Haiti Election Bloodbath Goes to Round Two
by Ian Mosley
Anyone who thinks introducing democracy around the world is a good idea should take a good look at Haiti. This time it’s legislative elections that will determine if Rene Preval has enough support to govern the the open-air sewer which is his country. The parliamentary run-off election will determine whether Preval will have an ally in the Caribbean country’s next prime minister, who will be picked by parliament.
Preval is an alleged champion of the poor, a designation which is meaningless in a country where the staple fare for most Haitians is barbecued rat. He “won” a February 7 presidential election which was riddled by fraud, chaos, gunplay in the streets and at the polling stations, and large mountains of burning ballots being discovered on the Port Au Prince city trash dump. The head of the election commission fled to Florida in fear of his life from rampaging armed gangs. Haiti has been in complete free fall since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide angered the neo-cons in Washington, who had him kidnapped and tossed on a plane to be exiled in South Africa. (more…)