Shortly after the 2010 earthquake the major creditors including the IMF, World Bank, IDB and others cancelled of the vast majority of Haiti’s external debt – a debt Haitians saw as illegitimate. However, many of the benefits Haitians sought in its cancellation were not realized. Instead of channeling the debt cancellation into progressive spending on social services and reconstruction, the IMF used it to address the balance of payments, help absorb currency fluctuation and manage aid flows.
While some of those efforts has helped protect the poor, this cancellation and the action plan that followed has not enabled investment in social services and has been followed by a mix of loans and grants. Much of the international aid that was intended for reconstruction after the earthquake was diverted to projects like the Caracol Industrial Park, which displaced hundreds of farmers and their families from fertile land. U.S. and other foreign interests benefited from this deal, but up to now it fails to show any positive benefits for the Haitian people.
Today, Haiti struggles with debt and deficit once again. Like in times past, the big creditor nations and institutions seek to impose austerity measures as a solution. However, there is no indication that this strategy will be any more effective than it has been for Haiti in the past or than it has been for other nations around the world. The IMF’s own research confirms that austerity measures can be more harmful than the debt burden itself as it can increase inequality without fostering sustainable and inclusive growth.
Haiti is not alone. We see examples in other countries in Latin America of rising IMF collusion with governments to impose austerity programs in exchange for new loans and grants. Like in Haiti, these agreements are sparking instability and rebellion by the people most affected. We see these examples most recently in Argentina and Peru.
While the IMF formally left Nicaragua in 2016, it continues to visit the country and provide advice. This is another country where the government sought to reform social security, increase taxes and decrease benefits, a move that has been met with the largest and deadliest protests since the war. Although the Ortega government has reversed the decision, the protests have begun to demand his resignation. Governments across the Americas should take note of these examples – the people are clearly saying no to austerity programs, and when governments persist they risk their office.
What is needed now is to support the Haitian people in their endless fight for inclusion and participation and for their freedom to elect their leaders. Haitians will not surrender this fight, nor will the protests that began in early July end without change.
Haiti does not need a revolving door of neo-colonial masters. Instead Haiti needs solidarity to help the people build a stable democracy and policies that deliver a better life for its citizens. Activists around the world can help by standing in solidarity with Haiti. Donor countries and institutions can support with patient and lasting investments in the form of grants or decent loans targeted at the needs of the poorest Haitians.
Haitians know their needs and their context better than any outside force could possibly imagine. Haiti, as a sovereign nation, should be able to direct its own development agenda, in consultation with those most impacted by its public policies. Investments in the form of grants for public use can be a form of reparations for all of the ways that powerful nations and institutions have undermined Haiti in the past. Were Haiti to have the resources it needs to invest in its own people, and the ability to determine their leaders without threats from the U.S. or other nations, we might finally see Haiti realize its dreams of freedom and sovereignty.
Originally published by ActionAid USA.