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The Architects of Chaos
The Architects of Chaos
  • January 17, 2025
  • | 1

The Architects of Chaos

In Haiti, chaos is not a simple consequence of events, but a carefully crafted product of actors whose decisions—or lack thereof—worsen the crisis every day. At the head of this orchestration of failures is the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT), led by architect Leslie Voltaire since October 2024. Presented as a temporary solution to get Haïti out of its impasse, the CPT quickly proved ineffective and incapable of responding to the country’s urgent challenges.

Read the article in :

French : Les architectes du chaos

Spanish : Los arquitectos del caos

Creole : Achitèk yo nan dezòd

Chaotic Leadership

Created in April 2024, the CPT raised many hopes under the leadership of Edgar Leblanc Fils, Coordinator of the political party Organization of the People in Struggle (OPL). But these hopes were quickly extinguished. Internal divisions, poor governance, and corruption scandals have transformed this body into a caricature of administrative inefficiency. In less than a year, the CPT has become a symbol of impotence, unable to propose concrete solutions to the political crisis that has paralyzed Haïti since the fall of the Duvalier regime and which worsened after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The fall of the Duvalier regime raised a lot of hope, but as Meudec states, “The liberating surge of 1986 was followed by a form of stagnation in the political transition process marked by the return of corruption and violence” (Meudec 2007, 47). Indeed, after approximately 39 years of “democratic governance,” the country is nothing but chaos and desolation.

The country has remained without elections since 2016, reinforcing the illegitimacy of the institutions. The economic and political elite contribute to this blockage by refusing the reforms necessary to establish a climate of trust and stability. Far from being victims, these elites take advantage of the ambient disorder to maintain their privileges.

A chaotic economy

The Haitian chaos is as much economic as political. According to the report of the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Informatics (IHSI), the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 4.2% when comparing the last two fiscal years, going from 592.7 billion gourdes for the 2022-2023 fiscal year to 568.0 billion gourdes for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. According to the IHSI, this fall “constitutes the largest decline in the economy ever recorded since the 5.7% fall in GDP in 2009-2010, following the devastating earthquake of January 12 of the same year” (IHSI 2024, 4). The country ends 2024 with an inflation rate of 25.8% (IHSI 2024, 4). Daily survival has become a struggle for the majority of Haitians. Informal trade dominates the economy, accounting for nearly 80% of activities, while foreign investment is almost non-existent.

The Presidential Transitional Council, under the leadership of architect Leslie Voltaire, has shown no strategic vision to revive the economy. Economic plans are non-existent, and international funds often disappear into opaque circuits, further fueling systemic corruption. This corruption is not only the work of politicians. Indeed, economic and political elites, by controlling key sectors such as food and energy imports as well as internal security, participate in the perpetuation of poverty and dependency.

A chaotic security situation

Gang violence has become the main factor of instability in the country. These gangs dictate their laws, extort citizens, prevent access to essential services, and force thousands of people to flee their homes. According to the Haïti Expert Group, the number of displaced people in Haïti is estimated at more than 500,000 people by June 2024, an increase of nearly 60% compared to March 2024 (Haïti Expert Group 2024, 29).

We are also witnessing a process of transmission of violence to children. Recruited by force or lured by illusory promises of power and wealth, these children become both victims and instruments of violence. The Haïti Expert Group states that “the recruitment of children as young as 10 years old by gangs has increased considerably and children may now represent up to 50% of all gang members” (Haïti Expert Group 2024, 31). Lack of education, poverty and lack of prospects are the main drivers of this mass enrollment and contribute to the process of maintaining chaos.

A hypothetical future

Haitian youth, who represent more than 60% of the population, are both the main victims of this chaos and their greatest chance for recovery. However, political and economic actors ignore this potential, preferring to exploit this vital force for destructive purposes, as evidenced by the massive enrollment of young people in gangs.

However, with targeted investments in education, vocational training and entrepreneurship, these young people could become an essential lever for reconstruction. Local initiatives, supported by civil society and international partners, must aim to offer viable opportunities to these young people, in order to divert their energy from gangs and use it to build a more just and united society.

Build or destroy?

The chaos that Haïti is experiencing today is not the result of inevitability. It is the result of a chronic lack of leadership, systemic corruption and the complicity of elites who profit from the ambient disorder. The architects of chaos are not anonymous figures: they occupy positions of power and their decisions shape the country’s collapse every day.

To escape this spiral, a complete overhaul of institutions and a renewal of political and economic elites are essential. Haïti will only be able to recover with truly committed leaders, breaking with the dominant habitus, and a mobilized, committed and combative youth. The architects of chaos must give way to the builders of hope, because only a collective commitment, built on the ideal of freedom for all of the Fathers of the nation, will allow Haïti to regain its dignity and stability.

Citizen Ken

January 7, 2025

References

Meudec, Marie. 2007. Corps, violence et politique en Haïti. Sociological aspects.. Sociological aspects, 14, 1. ⟨hal-01636285⟩: 1-27. https://hal.science/hal-01636285v1 United Nations. 2024. Final report of the Group of Experts on Haiti

Ministry of Economy and Finance, Haitian Institute of Statistics and Informatics. 2024. Economic accounts in 2024

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Pity or the work of an old soul crushed under the weight of an absinthe-flavored existence

The word crisis carries an infinite number of meanings. No intention of revealing them all this afternoon. However, a few clarifications are necessary. A kid whose parents do not have enough money at Christmas to buy her a Little Black Mermaid doll has a fit and locks herself in her room without touching her meals for the day. A boy whose dog was suddenly poisoned by a neighbor in revenge or shot after contracting rabies, losing a faithful friend overnight, enters into crisis. Finally, a society in the grip of all sorts of mutations and whose leaders are weak, perhaps prolonged in a deep crisis. In the first case, the young girl sulks to attract the attention of her parents in order to feel appreciated by children her age at school or in the neighborhood. Today, thirty minutes of negotiations can be enough to find a lasting solution. In my day, a few well-aimed belt blows would have overcome this whim. But, humanity evolves, they say. In the second case, this boy can find his smile again after a few weeks. He needs a little attention and, probably, another dog. As Stendhal would say, only passion triumphs over passion. In the last case, this society led by inepts is shaken to its deep foundations. Its institutions can disintegrate one by one. The vital forces dissolve in no time. This situation creates a societal tsunami that destroys all life within this community. It is indeed a crisis. The crisis from this point of view constitutes an alarming, desperate situation in the existence of a community where nothing is going well. Chaos reigns supreme. The very essence of life disappears. The individual can take precedence over the community. Everyone tries to solve their problems without worrying about others. The closest neighbor is relegated light years away from you. How can we turn to creation? How can we continue to conceive of otherness? How can the artist absorb this great collective disarray as a source of motivation? These are the questions I must answer. An artist sees and feels what ordinary mortals cannot even imagine in a thousand-year life. He creates to denounce, when his conscience as a human being is revolted. He exalts heroes or the homeland according to his feelings. He sings the beauty of an irresistible, captivating or ugly resplendent woman. He can also use the ambient desolation to give meaning to life. Creating in literature as in the arts in general does not depend on the situation. The act of creation depends on the creator’s disposition. Events paralyze some and galvanize others. Creating is enjoyable. Everyone therefore enjoys according to their own whim. Writing opens the way to change. The writer takes a different look at the world. By embedding himself in reality, he embellishes it, makes it better or hideous depending on the message he intends to share. All things considered, with him, life is never fixed. Writing is putting the world in a jar to travel the universe. The artist broods over his work in all weathers. Oswald Durand was delighted to see Choucoune’s beautiful body from his secret observatory. Musset, on the other hand, was in pain writing his October night. As for Dany Laferrière, in exile, he described the horrors of the Duvalier dictatorship and the carefree attitude of the young girls in his neighborhood in this violent and dangerous world. Ultimately, the writer lives in a society with values ​​that he shares or not. They condition his existence or have no hold on him. In many ways, the surrounding world serves as his laboratory. He carries out his experiments there. He casts a new, worn, disillusioned, melancholic, violent, bitter look at the world depending on his mood. Pitié is the work of an old soul crushed under the weight of an existence that tastes of absinthe. Young Mike Bernard Michel lives by expedients and lies. The hands of life fall on him with indescribable violence. Misfortune embraces him day and night. Should we give up? Musset liked to say: "Man is an apprentice, pain is his master. And no one knows himself until he has suffered." The artist must produce under all skies. Such is his vocation. Incompetents in power, legal or highway bandits, the high cost of living, unemployment, heartaches are all subjects of concern for him. If it is true that a hungry belly has no ears, the fact remains that it keeps the brain awake. What am I saying, it stimulates it to the point of creating timeless works. Mr. Pitié, you have a bright future ahead of you. Work of Jean Rony Charles, the book is available from Éditions Repérage.

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History

First black nation to free itself from slavery and gain independence from France in 1804 and influenced other liberation movements around the world, inspiring struggles for freedom and equality.

Natural beauty

Natural beauty

Haïti is blessed with spectacular natural landscapes, including white sand beaches, mountains and rich biodiversity.

Heritage

Heritage

Haïti has a rich historical heritage, including sites like the Citadelle Laferrière and the Sans-Souci Palace, listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Culture

Culture

Haïti has a rich and diverse culture, influenced by African, European and indigenous elements. Haitian music, dance, art and cuisine are celebrated around the world.