Haiti's aid troubles (Aug. 19, 2021)

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Saturday has, perversely, provided a respite for Haiti's tenuously positioned caretaker government, according to Foreign Policy. The tragedy has provided distraction from the country's acute political crisis, but instead put a harsh spotlight on Haiti's long-term problems. "The earthquake victims, not to mention the rest of the Haitian majority, are left basically on their own. Haitian communities have an incredible capacity for self-reliance—one forged out of necessity in the face of repeated abandonment."

Official efforts to aid victims of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck southwest Haiti on Saturday have been patchy and limited. This hasn't surprised local communities, which have little faith in the government, reports the New York Times. Instead people have been forced to manage their own crisis, reports the Washington Post.

Nonetheless, tensions over lack of assistance are growing, reports the Associated Press. Haitian authorities said at least 600,000 people were in need of humanitarian assistance and 135,000 families displaced, reports Reuters.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said his administration will try not to “repeat history on the mismanagement and coordination of aid,” a reference to the chaos after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake, when the government and international partners struggled to channel help to the needy amid the widespread destruction and misery.

The government said this week that it would centralize all aid delivery in Port-au-Prince through a new organization, The National Center for Emergency Operations. By yesterday, however, it was unclear if the new agency was receiving or coordinating any supplies.

Humanitarian groups are adamant that immediate and long-term help must be implemented differently this time, compared with the aftermath of a devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016, reports the Miami Herald. "Many in the humanitarian sector say they are committed to improving coordination across an array of non-governmental organizations to meet" victims' needs.

Activists have urged the public to avoid large international organizations, and instead donate and provide resources to local organizations and groups directly connected to people in the country rather than give to large, disconnected organizations, reports NBC.

Haitians were marginalized in 2010, and many emergency interventions caused long-term harm in Haiti. "We again have the chance to create sustainable improvements by maximizing Haitians’ role in all aspects of disaster response," argue Brian Concannon and Kathleen Bergin in The Hill. "The arrival of foreign funding and expertise, and the work on the ground, will provide ample opportunities for Haitians to build capacity to sustainably provide healthcare, housing and other basic services that Haiti needs.

"We need a truly Haitian Solution, once and for all… Haitians have the capacity and expertise, even if Haiti doesn’t have enough financial resources to address the multiple crises," said the Haitian Studies Association in a statement. (Repeating Islands)

"Democratic institutions are vital for strengthening Haiti’s ability to respond to crises," argue Sophonie Milande Joseph and François Pierre-Lois at In These Times. Haiti's political crisis is a result of the undermining of the country's democracy by domestic elites and foreign meddling, they write.

In a similar vein, Jonathan Katz rejects narratives that call Haiti "unlucky": "Haitians’ constant suffering is the result of very intentional decisions (about who gets money, who avoids accountability, and construction codes, among other things) made in foreign capitals and Port-au-Prince—not random chance."

The international community must assist with Haiti's political crisis, but not interfere, writes Harvard lecturer Christopher Rhodes in Al Jazeera. "The country’s long-term political stability depends on outside forces taking a back seat to a Haitian-driven rebuilding process. ... American involvement in the political transition should now concentrate on creating a broad and inclusive process that favours not only elections but also true representation for Haitians and their interests.

News Briefs

Regional

• Protests re-emerged last year in Latin America after an initial period of pandemic hibernation. "The mobilizations do not, however, have a single directionality, nor a single point of arrival. And they once again highlight the tensions between inequalities and democracy," writes María Victoria Murillo in Nueva Sociedad.

Nicaragua

• International opposition has had little effect so far on President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo -- the upcoming November presidential elections in Nicaragua are likely to be a farce. Christine Wade argues that the government's current crackdown against opponents responds to the ruling party's low tolerance for dissent and the FSLN's deeply ingrained siege mentality. -- Global Americans
  

Brazil

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to seek the impeachment of two Supreme Court justices: Judge Luís Roberto Barroso, who heads the electoral tribunal and has pushed back against Bolsonaro’s allegations that Brazil’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud, and Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who heads several investigations involving Bolsonaro. (Brazil Report)

• U.S. right-wing ideologue Steve Bannon has backed Bolsonaro's unsubstantiated allegations of potential electoral fraud. Analysts say Bannon's words support the theory that Bolsonaro is preparing to challenge a potential electoral loss in next year's presidential vote. (The New Republic, Business Insider)

• Bolsonaro, is blocking social media followers who criticize him, violating their rights of freedom of speech and access to information, Human Rights Watch said yesterday. (Reuters)

• Brazilian prosecutors asked a bankruptcy court to compel miners Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd to fully pay off their Samarco joint venture's $9.47 billion debt, reports Reuters.

• Alexya Salvador, Brazil's first transgender evangelical pastor, is using her position to help LGBTQ+ people, particularly transwomen who are objects of shocking violence in the country, reports the Guardian.

Colombia

• Rural leader Ofénix de Jesús Cocha Taborda was killed in Colombia's Córdoba department, the 108th social leader assassinated in Colombia so far in 2021. (Radio W)

• Colombia extradited two alleged members of the ELN who are accused by a U.S. federal court of drug trafficking. (Reuters)

Argentina

• Thousands of environmental activists demanded Argentina's congress advance on a law protecting the country's wetlands. (Perfíl, Nodal)

Chile

• Fifteen right-wing Constituent Convention delegates in Chile signed a letter recognizing "errors and injustices" in the country's historic treatment of Indigenous peoples. (Nodal)

• The Convention's Ethics Commission agreed to sanction delegates who deny human rights violations committed by the Pinochet dictatorship or in the government response to the 2019 mass protests. (Nodal)

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