disrupted a parliamentary

session. Concern grew asthe rogue force rejected demandsthat they vacate the former military

base they occupied.

Doubt over the president’sintentions wasreinforced by his obfuscation of judicial proceedings

initiated by the previous government against returned former dictator Jean-Claude‘Baby Doc’

Duvalier. Asthese developments unfolded, Haitian commentatorsrecalled the bad old days of

arbitrary abuse by paramilitaries during the Duvalier era. The political crisisreached a climax in

February 2012 when Prime Minister Garry Conille, Martelly’sthird nominee who had won parliamentary confirmation only four months earlier, wasforced to resign because of public rejection by

the president. By mid-April, when the president’s personal health problems necessitated a weeklong medical evacuation in Miami, his first year in office began to look like a series of calamities. 

Turning the Page

The confirmation by Haiti’s Senate and Chamber of Deputies of Laurent Lamothe as Martelly’s

second prime minister in May provided an opportunity to turn the page on the president’s

problematic first year. Lamothe, a 39-year old telecommunications entrepreneur who has been a

business associate and an adviser to Michel Martelly, served under Conille as foreign affairs minister, a portfolio he has maintained as prime minister. His swearing-in was followed by a hectic

schedule of policy announcements, internal travel and attendance at international conferences.

The new prime minister demonstrated his diplomatic skills in a June speech in Bolivia before the

OAS General Assembly and during a visit to Washington, where a new Haitian ambassador was

recently accredited. Perhaps not coincidentally, shortly after Lamothe took office, the Haitian

National Police, under the watchful eye of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

(MINUSTAH), began to rein in the uniformed men that were hoping to become part of a restored

Haitian army.

To succeed as prime minister, Lamonthe will have to establish a productive working relationship

with the legislative branch of government that holdsthe power to dismiss him. This complicated

task has been made more difficult by the delay of electionsto renew one-third of the 30-member

senate and the subsequent expiration of the terms of ten senators. Lamothe will also have to demonstrate that he has Martelly’strust and willingnessto allow him to run the day-to-day affairs of

government without undue interference. Telling indicators of Lamothe’s double-edged dilemma

are both Conille’s hasty departure, and the fact that Haiti’s prime ministers have averaged only 453

dayssince 1988.1The new prime minister’srelatively smooth parliamentary confirmation and his

prior relationship with the president may strengthen his chances ofsuccess.

Beyond survival, Lamothe must lead Haiti toward social and economic revitalization. He has

emphasized politicalstability, anti-poverty programs and creation of opportunity through foreign

investment in Haiti’s economy as key tenets of his program. To facilitate increased foreign direct

investment (FDI), Lamothe has promoted Haiti through what he calls“business diplomacy.”Providing him with a head start in attracting FDI is an array of initiatives already en route, including a

showcase industrial park in the northern locality of Caracol that will open this year and is expected

to provide up to 65,000 jobs. Beyond promoting foreign investment in industry, Lamothe will have
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

Haiti: Turning the Page? 

page 3 • PB 131 • July 16, 2012

to channel government resources, plus aid and foreign investment into developing the agrarian

economy that employsthe majority of Haiti’s people. 

The creation of two new ministries—one for peasant affairs and another for human rights and

anti-poverty—seems designed to push in this direction. Paralleling the structural changes are an

assortment of announced Martelly administration initiatives with stated goals of achieving greater

decentralization of governmentservices, combating poverty and social exclusion, and improving the productive capacity of Haiti’s poor. Among them, three programsstand out. One is“Aba 

grangou” (Down with Hunger), launched in late January 2012 under the auspices of Haiti’s First

Lady, Sophia Martelly, with a goal of halving hunger in Haiti by 2016 through transfers of money

and food to one million mothers, along with investmentsin small farmer crop and waterstorage

facilities. Another is“Katye Pam Pose” (My Neighborhood at Ease), launched in mid-March under

the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior as a community-based decentralization program that

will ensure better delivery of governmentservices, improve disaster preparedness, promote good

governance, and facilitate citizen input in decision-making. A third is“Ti Manman Cheri” (Dear

Little Mother), announced by Lamothe in late May as a program with a goal ofsupporting 100,000

familiesin four of the poorest neighborhoodsin Port-au-Prince through cash transfers of up to $40

per month for participating families conditioned on meeting school enrollment requirements.

These programs, all in their infancy, have the potential not only to addressthe grinding poverty

and habitualsocial and economic exclusion of ordinary Haitians, but also to decentralize the

distribution of public services and economic opportunity. These programs have been widely

publicized by the government, have garnered significant interest, and have raised expectations.

They are not without theirskeptics. Recently, for example,several Haitian senators characterized

them as nothing more than“slogan programs of the presidency.”2

Faith and Confidence 

Thisskepticism indicatesthat the Martelly-Lamothe team will need to convince doubting Haitians

and international donorsthat anti-poverty programs are more than public relations gimmicks

and indeed are game-changing initiativesfor poor people. To achieve this, the government must

ensure that they receive adequate funding and are managed effectively. Funds available from a

Venezuelan soft loan program for oil purchases are earmarked to launch the Ti Manman Cheri cash

transfer program. For the program to expand and be sustained, the allocation of domestic revenuesisrequired, as has been the case in a variety ofsuccessful cash transfer programs worldwide.

To achieve this, Haiti’s domestic revenues must expand. Another of Prime Minister Lamothe’s

priorities—anti-corruption initiatives—hasthe potential of increasing government revenue to

provide a Haitian source for funding the government’ssocial initiatives. In recent weeks, the prime

minister hasfocused attention on the significant decline over the past year of custom receipts. At

one border crossing alone, he reported that monthly receiptsfell from an average of 180 to 200

million gourdesin 2010-2011 to 120 million gourdes over the current fiscal year.3Although anticorruption clean-ups can lead to augmented revenue collections, they also entail risks. Previous

anti-corruption effortsin Haiti have inevitably involved powerful people and interests. Over the

past year, rumors and accusations of corruption among important actorsin both the public and

private sectors have been rampant. Former Prime Minister Conille’s abrupt departure is attributed,

at least in part, to hisinitiative to root out corruption in lucrative government contracts.4

After a series of initial missteps, the Martelly administration must now reassure the Haitian

public and international donorsthat it intendsto lead the country to a peaceful, prosperous and

democratic future. Observers will be watching how the president and his new prime minister
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

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Haiti: Turning the Page? 

page 4 • PB 131 • July 16, 2012

About This Brief

The author, Robert Maguire, 

is the chairman of USIP’s Haiti 

Working Group and a former USIP 

Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow 

(2008-2009). He is a professor of 

the Practice of International Affairs 

in the International Development 

Studies Program of the Elliott 

School of International Affairs 

at George Washington University and director of GWU’s Latin 

America and Hemispheric Studies 

Program. This report is based on 

research and interviews conducted 

by the author in Washington, 

Haiti and elsewhere. Analysis was 

facilitated by the author’s participation in the annual meetings of 

the Haitian Studies Association 

in Kingston, Jamaica and the 

Caribbean Studies Association in 

Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe. 

handle several issues currently in play: the status of constitutional amendments, the organization

ofsenate elections, and negotiations between the government and the parliament over the

proposed FY 2012-2013 budget. Asthese issues are addressed, it will become clear whether a page

has been turned toward Haiti’s more constructive future.

Notes

1.	 “New Haiti PM touts anti-poverty, pro-investments agenda,”Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 

May 16, 2012.

2.	 “Politique: Premières convocations de Lamothe...”Haiti en Marche, Vol. XXVI, No. 22, Mercredi,

20 Juin, 2012.

3.	 “Lamothe Attaque: La guerre contre la contrebande n’est passans danger,”Haiti en Marche, 

Vol. XXVI, No. 23, Mercredi, 27 Juin, 2012.

4.	 “AYear Under Martelly: Corruption Controversy Sidetracks Haiti’s Effort to Rebuild,”Ezra Fieser,

Time, April 14, 2012, accessed at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2112023,00.html